Syrah is a red grape with a lot of history, and it has been making its mark in the Pacific Northwest for more than a decade.

One famous story tells the tale of Alexander the Great bringing a Syrah vine from the ancient Persian city of Shiraz back to Europe, while another asserts the vine is Egyptian in origin and was brought across the Mediterranean through the Sicilian city of Syracusa. While both stories provide fanciful romance to Syrah’s backstory, neither is true. In fact, Syrah is indigenous to France and has been grown in the Rhône Valley for as long as anyone can remember.

Its history in the Northwest is much more clear. Mike Sauer of Red Willow Vineyards in the Yakima Valley planted the first block of Syrah in Washington in 1984, and David Lake of Columbia Winery made the first wine from it in 1988. Still, the grape did not catch on for several years because growers feared the tender vine could not survive Washington’s occasional harsh winters. But when Red Willow’s Syrah came through the near-apocalyptic freeze of 1996 with little damage, plantings took off. By 2001, Syrah surpassed Cabernet Franc as the state’s No. 3 red grape with 4,400 acres planted. In 2009, that amount increased to 10,000 acres.

Here are a few Syrahs we have tasted recently from Washington, Oregon and Idaho:

Abacela 2007 Estate Syrah, Umpqua Valley, $32: This Syrah from Abacela’s estate Fault Line Vineyards leads with purple fruit, rather than black and comes with a remarkable twist of Red Vines licorice. Boysenberry and dark raspberry bounce with brightness, and bittersweet chocolate notes carry just a bit of grip.

Chateau Ste. Michelle 2007 Syrah, Columbia Valley, $13: Sometimes we forget that the big chateau in Woodinville, Wash., has grown because wine of this quality is crafted on a large scale at an affordable price. Here’s a refresher course, exemplified in this oak lover’s Syrah that’s busty, beveled and black. Aromas leap out with ripe black cherry, blackberry jam, Dr Pepper, mocha and a hint of gaminess. There are no edges on the palate, which pays out more blackberry, smoked meat, vanilla bean, plum and a hint of citrus.

Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2008 Umiker Vineyard Syrah, Idaho, $25: Boysenberry, blue SweeTart candy, cedar, bergamot and leather fill the nose. Inside, it’s akin to berry picking with blackberry, blueberry and marionberry flavors and acidity to match. A dusting of earth, a pinch of mint and integrated tannins make for a long and spicy end.

Bunchgrass Winery 2007 Syrah, Columbia Valley, $28: This Walla Walla, Wash., winery has bottled a Syrah with aromas of blackberry, blueberry, dried lavender, vanilla, cocoa powder and cedar. The drink is of rich boysenberry syrup and sweet plums, and while there’s nice acidity, the tannins actually lift the wine to another level.

Koenig Vineyards 2006 Ameila Cuvee Reserve Syrah, Snake River Valley, $50: This superb Syrah from the Gem State opens with scents of blackberries with Wheaties, some caramel and a sniff of gunmetal. It bursts with density from those supple blackberries and black licorice chews. Coffee with a caramel-flavored creamer gives you the sense of the finish.

Olsen Estates 2008 Edythe Mae Vineyard Estate Syrah, Yakima Valley, $38: There’s deep blueberry, blackberry, smoked meat, leather and gunmetal aromas. Opulence waits as the expressive drink delivers more brambleberries with Chukar Cherry, licorice, coffee and leather tones.

Willow Crest Winery 2006 Syrah, Yakima Valley, $12: This is not a smoky, oaky and jammy Syrah. Instead, it shows more restraint with boysenberry and marionberry notes, balanced by lengthy pie cherry acidity and diminished tannin — adding up to a great dinner wine.

As the winery says:
When earth, moon and sun align – it’s syzygy
When earth, vine and sun align – it’s SYZYGY!

One might think with the self-named title of  Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman that I kick up my heels every night drinking wine and hanging by downtown lamp posts – - au contraire.  Believe it or not, I slip quietly into wine bars and restaurants, don’t make a fuss and usually home by 8:00 pm.

The Vineyard Lounge at the Marcus Whitman Hotel is one of my favorite places to haunt in Walla Walla.  I have a favorite table, which I am not going to tell you which one it is. When I visit the lounge, I play a little game in my head regarding which wine I will order, so I look for a “sign.” When I check the wine list, with all of the tempting Walla Walla wines to sample, I need a little help. So, I look for a “sign”…

A few weeks ago, I walked into the Vineyard Lounge and sitting  there was Zach Brettler, winemaker and owner of SYZYGY Winery. Could this be a sign? Sure enough. I opened up the wine list and there it was – my sign! The first “rouge” wine on the list that jumped out at me was SYZYGY’s Walla Walla Valley Syrah – 2006! I had to have a glass.

