What is Petite Sirah?
Petite Sirah also known as Durif and lovingly referred to as Pets by die hard wine enthusiasts. This “American Heritage Varietal” was introduced to American soil in 1878. History tells us that a nurseryman in the south of France by the name of Francois Durif created this new varietal. He was so pleased with its verdant nature that he named it after himself, “Durif”. The vine once thought to be a new small, low-yielding, but hearty syrah was planted in abundance throughout California in the 1880’s and labeled a “petite” syrah clone.
In the late 1890’s phylloxera, a deadly root louse, destroyed virtually ever native European grape vine planted in California yet the voluptuous ‘Pets’ managed to thrive and by the early 1900’s was one of the most popular varietals grown in California. Planting peaked in the 1930’s during prohibition as the grapes were found suitable for shipment across the country- for clerical and strictly personal purposes of course. PeTS then fell by the wayside as Cabernet drove the trend from bulk to fine wine in the 1970’s. By 1995 the amount of Petite Sirah planted to vine hovered below 2500 but today this extracted and oh so colorful grape is more popular than ever. Once the backbone of some of the finest Cabernet vintages, this “other red” is once again commanding the wine world’s attention.
Through DNA analysis similar to those techniques used to study human generics, it was verified in 1998 (a mere century since its arrival on US soil) that Durif and Petite Sirah are one and the same. The Heritage is a direct descendant of Syrah from the Rhone Valley and Peloursin, an old French grape from the Isere and Provence regions of France. According to the findings of Dr. Carole Meredith, Prof. of Viticulture and Enology, University of California; Mr. Durif’s new varietal is the offspring of the same noble grape that from which the great Cote Rotie and Hermitage are made. Therefore, California’s PeTS is anything but “petite” and in fact arrived with quite the distinguished French pedigree. The US Bureau of Tax, Tobacco & Alcohol Bureau, recognizes “Durif” and “Petite Sirah” as interchangeable synonyms referring to the same grape.
[The 'petite' in the name of this grape refers to the size of its berries and not the vine, which is particularly vigorous. The leaves are large with a bright green upper surface and pale green underneath. The vine forms tightly packed clusters that can be susceptible to rotting in rainy environments. The small berries create a high skin to juice ratio which can produce very tannic wines if the juice goes through an extended maceration period. In the presence of new oak barrels the wine can develop an aroma of melted chocolate.
Petite Sirah produces dark, inky colored wines that are relatively acidic with firm texture and mouth feel. The bouquet has herbal and black pepper overtones, with plum and blackberry flavors on the palate. Compared to Syrah, the wine is noticeably more dark and purplish in color. The skins are abundant with tannins providing aging ability that can eclipse 20 years in the bottle. Petite Sirah is flush with antioxidants especially resveratrol, a natural phenol and is considered one of the most heart healthy of all wine varietals.]