Petite Sirah, the Glenn Danzig of Forgotten Grapes

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Petite Sirah:

The Original Misfit

Speaking of Syrah Petite Sirah is not some smaller or “light” version of Syrah, nor is it a wine made from Syrah grapes or smaller versions of Syrah grapes. Petite Sirah is its own individual varietal, and any Petite Sirah wine is made from 100% Petite Sirah grapes – no Syrah included at all.

That being said, there is more of a connection between Petite Sirah and Syrah between just a homophonic name (that’s homophonic, people, not homophobic; look it up). Petite Sirah is actually a hybrid grape, created when the pollen of Syrah vines accidentally germinated a vine of Peloursin, another Forgotten Grape sometimes found in the Rhone region of France (and Sardinia and Burgundy – stay tuned for more on Peloursin in a future Forgotten Grapes posting). So technically, Syrah is the parent plant of Petite Sirah although the vines and grapes of both have evolved in very different ways. To make matter even more confusing, French winemakers in the Rhone valley sometimes refer to Syrah vines that produce bunches of small grapes as “Petite Syrah” and some of the original immigrant winemakers who planted the first Syrah in California back in 1878 would refer to the vines that produced lesser crops as “Petite Syrah” as well. Actual Petite Sirah wasn’t planted in California until 1884.

Are we clear? No? Good.

The aberrant Peloursin vines germinated by the Syrah pollen were originally found by a French botanist named Francois Durif, who decided to name the newly produced plant after himself. Hence the reason that Petite Sirah can also be called Durif.

So, what exactly makes Petite Sirah/Duirf like this mystery man Glen Danzing? Well, first and foremost, both come from Lodi. Sure, Glen’s Lodi is in New Jersey and Petite Sirah’s is in California (the Lodi area in the Sierra Foothills is considered to be a veritable Mecca for Petite Sirah). Both come in compact little packages (Petite Sirah being petite – duh! – and Glen Danzig rumored to be only 5’ 4”) but pack a whole lot of whallop in their packages. I mean, take a look at that picture: Danzig’s been a muscle guy for years and he’s also a very serious martial artist. And of course, if you’ve ever heard him sing – either in the original Misfits or as part of his 1980’s metal band Danzig – then you know there’s a whole lot of intensity stuffed into those five-and-a-third feet.

But enough about GD, let’s talk about PS. Petite Sirah packs its own punch, as Petite Sirah wines tend to very exceptionally tannic and have very, very dark colors to them. They are actually prized as a blending grape because of this, bringing color and backbone to weaker wines and boosting Zinfandels so that those wines don’t become too jammy. But Petite Sirahs make for a fine drink on their own if you are looking for something big, rugged, and heavy, with lots of dark, dark fruit, smoke, tar, and vine on it. That might not sound too delicious to you at first, but let’s face it, we all find ourselves in those moods (or with those dishes) where we crave something a little dark. Like the sullen teenager who tired of Poison and Motley Crüe then put on Danzig III: How The Gods Kill, we all need to acknowledge our dark side every once in a while. And that’s exactly what this week’s Forgotten Grape, Petite Sirah is here for – to help us confront, examine, and get in touch with our dark side. Even when it comes to wine...

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What It Looks Like, What It Smells Like, and What It Tastes Like

Petite Sirah looks like:

Petite Sirah smells like:

Petite Sirah tastes like:

Dark, deep, and big, Petite Sirah presents quite a few different scents on its nose. Black fruits are going to be a main aroma that will emerge from a glass of Petite Sirah: things like black cherries, plums, and darker, richer fruits. Many Petite Sirahs spend a lot of time in oak to soften their tannins, so a woody or even a vanilla scent might be available on the wine, as well as hints of smoke depending on how charred the inside of the barrel was. There should also be a very spicy component on the nose as well – hints of black pepper as well as nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, and a variety of other spices. Suffice to say, Petite Sirahs are cavalcades of aroma, and the higher the alcohol on the wine, the more scents you’re likely to uncover.

