For a long time, it was believed that Shiraz was a variety of grapes coming from the historical city, with the same denomination, in Iran. The natives of the Persian region between Iran and Georgia have been known, since six thousand years, before Christianity, to grow this kind of grapes and to consume their wine. The legend says that a Persian king who was incredibly fond of grapes wanted to store them, to be able to eat them and enjoy them, all throughout the year. [Click title for more...]

Tags: red wine, shiraz, syrah, the shiraz guide, varietals, wine, wine grapes, wine history, wine regions

Wine is a viscous drink, with a higher alcohol level, obtained through grapes fermentation. Alike other fruits, grapes have a natural ability to ferment, on their own and to turn into alcohol. Consumed in moderation and its natural form, without any additives (sugars, yeast, preservatives) wine has great benefits on one’s health.

Wine was first known to be consumed in Middle East, over 8000 years ago and it was introduced to Europeans, several centuries later. The ancient Greeks and Romans assigned special deities, to symbolize it and wine made subject of great celebrations. Later on, wine continued to make part of the Christian and Jewish ceremonies. [Click title for more...]

Tags: introduction to wine, red wine, resveratrol, the shiraz guide, wine, wine and health, wine appreciation, wine grapes, wine history, wine tasting

Wine tasting has been practiced since far away, in history, actually, since wine started to be produced. It was only since the fourteenth century that wine tasting has become a more formal and sophisticated activity. These days, it is practiced both for recreational and professional purposes. Wine tasting has four phases of analysis, the first one taking into consideration, the appearance of the wine. In the second “in glass” phase, the aroma is put to the test. The third “in mouth” stage deals with the actual taste of the wine and the “finish” stage, with the “aftertaste”. [Click title for more...]

Tags: aroma, bouquet, labels, red wine, shiraz, syrah, terminology, the shiraz guide, vertical tastings, wine, wine appreciation, wine grapes, wine regions, wine tasting

With a long and rich History, the Shiraz also known as the Syrah has shown to create great and fantastic wines in the right conditions. It is usually grown in warmer areas and its growth has increased greatly over the recent years in different wine producing regions of the world especially in Australia and Portugal. It has also been used as a blending grape in Spain and Italy. In France, the grape is known as Syrah and is grown throughout the Rhone Valley. The wines made from it have different flavors as a result of the location of the vines, difference in soil quality and changes in slope. [Click title for more...]

Tags: introduction to wine, red wine, shiraz, syrah, the shiraz guide, wine grapes, wine history, wine regions

Shiraz (also known as Syrah) is a dark-skinned grape grown all over the world and used to produce powerful and full bodied red wines (appears as a very dark red or black). Regardless of whether it is sold as Syrah or Shiraz, these wines enjoy great popularity, and is now world’s seventh most grown grape with over 142,600 hectares, or 352,000 acres. [Click title for more...]

Tags: aroma, bouquet, introduction to wine, labels, red wine, shiraz, syrah, the shiraz guide, varietals, wine, wine grapes, wine regions