Grape evidence for a dominant position of wine-making in human culture dates from 8,000 years ago in Georgia. The oldest known winery was found in Armenia, dating to around 4000 BC. By the 9th century AD the city of Shiraz was known to produce some of the finest wines in the Middle East. Thus it has been proposed that Syrah red wine is named after Shiraz, a city in Persia where the grape was used to make Shirazi wine. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics record the cultivation of purple grapes, and history attests to the ancient Greeks, Phoenicians, and Romans growing purple grapes
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