Lots and lots of dark, rich plums. Plum is almost always the main flavor component of a Petite Sirah, and a plum jam to that, as the wine tends to have very jammy, rich flavors similar to Zinfandels (it’s no surprise that vineyards of Petite Sirah are often studded with Zin vines as well). Often, the wines will have a very green flavor to them, or vinous as they call it, tasting very much like the vines the grapes came off of. The other major flavor component of a Petite Sirah is the high tannins the wine produces because of its small berries and high skin-to juice contact ratio. These are mouth-puckering wines, and the tannins should hit you like a slap in the face. Not a wine for the faint of heart, Petite Sirahs are big and bold and not overly complex, normally steamrolling you over with jammy black fruit and tannins before you get a chance to catch your breath.

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• I could spend hours laying out the long and complicated history of Petite Sirah, but the folks at P.S. I Love You, a Petite Sirah appreciation and advocacy society (as you’ll find out more about below) have done a much better job of it than I ever could. Click here to see their timeline.

• One thing I can tell you is that the parentage and origin of Petite Sirah lay under clouds and clouds of mystery and suspicion for years, until only recently when the mysteries of its origins were cleared up. For decades, rumors swirled about what exactly Petite Sirah was or was not: was it a native Californian grape? Was it descended or related to a nerly extinct French grape called Durif? Was Petit Sirah actually the grape Peloursin? What connection if any did it have to the actual Syrah grape itself? It wasn’t until 1997, when an ampelographer (basically, a wine historian and geneticist) from U.C. Davis named Dr. Carole Meredith began performing DNA analyses on some of California’s 3000+ acres of Petite Sirah. What he discovered was the Petite Sirah was in fact genetically identical to the French grape Durif and the names could be used synonymously (the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau initially agreed with him, making a recommendation in 2002 to allow winemakers to use Petite Sirah or Durif synonymously on their labels; however, a decision on that was postponed indefinitely, and still hasn’t been confirmed to this day). However, Dr. Meredith also discovered that about 10% of the Petite Sirah plantings in California weren’t Petite Sirah or Durif at all; they were Peloursin, one of the parent grapes of Petite Sirah and virtually indistinguishable from P.S. except through DNA testing.

• Petite Sirah these days is found primarily in California, where over 6000 acres of the grapes are planted and cultivated as single varietal wines (but also used for blending purposes as well). There are also plantings of the grape up and down the Pacific coast, from the Baja peninsula in the south up into Oregon and Washington. Arizona has even muscled in on Petite Sirah production, as have Maryland, West Virginia, and certain parts of Canada. Sadly, because of the different classifications of gapes, Durif has become virtually extinct in its homeland of France, but other countries around the world have picked up the slack in Petite Sirah production. Australia now stands only second to the U.S. in terms of its Petite Sirah bottlings; the grape was brought to the island continent in 1908 by famed viticulturist Francois de Castella, as a hearty Phylloxera-resistant vine after most of Australia’s vine crop was destroyed by the blight in the 1880’s. Now they are used in single varietal bottlings and also to produce tawny and vintage ports there. Petite Sirah is also grown in Chile, Brazil, and Argentina, and was re-introduced to
Israel by U.C. Davis Yair Margalit, who demonstrated to Israeli winemakers that
Petite Sirah could do more than jsut produce jug wine or add backbone and tannin
to inferior grapes and vintages.

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Fun Facts to Impress/Bore People At Parties

From Brein’s Brain to Your Plate

“Dude. Glenn Danzig. Nice. You’ve got me fired up about this week. So, first dish. Most people taste Petite Sirah and they think steak or something super hearty and gamey because of all the tannins, like venison or something. And those are right, but pretty obvious. What I’m looking for are dishes that bring out more of the subtle flavors in a Petite Sirah, those flavors you might not be looking for in the wine. So the first dish I’m thinking about is duck, but a Chinese Five-Spice duck. Classic roasted breast but covered in Five Spice. Because a lot of Petite Sirahs have a really spicy quality about them, a duck breast like that should really emphasize those flavors in the wine and bring out its spicy zest.”

