Take a sip of Shiraz and your mouth will feel bold and heavy, your tongue will be hit with grit, probably from the grape skins. It's the perfect medium of sweet and dry, and full of tannins making it quite juicy. Made with black fruits... cherries, plums, blackberries, currants, and dates. Cocoa and tobacco are also common. It smells a little peppery, which adds to the earthiness. It does not feel too heavy, like a cabernet or merlot. Some winemakers use black olive pits that add to the perfect bitterness of the Shiraz wine. Originating from Shiraz, Iran, shiraz grapes are now grown in South Africa, Australia, France, etc., and are commonly named Syrah.
Okay, take a sip of Shiraz and let's talk rugs!
Classifying rugs as Shiraz is misleading; according to several authors no actual rugs were made in Shiraz itself. The word came to represent rugs made by nomadic tribes passing through the Fars region of ancient Persia. The most popular would have been the Qashqa'i, Khamseh and Luri peoples. In the 16th century there were flocks of sheep in the region, luckily for weavers, they provided ample amounts of wool. Their rugs will hit you with bold colors, like wine... consisting of deep reds, blues, greens, yellows, something that reminds you of the fall when leaves are changing and the skies at dusk are a dark blue. Some say these rugs boast more birds and animals than any other antique rug. The pole medallion in the center is common, where the ends of the design extend vertically like a pole. The use of a pear pattern is frequent and sometimes morphs into the form of a rooster, which people in the region used to personify the devil, for good luck in deterring the evil eye. Many times, the center field contains diagonal stripes with flowers sprinkled throughout. Almost always, there are multiple, heavily decorated borders. Caucasian influence is also quite dominant as nomads settled and used geometric patterns in the rugs.
Shiraz was the city of nightingales, wine, precious treasures and fields of flowers, the rugs that came out of it surely did reflect the landscape. So maybe Shiraz wine and rugs do overlap, not just including the occasional spill.
