I’ll admit that wine labels can be quite confusing. Holding up two wine bottles filled with the same grape variety can be two totally different styles of wine. After all, Chablis and Chardonnay can both be made from 100 percent Chardonnay grapes but have different characteristics. However, it is not the same with Syrah and Shiraz. Some may argue with me, but essentially these two wines are the same thing. The difference — Shiraz comes from Australia and Syrah comes from just about every other place.

Syrah/Shiraz is a dark-skinned grape variety used primarily to produce red wine. Syrah can be traced back some 2000 years to its country of origin, France. There are legends that the grape actually originated some 8000 years ago in the city of Shiraz in Persia (present day Iran) and was brought to the Rhone Valley of France around 600 BC.

Australia was introduced to the grape in the 1830s and no one is exactly sure why the spelling of the name was changed. My guess is someone mispronounced it and over time the name stuck. An interesting note is that Australian’s originally referred to this grape as Hermitage from a hill in Northern Rhone. The Hermitage variety was crossed with a Pinot Noir at some point to create the grape now referred to as Pinotage. Australia eventually dropped the Hermitage name in the 1980s because that name is a French protected designation of origin.

Now shall we talk about Petite Sirah?

Let’s save this totally different varietal for another time and enjoy a glass of Syrah/Shiraz.

2013 Mollydooker Shiraz, The Boxer 750ml

This intense medium-bodied Shiraz from the McLaren Vale region of Australia garnered 91 points from Wine Spectator. It is best described as "Broad, spicy and dense at the core, with plum and blackberry fruit playing against toasty, spicy overtones and polished tannins as the finish persists." Only 13,160 cases were produced.

2012 Elizabeth Spencer Syrah, Sonoma Coast 750ml

With only 20 barrels produced, winemaker Spencer Graham has produced a stellar expression of the variety. Hand-harvested and hand-sorted, this Syrah was fermented in stainless steel and aged for 16 months in neutral French oak barrels. There is a distinct fresh berry aroma matched by cola and ripe red cherries, with a bit of white pepper and tangy rhubarb jelly for backbone. The pallet is soft and the finish is juicy.