Australian wine has no native grapes, and "Vitis vinifera" varieties were introduced from Europe and South Africa in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Some varieties have been bred by Australian viticulturists, for example Cienna and Tarrango. Although Syrah was originally called Shiraz in Australia and Syrah elsewhere, its dramatic commercial success has led many Syrah producers around the world to label their wine "Shiraz". About 130 different grape varieties are used by commercial winemakers in Australia. Over recent years many winemakers have begun exploring so called "alternative varieties" other than those listed above. Many varieties from France, Italy and Spain
Wine Grapes genetic link between the Burgundian wine grape Pinot noir to the Rhône grape Syrah and the Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Merlot and Malbec. The book also details how the Jura wine grape Savagnin blanc descended from the Pinot grape to go on and be the parent vine of several white wine varieties including Chenin blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Sauvignon blanc, Petit Manseng and Verdelho. Along with research assistant and Master of wine Julia Harding, Robinson and Vouillamoz go on to detail the long history of discovering the parentage of the American wine variety Zinfandel including past research that pointed