“Okay, so the next thing I’m thinking is actually a pumpkin ravioli with fried sage and brown butter sauce on it. The sage is clerly going to go with the spiciness of the wine, and the sweet and savory combination of the pumpkin ravioli – make sure they’re not too sweet – should actually enhance the sweetness in the wine, as Petite Sirahs definitely do have a lot of sweetness to them. Plus, putting the brown butter sauce on top is going to add a charred or burned quality to the dish, even though it’s not really burned, which should bring out any smoke or toasty or charred flavors in the wine.”

“Now, the other major component of a Petite Sirah is all of those tannins, so you need a dish that’s going to balance out the tannins. And for me, something that works is sweet potatoes. I’m talking about a classic sweet potato mash or puree or casserole, like something you’d to during Thanksgiving or a holiday meal. The mellow earthiness of the sweet potatoes should cut rihgt through those tannins and counterbalance them, and the natural sugars in the yams should bring out any sweetness in the wine while also cutting through and mellowing any acids in it. You can even put marshmallows on top and it will totally enhance the dish. Seriously. Try it out and see for yourself.”

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Chef Brein Clements is the chef/owner of Restaurant Omakase in Riverside, CA, which is quickly becoming SoCal’s answer to El Bulli. Minus the molecular gastronomy. He began his cooking career at Domaine Chandon in the Napa Valley and moved on to become Chef de Cuisine at the famed Balboa Bay Club before opening his own restaurant. Plus he’s only 28. My man knows his wine and he knows his food. Each week he’ll provide ingredient and dish recommendations that match up well with the week’s forgotten grape. You should heed what he says. No, seriously, heed it.

2006 Cass Paso Robles Petite Sirah

Given that Petite Sirah seems to thrive in the Rhone-like conditions of California’s Central Coast (despite Petite Sirah/Durif not being classified as an official Rhone varietal), we turned to our old Friends at Cass Winery to point us toward their luscious Petite Sirah, and it certainly did not disappoint. Lots and lots of spice on the nose and just a touch of sweetness. We picked up nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar, molasses – honestly, at one point, it was like smelling fresh cinnamon toast with brown sugar first thing in the morning. The oak on this wine revealed itself as it opened up, but didn’t affect or mask the pure, big, rich, dark fruit to jammy plum flavors on the wine. A nice little kick of acidity on the finish keep things in the wine very nicely balanced. This was a really excellent quaff and very, very well done. You would never know that this was 15% ABV given how well it was balanced. Cass has this available on their website, and if you’d like to meet the folks from Cass in person, why not join us on our first-ever Forgotten Grapes Wine Tasting Weekend April 1-4, 2010. Cass is only one of the 13 wineries we’ll be tasting and touring at, and trust me, you do not want to miss it!

2003 Bella Vista Reserve Petite Syrah

It was way back in January of 2008 when we picked up our first bottle of Bella Vista’s 2003 Reserve Petit Syrah (yes, we’re as chafed by the spelling as you are), and at the time, we had no idea it came from Audrey Cilurzo’s former vineyard or one of the oldest vine plantings in Temecula; we were just there to write a column on the next big wine happenings in Temecula and loved that they gave us free wine. So we sat on this bottle for almost two years, knowing it would come in handy one day when the time would be right to open it. Well, the Forgotten Grapes Petite Sirah posting seems just about right. The dry nose of this wine hinted at chocolate covered cherries and a hint of cola, with quite a bit of spice on it as well. There was defintiely a tannic heft to this wine, though not as storng as we’d experienced from other Petite Sirahs. A very rich, soft plummy wine on the mid-palate, it had on the attack the typical hint of residual sweetness you expect from Temecula wines. Several of us argued whether the wine was close to turning or not, given its age. Either way, we recommend snapping some up now to try the benchmark planting of Petite Sirah in the Temecula Valley. You can buy this direct from the Bella Vista Winery, and we recommend you do so. Also check out their late-harvest Petite Sirah port as well. It’s delicious.

