Syrah is a French variety from the Rhone valley, a cross of Mondeuse Blanche and Dureza. California's bearing acreage roughly doubled from 6,552 in 2000 to a peak near 14,716 five years ago, then eased slightly to 13,517 acres in 2025. It is grown in 45 counties with no single stronghold: San Luis Obispo, Madera, and Monterey each hold around a tenth of the total, spanning coastal and Central Valley sites. The wine is dark, peppery, and full-bodied, made as a varietal red or in Rhone-style blends.
What kind of grape this is
- Species
- VITIS VINIFERA LINNÉ SUBSP. SATIVA (DE CANDOLLE) HEGI
- Berry color
- NOIR
- Country of origin
- FRANCE
- Parentage
- MONDEUSE BLANCHE×DUREZA
- Synonyms
- 102
- Approved on a US label
- Syrah (Shiraz)
- FPS selections
- 18
confirmed by DNA markers
names this grape is known by elsewhere, per VIVC
the names TTB permits on a bottle
distinct clones and selections held at UC Davis
Registries
What is published
Counts describe what this atlas holds for Syrah, not what California grows. A zero is a published answer: it means the source names the grape and reports nothing under it, or does not name it at all.
- 1,103
county-years of acreage
45 counties, 13,517 bearing acres in 2025
- 442
district-years of crush
17 of 17 crush districts, 26 crop years
- 442
district-years of Brix
tonnage-weighted at the crusher, Crush Report Table 3
- 63
producers in this atlas
producers whose curated wine list names it — a curated roster of 2,772 producers, not a census of California
- 213
regions with a maturity date
modeled, 46 years
Acreage in California
loading acreage…
Counties and concentration
loading concentration…
Where it is planted
Reported by county — never by AVA
loading plantings…
Share of each county's vineyard
Reported by county — never by AVA
loading county shares…
The counties
Reported by county — never by AVA
loading counties…
Tonnage and price by district
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
All 17 districts on one axis →
loading crush report…
Brix at the crusher
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
loading must chemistry…
Modeled ripening date, year by year
loading maturity model…
Growers in this atlas's roster
- Alban Vineyardsbottled
Winery · Lorraine, Reva, Seymour's and 1 more
- Alexander Valley Vineyardsbottled
Winery · Alexander School Reserve Alluvia, Homestead Red Blend, Syrah and 1 more
- Alpha Omegabottled
Winery · Spectra Syrah
- Andrew Murray Vineyardsbottled
Winery · Estate Syrah
- AVIVObottled
Winery · Red
- Balestrieri Family Farmbottled
Winery · BFF Red Blend, Reserve Syrah
- Beaulieu Vineyardbottled
Winery · Maestro Beaurouge, Maestro Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah Blend
- Bedrock Wine Co.bottled
Winery · Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah, Hudson Vineyards Syrah, Old Hill Ranch
- Bel Vinobottled
Winery · Sparkling Syrah, Syrah
- Bernardo Winerybottled
Winery · Syrah
- Booker Vineyardbottled
Winery · Fracture
- Brassfield Estatebottled
Winery · Perspectives Syrah
and 51 more in the roster.
63 of this atlas’s 2772 curated producers, 40 of them with a named wine in the atlas made from it. A roster is not a census — this is who the atlas has entered, not who grows the grape in California.