When a varietal becomes the new rage, people start looking for defining differences of places where it is grown. Zinfandel, for instance, works great in hot appellations, while Pinot Noir works better where the climate is much cooler. Syrah, however, is the best of both worlds.

Commonly referred to as a "growers varietal" for its natural vigor, Syrah is a voracious thick-skinned black grape that can survive in just about any given circumstance. The grape is now planted in almost every area imaginable, from counties such as Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino, to larger-scale areas like Monterey, Central Coast and Sierra Foothills, and all the way up to the Rogue Valley in Oregon and Columbia Valley in Washington State.

According to a recent report by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, 110,000 tons of Syrah or Shiraz grapes were crushed in 2003--an incredible leap from the 2,000 tons crushed just a decade earlier.

One interesting topic that has not been focused on nearly enough is characteristics of Syrah planted in cool-climate areas. In California, cool-climate refers to winegrowing regions that are largely affected by maritime influence and temperatures that commonly fall under the Region I heading on the UC Davis chart of heat summation. Along with an array of choice of clones or field selections, rootstock and soil conditions to work with, vineyards planted in cooler climate regions give farmers the luxury of working with a relatively longer growing season that allow grape clusters more time to ripen, mature and fully develop.

Northern Rhône

There's no doubt that the Australian style of working with Syrah or Shiraz grapes has permeated the psyche of producers throughout California. The cool-climate approach, on the other hand, has been a particular draw to vintners whose goal has been to make wines in more of a style like that of France's Northern Rhône.

In addition to striving for the highest quality possible, the French connection does make sense from a climatic standpoint. For instance, vineyards in Côte Rôtie, Hermitage and Cornas--the most powerful areas that specialize in working with the varietal--are naturally affected in the late afternoon by cool breezes blowing off the Rhône River or by even harsher currents from the mistral winds that come from the Alps. In California, the biggest factor is the ocean itself.

Stylistically, cool-climate Syrahs made in California are uniquely different from those made in warmer areas. As a rule, wines produced further inland tend to be bigger, fatter, richer, and often feature jammy flavors of blueberry, raspberry and cherry. It is a style that consumers have grown accustom to drinking.

Cool-climate Syrahs are much more restrained. The wines are very aromatic and feature classical floral notes of lavender or violet, smoked meats, leather and tobacco. Intensive, concentrated flavors include black fruit, cherries, ripe blackberries and plums; white pepper and high tone spices are common characteristics. Overall, it is a much more elegant style, but one that takes some getting used to--especially for people not associated with tasting wines from the Northern Rhône.

Carneros

Much of the original concept of working with Syrah grapes in cooler areas began in Carneros, the large appellation that stretches along the San Pablo Bay estuary between southern Sonoma and Napa counties. Influences from both the bay and the ocean cause a typical day in the region to be foggy in the morning and windy in the afternoon.

Winegrower Michael Havens of Havens Wine Cellars first fell in love with the idea of working with Syrah in a cooler area when he visited the wine producing regions in Switzerland along the Rhône River. "The wine there was exotic and sexy as hell, but the region was cold and very windy," he said. "The experience got me really interested in what could be done with the varietals in California."

After returning to Napa in 1988, Havens was approached by vineyard owner Lee Hudson, who began looking into the idea of planting the varietal at his vineyard after tasting a number of high-quality Northern Rhône wines. With the encouragement of Havens, the initial vineyard block was planted in the drafty area next to highway 121 near di Rosa Preserve.

Havens eventually went on to release the first Carneros Syrah in 1991, and still works with fruit from newer blocks planted in the rockier, more volcanic soil at Hudson Vineyard. Other fine Syrah producers that source fruit from the vineyard include John Kongsgaard, Neyers Winery, Nickel & Nickel, and Lewis Cellars.

Jason Kesner, vineyard manager at the Hudson Vineyard, oversees what has now become 40 acres of Syrah planted on the property. According to him, the key to farming the varietal in a cool climate is the balance between fruit and vigor. It is not uncommon to drop half the crop during growing season in order to concentrate the flavors.

"It's pretty much a blood bath when you go out and start thinning. It just looks nasty," he said. "The workers think you are crazy when they look at the amount of clusters that you asked them to drop on the ground!"

