London Wine Fair to celebrate Syrah

This May’s London Wine Fair is to champion Syrah and Grüner Veltliner in partnership with Wine Grapes’ authors Julia Harding MW and Dr José Vouillamoz.

The logo for Wine Grapes at the London Wine Fair mirrors the branding for the book, which was written by Jancis Robinson MW, Julia Harding MW and Dr José Vouillamoz

The new initiative will see the authors present a masterclass and tutored tasting on Syrah and Grüner Veltliner at the exhibition on Monday 18 May, which will also feature some of these grapes genetic relatives, including Pascal Jamet’s extremely rare Dureza – Syrah’s recently rescued parent. 

Additionally, Joe Wadsack, wine presenter on BBC Food & Drink, will select his top Syrah and Grüner Veltliners from the show each day and present them at a daily slot – “Joe’s Nose” in Speaker’s Corner, while the fair will feature 60 Syrah and 40 Grüner Veltliners, all sourced from exhibitors.

Speaking to the drinks business yesterday, show director Ross Carter said that he had decided to add this element to the fair due to a desire “to create content that celebrated something within the industry”.

While he had considered selecting a specific country, he said that such an approach “would alienate more producers than it would include”, and consequently decided to focus on grapes – particularly at least one international variety.

Wine Grapes was published in 2012, and claims to be “the most complete guide to vine varieties and their wines ever.”

Syrah was selected because “it is a grape on every wine list” said Carter, adding that his advisory board had also put forward the grape because it was “up and coming”.

As for the Grüner, he explained that the variety was suggested by the authors of Wine Grapes, who include Jancis Robinson MW, a well-known advocate of this Austrian grape.

According to Carter, the initiative will run in future London Wine Fairs, with each exhibition highlighting one well-known and widely planted variety, along with another but more obscure grape. There will always be one red and one white.

More broadly, Carter also told db about the fair, “Everything we introduced last year remains in 2015 and there’s more being introduced… I think we deliver more content than any other event globally.”

Wine Grapes was published in 2012, and claims to be “the most complete guide to vine varieties and their wines ever.”