Syrah Serine, and Sereine. Legends of Syrah's origins come from one of its homonyms, Shiraz. Because Shiraz, Capital of the Persian Empire (modern-day Iran), produced the well-known Shirazi wine, legends claim the Syrah grape originated in Shiraz and then was brought to Rhône. At least two significantly different versions of the myth are reported, giving different accounts of how the variety is supposed to have been brought from Shiraz to Rhône and differing up to 1,800 years in dating this event. In one version, the Phocaeans could have brought Syrah/Shiraz to their colony around Marseilles (then known as Massilia), which was
Wine in China Wine in China Wine (Chinese: "pútáojiǔ" "grape alcohol") has a long history in China. Although long overshadowed by "huangjiu" (sometimes translated as "yellow wine") and the much stronger distilled spirit "baijiu", wine consumption has grown dramatically since the economic reforms of the 1980s. China is now numbered among the top ten global markets for wine. Ties with French producers are especially strong, and Ningxia wines have received international recognition. Use of wild grapes in production of alcoholic beverages has been attested at the Jiahu archaeological site (c. 7000 BC). In 1995, a joint Sino-USA archaeology team including archaeologists from the