Once the strong winds reaches 10 miles per hour in the vineyard, the leaves begin closing, a process that helps preserve the acidity and flavors inside each cluster. Clones worked with include Syrah Noir, Estrella River, 877, French ENTAV clones 470,383, 174, and two different selections from John Alban's vineyard near Paso Robles.

During harvest, grapes are picked between late September through November. Kesner says that it is common for the clusters to crash towards the end of the season. "The clusters can look pretty ugly when you pick them. It scared the hell out of people that haven't had experience in working with the grape in these conditions!" he said.

One of the most extreme plantings can be found in west Carneros at the hilly Wildcat Mountain Vineyard, an isolated site near the Infineon Raceway south of Sonoma. Developed in 1997 by Steve MacRostie, winemaker and owner of MacRostie Winery, and property owners Susan and Steve Lilly, the hillside vineyard is planted on fairly minimal soil comprised of red pebbly clay loam with decomposed volcanic basalt.

At 500 to 700 feet of elevation, the 7.5 acres of Syrah are planted in two separate blocks that are exposed to fog and wind on a daily basis. To withstand the conditions, MacRostie chose to work with Syrah Noir field selections, 110-14 rootstock, and a standard vertical bilateral cordon trellis system.

Despite the harsh natural elements, the vines remain vigorous. Techniques used to control additional growth include: leaving kicker canes attached to the plants until bloom to slow down the growth; eliminating the use of water until July; allowing cover crops to grow instead of tilling; and aggressively pruning the plant for lower yields. As a result, the vineyard produces an average of 3 to 31/2 tons of prime fruit per acre.

"I would attribute my decision to plant Syrah to the spirit of adventure and a gut feeling that Syrah was the new frontier for winemaking," said MacRostie. "So far I've learned that the varietal is not bashful no matter where you put it!"

Other fine wine producers working with Syrah grapes from Carneros include Truchard, Cline, Cuvaison, Gloria Ferrer, Ramey, Lost Canyon Winery, Hyde de Villaine, and Carneros Creek.

Santa Rita Hills

Further south, another exciting Syrah region is the Santa Rita Hills AVA in Santa Barbara County. Located between Lompoc and Buellton at the western end of Santa Ynez Valley, the region features a unique east-west mountain range formation and a series of low hills that partially obstructs the direct flow of breezes in from the ocean 10 miles away.

Because of this location, the vineyards, hills, slopes and valleys that sculpt the appellation are strongly influenced by fog that can linger until late morning. This is a dramatic contrast to the much warmer segment of eastern Santa Ynez Valley.

At the base of the Pursimi Mountain range, Melville Winery began planting Syrah at its Santa Rita Hills estate vineyard in 1998. As with their vineyard blocks of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, clonal diversity and meticulous vineyard management has been their trademark since the beginning.

The main clones used at the estate are Estrella River, Durell and clone 1. Vines are primarily planted at 8'x 3' spacing; there is also a smaller .25 acre parcel that features high density 4'x 3' spacing.

Winemaker Greg Brewster looks at the comparison between Syrahs produced in warmer and cooler regions in terms of a color spectrum. "To me, cool-climate Syrah ranges from bright red to darkish red, not blue to black. While it does lean towards the elegant, feminine side, it can also be very hedonistic and playful like a rustic Pinot Noir."

Unlike the estate Pinot Noirs he makes for the winery, Brewster uses no new oak on the Syrah. "Personally, I don't see any reason to be heavy handed with these grapes, the flavors are big enough already. If anything, we are trying to just showcase the natural bright fruit characteristics the grape is known for. The varietal is its own animal!"

Jaffurs Winery, another local Santa Barbara producer, sources fruit from Melville's estate vineyard. At the 2004 Hospice du Rhône festival, winemaker Craig Jaffurs poured his latest release of the vineyard designate and another one he makes with grapes from the warmer Thompson Vineyards near Los Alamos. Both are 2002 vintage.

Despite using similar winemaking techniques, the flavor profiles of the two wines were distinctively different. The Thompson was full-bodied with flavors of sweet cherry, black plum, and a distinctive note of eucalyptus. Melville was leaner, darker, more aromatic, and filled with bright fruit flavors of wild berries, cherries, pepper and other spices. "It's a flavor profile that only a well farmed, cool climate vineyard can provide," said Jaffurs regarding the Melville wine.

