Syrah African wines. In the United States, wine produced from the grape is normally called by its French name, "Syrah". However, in cases where winemakers choose to follow a New World style, similar to Penfolds Grange, they may choose to label their wines as "Shiraz". Under American wine laws, either name may appear on the label. Syrah first appeared as a wine grape in California in the 1970s, where it was planted by a group of viticulturists who called themselves "Rhône rangers". Although most plantings of the grape are in California, there are increasing amounts of it being grown in Washington
Wine in China the consumption of grape wines become more common. After the Tang conquest of Gaochang – an oasis state on the Silk Road located near Turfan in modern Xinjiang – in 641, the Chinese obtained the seeds of an elongated grape called "mare teat" ("maru" ) and learned from Gaochang a "method of wine making" ("jiu fa" ). Several Tang poets versified on grape wine, celebrating wine from the "Western Regions" – that from Liangzhou was particularly noted – or from Taiyuan in Shanxi, the latter of which produced wine made from the "mare teat" grape. Meng Shen's 孟詵 "Materia Dietetica"