Our Friend of the Forgotten Grapes Tasting Squadron tastes all of the wines you see here ahead of time to ensure that you aren’t getting anything rotten or clunky. We also try to ensure that most of the wines highlighted here are affordably priced ($20 or less) so you can try them out for yourself without having to take out a second mortgage or sacrificing your kid (or future kid’s) college fund to do so. Lastly, the Friends of the Forgotten Grapes has relationships with all the fine wine purveyors we link to in this section. We know them, we trust them. You can order these wines from them online right now and be trying them out in the next couple of days. Do yourself a favor and order from them by using the links below. It’s totally worth it. And tell them that ForgottenGrapes.com sent you, too.

Okay, seriously, this may be the deepest, darkest colored wine we’ve tasted yet. You may remember Negrette, you may remember Alicante Bouschet, but Petite Sirahs put them all to shame. Or at the very least gives them a run for their money. Thick, blackish, and deeply, deeply purple, Petite Sirahs are not wines to be trifled with, and they’re definitely not wines to spill on your clothes or carpet. Here’s a little tip: if you plan on drinking a Petite Sirah one night, don’t wear white. You can thank us in advance.

Go On. Try It. You’ll Like It.

First of all, you have Brein Clements to thank for this week’s pop culture reference point. He is a massive fan of old-school punk and made the initial connection between Glenn Danzig and Petite Sirah. Amazingly, the comparison fits very well. So if you don’t know who Glenn Danzig is, read on and remember, you have Brein to thank for this.

Second, we’re going to nip this in the bud and clear up a few of the popular misconceptions about Petite Sirah right here and now. First, the proper spelling of the grape’s name is P-E-T-I-T-E S-I-R-A-H. “Petit” is also acceptable, if you’re going for more of a French thing, but the traditional accepted name is Petite with the E and Sirah with an I, not with a Y.

Oh, and it’s pronounced Puh-TEET sir-AH.

But Don’t Just Take Our Word for It...

Whenever possible, Friends of the Forgotten Grapes will offer up a short interview with a winemaker working with the week’s featured Forgotten Grape. It’s his or her chance to tell you a little bit more about who they are, the winery and wines, and how he or she got started working with this particular Forgotten Grape. We do this because we want you to get to know the winemakers and better understand their mind set and passions for particular Forgotten Grapes. We also do this because we’re givers and only want to make you happy. Isn’t that enough for you? What more do you want?

This week’s interview is with Audrey Cilurzo. She and her husband Vince were the founders and long-time owner of the Cilurzo Winery in Temecula, California, and are widely considered to be the founders of Temecula wine country. Moving down to the area in 1968 because of its similar terroir to other winemaking territories, Vince and Audrey planted grapes, began producing wine, and their Cilurzo Winery became the first commercial winery in Temecula. One of the first grapes that they planted on their property was Petite Sirah, and the grape because so popular – and Cilurzo became so synonymous with the grape – that Audrey and Vince created an advocacy and appreciation group for Petite Sirah called P.S. I Love You. The group is still active today, and though Vince and Audrey have since retired from commercial winemaking and sold their Cilurzo Winery (though their original Petite Sirah plantings still exist, as you’ll see below), she was nice enough to take time out from her busy schedule to talk about the grape she helped make popular.

Friends of the Forgotten Grapes: You and your husband Vince are credited with starting the first commercial winery in the Temecula valley. What drew you to winemaking and what specifically brought you to the Temecula valley?

Audrey Cilurzo: In February 1967 Vince and I bought close to 100 acres of land in what had been the 85,000-plus acre Vail Cattle Ranch in Temecula, California. The virgin soil was rich and seemed excellent for growing grapes. Vince had worked for ABC television network as a Lighting Director but wanted to invest in land and wanted it within 100 miles of Hollywood . Dick Break, an agricultural advisor hired by the developer of the Vail Ranch, recommended grapes as being suitable for the Temecula’s climate. Dick was a U.C. Davis graduate in both viticulture and enology. The marine breezes that came from the Ocean most days made it a good viticulture area. Later the entire 85,000 acres of the Ranch became the Temecula Valley wine appellation.

FoFG: Among your early plantings were some Petite Sirah vines, which as we know were probably even less popular and well-known back in the late 1960s than they are today. What exactly attracted you to plant Petit Sirah and what were you hoping to accomplish with it?

