Tri-City Herald
July 31, 2018

Is Syrah poised for a comeback? Sales of Syrah tanked in recent years, thanks in no small part to Australia flooding the U.S. (and other world markets) with cheap Shiraz (another name for Syrah).

With sales of those types of wines flattening, it appears consumers are turning back to domestic Syrahs, and that is good news for Washington, where Syrah is the No. 3 red grape in the state, after Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Syrahs are so interesting in Washington because of the grape’s transparency depending on where it’s planted. Thus, cult followings have sprung up around the region’s high-end producers who have chosen to specialize in Syrah.

In 1999, there were 1,500 acres of Syrah established across Washington state, and that represented 6 percent of the 24,000 acres planted. Last year, the acreage devoted to Syrah stood at 4,572 acres, which accounted for 8 percent of the state’s nearly 56,000 acres of wine grape vines.>>>Read the entire article featuring Columbia Winery on the Tri-City Herald