Petite Sirah: the quest for respect worthy of its nobility
“Petite Sirah has still not found great and universal acceptance by the American palate, but this is a wine to watch for.”
“Despite its popularity, Petite Sirah is an exceptionally rare grape with less than 10,000 planted acres worldwide, growing mainly in California.”
Underdog California Varietal
Long in California history, the Petite Sirah (PET) grape has been misunderstood and underappreciated, playing a hidden role in the blends of many popular wines, but, rarely a star on its own. Difficult to cultivate, Petite Sirah was steadily replaced in vineyards, and acreage planted to the grape declined for decades, until 1995. Many “old-vine” Petite Sirah vineyards were sadly lost forever.
While many wines are made from more common varietals grown in several countries around the world, Petite Sirah remains virtually a unique CA grape varietal.
We fell in love with Petite Sirah because it has the flavor intensity, wide range of expression, age-worthiness, and old vine American history that immediately intrigued us.
“We firmly believe that Petite Sirah deserves to be discovered anew, putting aside expectations of old: the Renaissance is underway...”
Renaissance in Petite Sirah:
A “new” style of PET has emerged: Vineyard driven, food-friendly yet age-worthy, nuanced; and many are truly hand-crafted, focused and elegant.
When we began in 2003, PET was far out of favor. However, in the past few years, an exciting winemaker driven Renaissance has begun and both the quantity and quality of well crafted Petite Sirah is at an all-time high.
Jordan MacKay, in Decanter’s 2004 California Supplement, writes:
“…it has humble roots; its rag to riches to rags story illuminates the underdog grape with a Dickensian glow, suggesting a modesty sorely lacking in flashier trends.”
Frank Prial, in a 2003 New York Times article about Petite Sirah, “A robust red goes straight to the point,” writes:
“If it didn’t have such a French-sounding name, petite sirah might have become the all- American grape we mistakenly think zinfandel to be.”
The International Wine Review, September 2005, puts PET's nobility in perspective:
“Petite Sirah often has a longer finish than most California Syrah, more fruit than Cabernet Sauvignon, and more complexity and balance than Zinfandel.”
James Laube, in Wine Spectator’s 2011, writes:
“California’s underdog grape can do amazing things in the right place and the right hands ”
Robert Parker, April 2015, writes:
“Petite Syrah... is the quintessential anti-oxidant among red wines and has almost immortal aging potential.”
We are deeply grateful to the Concannon, Foppiano, Bogle, Ridge, Stags Leap and the other families who have championed PET over the years when it wasn't sexy or rewarding. It is because of you that we are here.
For more about the history and evolution of Petite Sirah, please see the wonderful advocacy organization, PS I Love You Web site for more information.