Syrah Is Like A Violin, And Shiraz Is Like A Fiddle (But Sometimes Not)

If you've ever asked what the difference between a violin and a fiddle is, you may have been subjected to the pithy response: "The way it's played."

I guess it's not an out-and-out untruth, but it's also not the clearest path to the real answer, which is that "violin" and "fiddle" are two names for the same thing: the string instrument that was developed in 16th-century Europe and is played with a bow. Classical musicians usually refer to their instrument as a violin, and most folk players call it a fiddle. But if an Irish or Appalachian fiddle player chooses to call her fiddle a violin, regardless of how she plays it, she's not going to be wrong.

In the wine world, the French grape variety syrah is a violin, and shiraz (as it is known in Australia and other parts of the New World) is a fiddle. They are two names for the same grape, of course, a so-called international variety that does well in many parts of the world. Just as Itzhak Perlman plays Bach's Concerto in D Minor on his violin in a different style than Liz Carroll plays "The Chicago Reel" on her fiddle, syrah and shiraz can be notably different styles of wine.

Both styles are welcome, in music as well as in wine. In fact, I have seen Perlman playing klezmer (another shiraz style of music that features that bowed string instrument), and although it is not the style he is known for, when you're good, you're good.

Continue reading about syrah and shiraz in the Chicago Tribune.