(Wines&Vines) - Syrah, touted as a potential signature red grape for British Columbia’s Southern Okanagan, and a focus of presentations at this year’s British Columbia Wine Grape Council meeting, faces challenges.

More than 546 acres of Syrah grow in B.C., where it forms a cornerstone of Rhone-style wines and Australian-style Shiraz from producers across the province.

Vines at risk

But a large proportion of vines—perhaps as many as 200 acres—are at risk of being pulled out due to a genetic trait in two specific clones that causes the vines to decline and die.

“It’s really a genetic problem,” Dr. Patrick Vuchot, who oversees research and development activities as director of the Institut Rhodanien in Orange, France, told winemakers in response to a question from Howard Soon, the veteran winemaker at Andrew Peller Ltd.’s operations in the Okanagan, during the closing plenary session at the recent B.C. conference (see “British Columbia Winemakers Talk Tannin”).