Petite Sirah 🍷
Petite Sirah (peh-teet-sear-ah) was created by French botanist Dr. François Durif in the mid-1860s in an attempt to develop a vine resistant to mildew. The grape is also known as Durif in honor of its originator.
Unfortunately, the grape was largely discarded in France because its tight clusters were prone to rot in wet weather.
The grape was imported to Northern California in 1884. Today, more than 80% of the world’s planting of Petite Sirah are in California.
Petite Sirah is not the same as Syrah and is distinct from petit syrah which French growers use to describe small-berried clones of true Syrah.
Because the Petite Sirah berry (i.e., grape) is so small, it has a very high skin-to-juice ratio. This results in wines that are opaque with inky black-purple color.
Aromas include blueberry, violets, dark chocolate and black tea.
Flavors tend toward to black fruit such as blackberry and sugarplum along with cracked black pepper.
Because of the thick skin, Petite Sirah wines are considered a full-bodied and have very high tannin. The acidity tends to be medium to high.
It is commonly said that there is nothing petite about Petite Sirah.
Petite Sirah is very good for aging because of its very high tannin. High quality bottles can easily age for decades.
Serve Petite Sirah in a red wine glass at 60-68 F after decanting for at least an hour.