Syrah 1830s. So while the name or spelling "Shiraz" may be an effect of the English language on a French name, there is no evidence that it actually originated in Australia, although it was definitely the Australian usage and the Australian wines that made the use of this name popular. Another legend of the grape variety's origin, based on the name Syrah, is that it was brought from Syracuse by the legions of Roman Emperor Probus sometime after AD 280. This legend also lacks documentary evidence and is inconsistent with ampelographic findings. The wines that made Syrah famous were those from
Palomino (grape) In France, it is referred to as Listán, and in South Africa as Fransdruif or White French. It is also found in Australia and California where it is also used mainly to produce fortified wines. The grape was once thought to be the Golden Chasselas, a grape grown in California. The wine-must has tendency to oxidise quickly, a characteristic that can be ignored when used for sherry production. In December 2006 Spanish researchers, using DNA techniques, discovered that the Mission grape of California and Latin America, cultivated by the Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries throughout the New World, is in fact