Ballad of Syrah’s…   

Syrah or sometimes called Shiraz is a dark-skinned grape grown throughout the world; Syrah should not be confused with Petite Sirah which is a different grape.

Syrah is full-bodied, dark colored with soft tannin, jammie fruit and spice with notes of licorice, anise and earth, which makes it so wonderful paired with rich meats.

Here are some we sampled at a resent WLW wine tasting event:

Dumas Station, 2012 Walla Walla

Rich garnet color, jammie fruit with a hint of floral and smoky spice nose. Ripe fruit, spicy and creamy generously lasting thru to the finish.

Pairs well with roasted asparagus, dark chocolate, roasted meat and smoked herb potato.

Laurelhurst Cellar, 2012 Walla Walla

Intoxicating nose with hint of fruit and spice, long harmonious layered fruit finish.

Paired well with caramelized onion, roasted mushroom, smoked potato wedge, triple cheese blackberry melba appetizer and dark chocolate.

Dumas Station, 2013 The Excursion, Walla Walla

Excursions amazingness starts with the color you cannot get any deeper rich jewel tones.  Spice hits the noses up front with smoky notes and then continues thru to the pallet on your first sip.  Focused and concentrated earthy notes with full fruit running thru to the finish.

Pairs well with rich smoked meats, BBQ sauce, grilled vegetables, dark chocolate, triple cheese black berry melba appetizer.

a’Maurice Cellars, 2014 Walla Walla

Rich garnet color, smoky nose which leads to a hint of spice. Flavors play and gain thru the finish of deep current fruit.

Pairs well with, smoked gouda, dark chocolate, smoked

roasted potato.

Paringa, 2013 Shiraz South Australia

Dark earthy red color which continue thru to its earthy black current nose, a harmony of dark berry fruit notes and hint of dark chocolate finish.

Pairs well with fresh red grape, dark chocolate, roasted vegetable, triple cheese blackberry melba appetizer.

Isabella Grace 2012 Syrah, Yakima Valley

Extraordinary nose which invites you in to its expressive floral overtone and fruit flavors. Rich chocolate, spice and mineral finish.

Pairs well with dark chocolate, triple cheese berry appetizer and roasted meat.

Machey Vineyard, 2010 Columbia Valley

Deep plum color, juicy berry aromas, rich fruit with hint of spice at the finish.

Pairs will with roasted garbanzo taco, smoked potato wedge, smoked cheddar cheese and dark chocolate.

Va Piano, 2013 Columbia Valley

Beautiful garnet color, smooth floral and silky spice texture glides across the palette with Tabaco and sweet notes at finish which went well with dark chocolate

Paired well with roasted herb chicken thigh, BBQ sauce, triple cheese and blackberry melba

appetizer.

We started the event blind tasting so we could focus on the color, flavor and food pairing without getting influenced by winery or region, which made it fun and interesting!  Then off came the covers after the first tasting to reveal some surprises for some and reaffirmed favorites for others.

Please read again my previous blog post from February 2014 on wine tasting events. There are many fun options you can explore when hosting a wine tasting event of your own.

Pairing recipes we served with this event will be coming soon on the WLW recipes tab.

Cheers!

Denise