It produces tannic wines with a spicy, plummy flavour. The grape originated as a cross of Syrah pollen germinating a Peloursin plant. On some occasions, Peloursin and Syrah vines may be called Petite Sirah, usually because the varieties are extremely difficult to distinguish in old age.

Here we go again, for years I looked forward to the day I could have my own organically grown Petite Sirah aging in the wine cellar with the expectations of widespread blending possibilities especially with our Zinfandel. However in our first blending trials over the past two years, our Petite Sirah has not found widespread use as an addition to our other wines especially but ironically our Zins. So our 2008 vintage has already been bottled and will soon be released.

In the Sierra Foothills, Petite Sirah is often made so tannic, so inky, so dense and so high in alcohol that you can always tell during a wine festival when a wine taster had just tasted Petite Sirah: smile full of purple teeth, slurred speech, glass stained, coated and with sediment. A cult has developed around this colorful grape and many wineries in the foothills offer the wine.

Our rendition of this wine sports all the density and beauty of color, the intensity of flavors but stops short of being high in alcohol and teeth-coating astringent in favor of refreshment. Humble in its brute strength, our first offering of Petite Sirah all that’s essential to this varietal in an approachable classy style.