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
International Value Wine Awards 97% of wine purchases by volume in Canada. In its first year, the IVWA judged nearly 1,000 wines from 17 countries. Awards were organized by grape variety or style and by country of origin. The highest rated red wine was Château Sainte-Eulalie 2003 La Cantilène, from the Minervois appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) in Languedoc, France. La Cantilène is a blend of 55% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 15% Carignan. It was awarded a score of 91 points. The highest rated white was Goundrey 2005 Homestead Unwooded Chardonnay from Western Australia; it scored 90 points. In 2007 the awards returned to Calgary