According to Hugh Johnson in The Story of Wine, Syrah has been cultivated in the Northern Rhône Valley since at least Roman times, with some historians suggesting even earlier origins. The steep granite slopes of Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie have been producing wine for over 2,000 years.
As documented in James Halliday's Wine Atlas of Australia, James Busby brought Syrah cuttings to Australia, along with over 500 other vine varieties. These cuttings were planted at the Sydney Botanic Gardens and later distributed to growers.
The Barossa Valley, South Australia, was settled by German and English immigrants who established vineyards. Some of these original vines, planted in the 1840s-1860s, survive today as "old vine" Shiraz — among the oldest Syrah/Shiraz vines in the world.
Penfolds releases the first vintage of Grange (originally Grange Hermitage), created by winemaker Max Schubert. Initially criticized, it would become Australia's most celebrated wine and demonstrate to the world what Australian Shiraz could achieve.
DNA research by Carole Meredith at UC Davis conclusively proves Syrah's parentage as a cross of Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche, ending centuries of speculation about Persian origins.