There are other notable Syrah plantings in the appellation. Near Melville, the Rancho Santa Rosa site is home to the new production facility for Foley Winery and a new vineyard featuring eight acres of Syrah. Across the valley, Lafond Winery has separate blocks of the varietal planted on each side of the Santa Ynez River. The sections on the north side features Estrella clones grafted to Chenin Blanc roots originally planted in 1972; the larger planting on the southern side features clone 1 planted in 1997. Nearby, the Evan's Ranch has a number of different blocks used by Gainey Vineyards for its Rhône-style blend Triada.

However, not all plantings have worked inside the AVA. For instance, the 10 acres of Syrah planted in 1998 at Fess Parker's Ashley's Vineyard was recently grafted over to Chardonnay.At the most western location in the entire valley that was regularly affected by cold swales, the grapes had trouble ripening.

"When you are on the edge like that vineyard is, you are always taking a risk. For us, it is a great place for growing Pinot Noir and many different white wines, unfortunately not with Syrah," said winemaker Blair Fox. "It is just too cold."

Sonoma Coast

Higher elevations make the isolated northern section of Sonoma County's Sonoma Coast appellation another interesting place to grow cool-climate Syrah. With plantings ranging between 900 to 1,500 feet, many of these sites are either at or above the fog line. However, much like the Northern Rhône area, they too are affected by powerful wind (in this case from the ocean) each afternoon. As a result, daytime temperature can drop by 40 degrees by late afternoon.

When Carolyn Coryelle purchased a prime spot for growing grapes near Jenner, her first thought was to plant Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, varietals the region is well known for. But, after learning that there was already too much Chardonnay on the market and that Pinot Noir was one of the most difficult grapes to work with, she chose a different focus altogether and began planting Syrah in the late 1990s.

Directly influenced by poor rocky soils and powerful breezes, the Coryelle Fields Vineyard features almost six acres of vines planted in three separate blocks at varying degrees of slope. Mike Lancaster, proprietor and winemaker for Tin Barn Vineyards, has been buying fruit from this unique site since 2000. To him, the characteristic of the region really stands out in the flavors of the wine he makes.

According to Lancaster, the flavor profile has tended to go through cycles with each vintage: first, bright fruit flavors really standout during crush; second, the flavors disappearing when in barrel; and third, the flavors eventually resurface with more complexity a few months after the wine is bottled. "I get surprised each time," said Lancaster, who recently released 350 cases of the 2002 vintage of this wine.

Further north near Sea Ranch, brothers Nick and Andy Peay have been developing another cold-climate vineyard that features 14 acres of Syrah. "The whole reason we planted the grape is because we like drinking quality wines from the Northern Rhône. From a business standpoint, we needed to find the optimum area to grow the grape and the optimum clones to work with. We figured people who wanted to buy fruit would appear later," said Andy Peay, who's family now makes wine under the Peay Vineyard label and sells grapes to premium producers such as Edmunds St. John and Renard.

Other cool-climate Syrah planting in the area include Ehren Jordan's Failla estate vineyard near Gualala; Al and Virginia Rago's Que Syrah Vineyard in Occidental; Dutton-Goldfield's Cherry Ridge Vineyard in one of the chilliest parts of Green Valley in western Russian River Valley; and Steve William's Broken Leg Vineyard, an isolated site ten miles west of Philo in Mendocino County, which features Syrah and Viognier plantings that are co-fermented to make a special vineyard designate by Copain Wine Cellars in Santa Rosa.

Bright Future

Of course, uniqueness does come with a price tag. Most of the cool-climate Syrahs start around $25 and go as high as $125 for a bottle of John Kongsgaard's Hudson Vineyard designate from Carneros. As in many cases with premium priced wines, it is often hard to translate value except when it applied to personal palates. By no means do we have a grip on the ultimate potential, distinctive flavor profiles, complexity, longevity and overall sophistication of wines made with cool-climate Syrah grapes. That will come with age as the vines continue to mature in their specific settings.

In the meantime, however, we do have the luxury of continually tasting new releases and hearing from the producers themselves--in particular, the ones that separate their wines on a philosophical level from those made with the same varietal in the warmer, more expansive areas throughout California. Expect an exciting ride with the use of this varietal for decades to come! wbm