Petite Sirah is not Petite Syrah.

Durif is Petite Sirah and Syrah is Petite Syrah. Confused? Well let’s clear up what the heck are Petite Sirah and Petite Syrah.

Let’s start with the old world. Petite Syrah was the name given to some Syrah plants in the Rhone that produced smaller berries. Pretty simple there, petite = small.

Now, the first immigrants to bring Syrah to California in the 1870’s noticed that the grapes were smaller than they were used to—probably owing to differences in climate, exposure and soils—so they called these Syrah grapes Petite Syrah. Petite = small. Then, no one thought about it much for 100 years.

Okay, so petite means small, that’s fine. Does Sirah = Syrah? Nope. Petite Sirah is actually Durif. (Aren’t French words supposed to be lyrical and pretty?) Anyways, Durif is an accidental cross of Syrah and Peloursin that occurred in a field in France somewhere and was discovered by a guy named Durif. He named the new grape after himself and released it to the world.

The resulting grape was noted to be vigorous and resistant to mildew. So they planted some more. Then some immigrants brought it to California. Durif grew well in California and around the turn of the century was widely planted. From there on out Petite Sirah ebbed and flowed in popularity, hitting a peak in 1976 and a low in 1990.

Currently, Petite Sirah is enjoying some popularity. There are a lot of old plantings, which mean that the vines are older and producing great juice. Also, that means the plantings are paid off and the wine can be sold for a pretty nice value. Petite Sirah is some great wine for the price. It’s got some big tannins, a very lively acidic backbone which has blueberry, plum and black pepper on the nose. The wine has a firm structure, but generally only a medium finish.

The French more or less abandoned Petite Sirah, which means that most of the planting are here in America. If you think about it, it’s kind of a great American wine: it’s tough, it’s strong, it’s unpretentious and it has an ambiguous cultural heritage. Oh, it’s pretty inexpensive. So, it’s not Syrah, it’s just good wine and you can get a great bottle of it for under $15.

Now just memorize these fun facts and recite it at a wine party, you’ll sound really smart.

California Wine, Cheap Wine, Red Wine California Wine, petite sirah, Petite Syrah, Red Wine, Syrah

Wine Club Insider back with you…

I’m a day late for my regular Monday post, but this time, it’s truly not my fault!

For those of you who follow weather at all, you may have noticed the famous words “winter storm warning” flashing across much of the PNW this past weekend?

Yeah. I was in Pocatello Idaho for business, and on the drive home Monday night, we were hammered! And I mean seriously! The interstate was closed as two semis were blown off the road… one of our convoy of cars was blown into a concrete divider, and when we realized we couldn’t see the hood ornaments on our rigs because of the white out conditions, we were forced to stop and spend the night (and a fair degree of yesterday) somewhere in south west Montana, that needless to say, lacked a few of life’s essentials, such as wifi, or even cell service. It was like being in a black hole, but they did have wine, so we survived somehow.

That said, I wanted to share one of life’s great joys: taking previously tee-totaling, “on-a-high-horse” non-participators, and turning them in to high quality winos like the rest of us! (that’s wine appreciators, by the way).

Yup, my brother in law, a bit of a picky eater/drinker, I must say, has been swayed over to the dark side (as in RED wine) and is now avidly participating, to the point where he gifted me with a bottle of wine yesterday. No big deal? Maybe, but this was a bottle he tried at a restaurant, and liked it so much he purchased an extra bottle to bring home!

And this wasn’t some phoofy plonk, either… it was actually a 2004 Carmen Reserve Petite Syrah (!) from the Valle del Maipo in Chile! This baby is a monster! Dark, ruby color, tons of berry, this is a big, bad boy. The thing that’s cool is how many of us, while out for diner with friends, would order a Petite Syrah(!) from Chile for the table, untasted? Next thing you know, he’ll be in a few good wine clubs, as well!

Yup… score another one for the “good” guys!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out.

Fine Wine, International Wine, Red Wine, Wine Club, Wine Education, Wine Reviews, Wine Tasting Chilean wine, Maipo Valley, new wine lovers, Petite Syrah