Okay, so I am not one of those bloggers who give scores and QPR’s. If I say a wine was yummy, then trust me, it is yummy! But if you are familiar with the vineyards in the area, how can it not be “yummy” considering the fruit for this 100% Syrah came from Seven Hills, Morrison Lane and Les Collines vineyards? The nose came through with berries and a hint of vanilla and smoke. The flavor – - a lush mouthful of ripe blueberries and a gentle finish of spice. The tannins weren’t in your face, but just enough to remind you they were there. Defintely you could lay it down for awhile, but why? Enjoy it. It’s a classic Syrah showing all of the components of a Syrah that I look for and immensely enjoy.

Again, I am not into points and scores, but when I did some further research about the SYZYGY Syrah, I discovered that the Wine Spectator also liked it and gave the Syrah 93 points.
Cheers!

Living in wine country – there are magazines published, books written and even entire furniture lines targeted to the “lifestyle” – but what does it really mean?

We are fortunate enough to live within a couple of miles from some of Washington’s most prestigious wineries and tasting rooms so I decided that I want to get a first hand look at what the average visitor to Walla Walla experiences when they enter a tasting room here in the valley. And I want find out how they decide where to go during each visit to our “wine country.”

My first stop on this quest is Dunham Cellars. Dunham is known for their busy tasting room, their great wine club parties, a knock-out line-up of single vineyard reserve wines and of course the dogs!

I went tasting on a Thursday afternoon last week; not their busiest day of the week but what Jordan Fitzgerald, my guide during my time at Dunham, tells me is a steady day. She can expect to see about 15-20 visitors on an average weekday, but during harvest season weekends the small tasting room bursts at the seams seeing over 100 people on a given Saturday. Dunham Cellars does charge a $5 tasting fee but the day I was there they were pouring 10 wines and they offered the tasting fee back towards my purchase.

During my tasting experience, a couple small groups came through. Both happened to be ladies’ groups that were in town from the Seattle area having a “girls weekend.” They had assigned a fearless leader to chart the entire tasting weekend. And she was armed with maps, visitor guides and a legal pad full of notes. Every place they went, she said, everyone told them to make sure Dunham was on their list.

One of the misconceptions about Walla Walla wines is that we only do reds but I found that not to be the case, at least not at my first stop. Dunham Cellars provided quite the range for my tasting from a dry lightly oaked chardonnay to a full bodied, jammy single vineyard Lewis syrah. I even got a little dessert in a glass with a 2008 late harvest Riesling.

The Dunham’s have capitalized on their own family talent. Their winemaker, Eric Dunham, not only provides the artwork to decorate the World War II hanger attached to the tasting room but also designs the artwork on their single vineyard selections as well. If bringing in 18 tons of fruit on a given day in October isn’t enough Eric doubles or triples as it were as the chef at harvest lunches and occasionally for a winemaker dinner hosted at the winery.

Dunham Cellars tasting room is open daily from 11-4. They have been hosting harvest lunches earlier in the fall and will continue their Winemaker Dinner series throughout the winter. Check out their website for more information on Winemaker Dinners and area events that Dunham participates in: www.dunhamcellars.com

Dunham Cellars 2004 Syrah is featured in the Wall Street Journal video with Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher of the WSJ “Tasting” column.

Syrah went largely unnoticed in the United States until 1968, when Syrah from France was planted at the Joseph Phelps Vineyards near St Helena, California. Syrah at the time was as esoteric as any variety could be, as consumers gravitated toward wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. All it took was time and awareness, and Washington was soon to be home to this ancient grape variety. In 1985, Syrah was first planted for David Lake, a Master of Wine and winemaker at Columbia Winery in Woodinville. Michael Sauer of Red Willow Vineyard in Wapato can lay claim to the oldest planting of Syrah in Washington, now 24 years old, and a direct descendant of the clone of Syrah found at Joseph Phelps. It was twelve years later that Syrah had its day in the Sun, when a Walla Walla Valley Syrah garnered the Grand Award at the Seattle Enological Society annual tasting in 1987, a year that witnessed five producers each crafting a unique expression of the variety. As a varietal category, Syrah rapidly arrived in Washington, and at this writing, there are over 60 notable producers of Syrah in the state, some releasing multiple bottlings of the dark, nearly black wine.

Syrah has, as its best attribute, the great ability to respond uniquely to the environment in which it is grown, yielding a fruit composition that is specifically expressive of a particular site. It has a peppery spiciness in the wines made from it, and devotees of Syrah like to discern whether it is black or white pepper that is rolling around in their mouths. Blackberry jam, black licorice and ripe plum are layered onto its piquancy that is typically exhibited in a Washington Syrah, but don’t expect every Syrah to have all things in equal measure. This magical proportion is extremely site-specific, making all Syrahs a true product of their surroundings, and ensuring that this sage variety is always an interesting reflection of terroir, the earthly variables that govern the exact complexion of wines.

Find a Syrah from any Washington producer, and one could make a wager that it will be a delightful addition to any meal. It is at once a great accompaniment to al fresco lunches of coppacola salami and Gorgonzola cheese, to peppercorn tri-tip, to fusilli topped with a spicy, Italian-sausage red sauce. Try a top-sirloin medallion atop a buttered slice of baguette, with softened Roquefort placed between them, pair it with a sip of Syrah, and you’ll be a devotee of Syrah, too!