Syrah The Syrah-dominated appellations (AOCs) of northern Rhône have, like most other French appellations and regions, no tradition of varietal labeling of their wines. Indeed, such practices are generally disallowed under AOC rules, and only the AOC name (such as Cote-Rotie, Crozes-Hermitage or Hermitage) appears on the label. Varietal labeling of Syrah/Shiraz wines is therefore a practice that has emerged in the New World, primarily in Australia. To confuse matters, in northern Rhône, different clones of genuine Syrah are referred to as "Petite Syrah" (small Syrah) or "Gros Syrah" (large Syrah) depending on the size of their berries, with "Petite Syrah"
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