Revisiting Petite Sirah

« Prev Next » 1 of 9

Revisiting Petite Sirah Humans are nothing if not predictable, and just to prove to you all that I am at least approaching human, I present you a little roundup of Petite Sirah. “Why?” you must be asking, “Does this have anything to do with GDP’s predictability?” Well, I just went into the article archives to revisit what I’ve written about Petite Sirah and lo and behold, the last time I wrote about Petite Sirah was the end of April 2009.

What is it about spring that gets me thinking about Petite Sirah? That’s a good question – with an easy answer: cool season grilling. Though with the several days of spring that increasingly has become our transition from winter to summer in these parts, that’s a bit of a misnomer.

Though the truth remains, Petite Sirah – big, dark, fruity, juicy, relatively modest alcohol California Petite Sirah – is one of the world’s great table wines and California’s real star, Cabernet, be damned.

In this gallery

View As One Page

Comments

badbobby

200769 15

Happy to see your comments about Petite Sirah and the wine by Dashe at the top. Excellent winemakers. Your comment about Cabernets, is, I think appropriate. Too many of them are merely "fighting varietals". Without being offensive, many offer little dimension or nuance, especially compared to other wines at similar price points. Petite Sirah is an excellent table wine and one that deserves more exposure.

May 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM
Ron Fannin

553786 41

For what I presume to be a national audience, why would you include as your top two wines ones which are either not available at all or available only at the winery at a price significantly higher than that of any of the other included wines? Maybe I'd have a different viewpoint if I lived within striking distance of California wine country.

May 18, 2011 at 1:44 PM
grampsalot

279918 5

Having stumbled (almost literally) upon a 2004 Stags Leap Petite Sirah, when a waiter suggested its pairing with fish (I was skeptical but fortunately trusted him) while visiting in San Francisco 5 years ago, we instantly became P.S. fans.. so yes, I agree with your endorsement of this wonderfully full and soft wine.

May 18, 2011 at 2:57 PM
steve666

392767 136

I have just bought two cases of Rosenblum Heritage PS at $9 a bottle each -- special sale at half off CA MSRP .... very nice table wine, but some PS in CA are higher in alcohol, huge wines, and need a lot of bottle aging - thinking Seghesio and Opolo amongst others -- but the less expensive ones can be very nice, or somewhat harsh and chewy.
steve

May 18, 2011 at 3:20 PM
WineIsYumm-
y

Hand of Snooth

615722 241

The DB Petite Sirah is on my favorite wines because of its drinkability and the value per bottle. To find such a quality wine for under $10 is exciting-- and this wine is available all across the US. I suggest giving it a try!

May 18, 2011 at 3:33 PM
winesquid

246418 2

I'm also a big Petite Sirah fan and am always on the lookout to find a reasonably priced bottling. Lately, I enjoy the Shannon Ridge Lake County 2008 ($10-$12 at World Market), although it was too tart for me on day 1 but became much less tart and much more appealing on day 2 when it lost its excessive tartness and filled out nicely. Another reasonably priced one is the McManis California 2007 ($10) which was similar to Bogle's Petite Sirah (which I consider a good value but rather simple) but more concentrated and fuller in body. Another I enjoyed was Michael-David's Petite Petit 2006 ($15+) that I tried twice and was better the second time with more months of aging. However, I don't care for the standard Concannon 2005 and 2006 ($10ish) which is much too tart (think tart cherries) for my tastes. I prefer the darker, less tart blackberry/boysenberry fruit profile.

May 18, 2011 at 6:31 PM
bcives

842105 1

I like alcohol as much as anybody. But why do you say that these are "relatively modest" in alcohol? 4 out of 5 of them are over the top, at 14.5% and higher. Modest would be up to say 13.5%. These are high alcohol wines.

May 18, 2011 at 8:33 PM
corkscrews

596150 21

Love PS, one of the best QPR wines from last year was the 2008 Keesha PS, at $10 it was a steal! Robert Baile, Carlisle, Michael-David and Girard also make outstanding PS's. http://www.winelx.com

May 19, 2011 at 4:35 PM
zinfandel1

Hand of Snooth

154660 688

My first introduction to petite sirah was in the mid 70's. I believe it was from Parducci Winery.
At that time there wasn't much to choose from here in New England. I was enjoying Cabernets and big Zins, but I enjoyed Petite Sirah and preferred it over the rest. My friends thought it strange and even went as far as to say that I was out of touch with reality.

May 20, 2011 at 8:17 AM
Foppiano

Hand of Snooth Voice of Snooth

795701 9

Thanks for including Foppiano's Petite Sirah in the mix! The pictured label is a bit outdated but anyone who wants to see the label as it appears on the shelves, visit our website at http://www.foppiano.com. Our Petite is available nationwide.

May 20, 2011 at 6:29 PM
Trentonpet-
e

612092 142

Thanks for the Petite Sirah spotlight. Been drinking PS since the early '70s, especially my favorite Topolos ar Russian River. Some RR PS keep upwards of 20 years if unfiltered and unfined!! Delicious!! And, yes, Parducci from Mendocino as well as Concannon in Lodi are still producing wonderful PS.

Jun 12, 2011 at 12:50 PM