AC: The original Petite Sirah cuttings were bought from the Wente Brothers, who were working with U.C.Davis to make sure all Petite Sirah cuttings were disease-free. However the original vines came from the Concannon Winery. We liked the full bodied hardiness of Petite Sirah and felt it was a great grape with potential for a new vineyard area.

FoFG: Cilurzo Winery quickly became known for its Petit Sirah, and I imagine that popularity lead you to seek out like-minded folks who both produced and appreciated Petit Sirah and the formation of the P.S. I Love You group. Tell us a little bit about how that group got started, what you’ve accomplished, and what it’s up to these days?

AC: We along with other Petite Sirah grower/wine makers were invited to Foppiano Winery to discuss the idea of starting a Petite Sirah organization. I believe that first year there were about 20 people. We discussed promoting the grape, the wine, and what was needed to do this. As we remember Dan Berger wine columnist and head judge of the Riverside International Wine Competition suggested the name P.S. I Love You. Jo Diaz became the Public Relations person and her husband Jose started the web site. I remember how happy we were to meet Louis Foppiano, Sr. He was in his 90’s and still driving his truck all around Healdsburg. Louis Foppiano Jr. was a wonderful host and we left that first meeting full of optimism for the new organization and for our special grape Petite Sirah.

Three years after P.S. I Love You was formed, we sold our vineyard and winery, However we have followed the group. From that small beginning of just a handful of wineries, there are now about 60 winery members, many growers, and various other wine-related groups involved. Concannon, Parducci, and of course Foppiano were hugely supportive in the early years. Concannon underwrote the expenses for a Petite Sirah tour . A “Heritage Clone” vineyard has been established at U.C.Davis. Now, it seems like each year more and more Petite Sirahs are on wine store shelves receiving higher and higher scores. The P.S. I Love You website has a list of gold medals won by member wineries. It is impressive.

FoFG: Considering how many Petite Sirahs you’ve tasted over the years, we will definitely consider you an expert when it comes to this grapes. So who are your favorite Petite Sirah producers and what are some of the most memorable Petite Sirah bottles you’ve ever opened and tasted?

AC: We remember the great Concannon and Parducci wines that had huge varietal character. I’m sure there were others also. We recently tasted Grgich Hills Petite Sirah, which we liked very much. We still have a few bottles of our own Petite Sirah aging. We do not like high alcohol red wines and we feel a well made Petite Sirah around 13.5% can have pepper, spice, fruit and wonderful character. To us, higher alcohol red wines seem out of balance and lose the varietal character.

FoFG: Since you and Vince sold the winery and retired from winemaking a few years back, what are you doing these days to keep yourself occupied?

AC: I have volunteered in the Riverside International Wine Competition since its inception close to 30 years ago. Vince and I have also just written a book Temecula Wine Country, published by Arcadia publishing. In pictures and narrative the book tells the story of how Temecula became a wine-growing area and also features pictures and stories of how we planted our Petite Sirah vineyard, including step-by-step details

about how we made the Petite Sirah wine with help from friends and our children.

The book is available at several Temecula wineries, at Barnes & Noble, and on

the Internet.

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2005 Michael-David “Earthquake” Lodi Petit Sirah

Since the Lodi appellation in California is considered to be the “Epicenter” of Petite Sirah in the U.S., we thought we needed to try one from there to get some scale readings on it, and what more appropriate wine to try than the “Earthquake” Petite Sirah from Michael-David. And can we say we were mighty surprised by this wine? While we were expecting big and burly, we were taken aback by the finesse and subtlety of some aspects of the wine. Namely it’s nose, which while big and plummy also had some cumin scents to it and a slight metallic tinge. We also picked up the scent of sweet potatoes on it as well as some violets. Very surprising. The palate of the wine threw us for a loop as well. Although all the traditional flavor combinations were there, it was lighter in the mouth than the other Petite Sirahs we tried, but also eminently longer. The wine also finished with just a touch of alcoholic heat on the very back end, just to keep you on your toes. We picked up our bottle at Total Wine & More, but this is one of those best-selling Petite Sirahs that you should be able to find or get at your local wine shop,

so check it out.

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