The Wine Named After a City That Bans Alcohol

What city in Iran gave its name to a popular kind of red wine?

Here's a trivia question that stops people in their tracks: What city in Iran gave its name to a popular kind of red wine?

Iran. A country where alcohol is strictly prohibited under Islamic law. A country where producing, selling or consuming alcohol can result in serious legal consequences. And yet — one of the world's most beloved red wines carries the name of one of its most ancient cities.

Shiraz: A City Older Than the Wine

The city of Shiraz in southern Iran has been inhabited for at least 4,000 years. It was once the capital of Persia, a centre of poetry, philosophy and culture — home to the great Persian poets Hafez and Saadi, whose tombs still draw visitors today. For much of its history, Shiraz was also famous for something else entirely: its grapes.

The Syrah grape — known as Shiraz in Australia and South Africa — is believed by many historians to have originated in or around the Shiraz region of Persia. Ancient Persian wine culture was sophisticated and widespread, and the wines of Shiraz were traded across the ancient world long before Islam changed everything in the 7th century AD.

How the Name Travelled the World

The grape made its way to France — where it became known as Syrah and found its spiritual home in the Rhone Valley — and later to Australia, where it was renamed Shiraz and became the country's most planted red grape variety. Today, Australian Shiraz is one of the most recognised wine styles in the world.

The irony is complete: the city that gave the grape its most famous name now sits in a country where that wine cannot legally be made, sold or drunk. The vineyards of ancient Persia are long gone. But the name lives on in every bottle of Shiraz poured at dinner tables around the world — including, quite possibly, at your next trivia night.