What to cook with Syrah? Pepper, game and a little fire.

Short answer: Syrah goes best with peppery, smoky and meaty food: venison or steak with pepper sauce, lamb, game, barbecue and charcuterie. Peppery, Rhône-style Syrah suits classic dishes; riper, fruit-forward Shiraz can handle sweeter barbecue sauces. The pairings below are by Andreas Larsson, Best Sommelier of the World 2007, and Fredrik Lindfors, Best Sommelier of the Nordics 2017.

Why Syrah loves food

Andreas describes Syrah as peppery, spicy, meaty and gamey. Those savory notes are exactly what make it so easy to pair. Fredrik explains a trick sommeliers use all the time: mirroring. When a wine has a clear character, such as black pepper, it often works to bring that same flavor into the dish.

The northern Rhône is the birthplace of the grape. On the hill of Hermitage, Syrah makes elegant, peppery and complex wines with firm tannins. Traditionally they were tough and austere when young and needed years in the cellar to soften. Outside France the same grape is often called Shiraz, especially in Australia and South Africa.

Mature Hermitage with venison au poivre and duck-fat fries

Andreas brings a 2011 Hermitage from his own cellar, a wine that has had time to mellow. He cooks a loin of venison in a classic French way: seared in oil, finished with butter and shallots, flambéed with cognac and served with a pepper sauce of red, green, white and black peppercorns, juniper, white wine, cream and two kinds of mustard.

His tip for pepper and red wine: he boils the peppercorns for ten minutes first, so you keep the flavor without the fierce heat, and the cream rounds off the rest. Very strong pepper, such as Sichuan pepper, can make a red wine taste more tannic and slightly bitter. For really spicy food he would rather pour an off-dry Riesling.

The fries get the same care. Andreas blanches the potatoes in salted water with a little vinegar to keep them firm, lets them dry, then fries them in duck fat, first at a lower and then at a higher temperature, much like the Belgians do.

McLaren Vale Shiraz with BBQ chicken wings

Fredrik goes modern: a young Shiraz from McLaren Vale in South Australia. Australian Shiraz is known for big, bold wines with sweet dark fruit and a hint of licorice, but this one is sleeker and leaner, with a touch of pepper. McLaren Vale is warm, yet the nearby sea helps to moderate it.

He pairs it with comfort food: oven-roasted chicken wings brushed with a homemade barbecue sauce of ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, honey, fresh ginger, Worcestershire sauce, white wine vinegar, smoked paprika, syrup and a sprig of thyme. Sweetness in food can make a dry, austere red taste more tannic and more alcoholic, so he chooses a fruit-forward wine that can handle it.

Syrah or Shiraz: what the label tells you

The two names are the same grape, but they often hint at a style. Outside France, a wine labeled Syrah usually points to a more Rhône-like, peppery style. A wine labeled Shiraz is more likely to be fruit-forward, in a New World style.

A bonus Shiraz from Stellenbosch

Between the cooking, a third wine comes up from the cellar: a Shiraz from Stellenbosch in South Africa, served with charcuterie. Andreas explains that South Africa has long sat between the fruit bombs of Australia and the Old World, and today makes everything from cooler-climate to rich, opulent styles. Fredrik also tips Swartland as a region to explore for Syrah.

Venison or wings: who wins?

Expect plenty of banter: a new poster for the show, a heated debate about French fries, a very generous glass of cognac and a flambé that nearly takes Andreas' eyebrows with it. Andreas trusts his classic French cooking, while Fredrik is sure the crew will fight over his wings. Watch the episode to find out which Syrah pairing the crew picks.