{"id":110,"date":"2009-08-08T00:32:00","date_gmt":"2009-08-08T00:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/?p=110"},"modified":"2009-08-08T00:32:00","modified_gmt":"2009-08-08T00:32:00","slug":"goodnight-mrs-calabash-wherever-you-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/?p=110","title":{"rendered":"Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."},"content":{"rendered":"

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S<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span>omeday, someone (not <\/em>Your West Coast Oenophile<\/em><\/strong>)<\/em> should open a winery primarily focused on Petite Sirah and call it Schnozzola Vineyards. Or, to be a little less obscurant, Durante<\/a> Cellars. The connection? Whenever I hold up a truly wondrous glass of this underappreciated varietal, its lush, ebony tincture devoid even of a hint of pellucidity, I find myself quietly humming strains of Inka Dinka Doo<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, the signature song of this beloved, malapropistic Italian comedian.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
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<\/td>\nO<\/font>K, so even if a wine could be characterized as having a big nose<\/em><\/strong>, I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s an epithet I\u2019d readily employ. Unquestionably, however, I would characterize Petite Sirah as a big wine<\/strong><\/em>. Bold and forthright, with a flavor that can hold its own against a Filet Mignon or venison. Not to mention Pasta al Sugo di Salcisse. Or exquisitely-rendered Ostrich medallions. Suffice it to say that Petite Sirah can easily be matched to any entr\u00e9e that pairs with Zinfandel; Zins may express a great range of complexity, but, in general, Petite Sirahs will hold their own over a longer duration.<\/span><\/p>\n
Last Tuesday, I ventured out to Livermore to taste a smorgasbord of these wines as part of the Seventh Annual Petite Symposium<\/strong> but on by the varietal\u2019s principal advocacy, P.S. I Love You<\/strong>. Fittingly, this gathering was held at Concannon Vineyards, which holds claim to the first varietally-labeled release of Petite Sirah in California. I should have known this, of course, but flubbed my response when queried on the matter by Jim Concannon, an embarrassing moment not unlike the exchange from Cheech & Chong<\/a>\u2019s Let\u2019s Make a Dope Deal<\/strong> (our first question: what is your name, Bob?)<\/em>.<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Fortunately for me, none of the wineries pouring their fare managed such an egregious faux pas<\/strong><\/em>. I started off at Rock Wall<\/a>\u2019s station. This new wine venture is fondly known as Rosenblum\u2014The Next Generation, and with her 2007 Rock Wall Petite Sirah Mendocino County<\/strong>, daughter Shauna manifests her heredity quite ably. Next table over Rosenblum<\/a> p\u00e8re<\/em> held his own, as expected, with a trio of wines, the most notable being his 2005 Kick Ranch Petite Sirah<\/strong>. At the next stop, I discovered Nord Estate Vineya
\nrds<\/a>, where owner Julie Nord poured generous samples of her 2004 Napa Valley Petite Sirah Jonquil Vineyards<\/strong>.<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
Clarksburg is a small town in Yolo County and an AVA that encompasses parts of neighboring Sacramento and Solano Counties, as well. The 2004 Heringer Estate<\/a> Petite Sirah<\/strong> was a fine example of what this region is capable of producing. Clarkburg\u2019s most prominent winery, Bogle Vineyards<\/a>, showcased three versions of their Petite Sirah, the 2007 Petite Sirah<\/strong>, the more striking 2006 Petite Sirah Reserve <\/strong>from Quick Ranch and a compelling 2006 Petite Sirah Port<\/strong> selected from the same vineyard. Actually, there were quite a number of different regions represented, despite the relatively small size of this tasting, including a selection of four distinctive Petites from host Concannon<\/a> of the Livermore Valley, highlighted by their 2005 Captain Joe\u2019s Petite Sirah, Livermore Valley<\/strong>.<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

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Several Sierra wineries showed why Petite Sirah readily adapts to this cold climate. Fiddleton\u2019s Cal-Italia specialist, Il Gioiello<\/a>, featured their 2005 Estate Petite Sirah <\/strong>from Amador County (Sierra Foothills). From Nevada City, the ebullient Alex Szabo<\/a> brought his 2006 Szabo Vineyards Petite Syrah Block 1<\/strong>. And Oakstone Winery\u2019s Steve Ryan showcased his 2007 Petite Sirah Jeoff and Katy Vineyard<\/strong> from Fair Play. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Edwards Cellars from Ramona (San Diego County) <\/em>showed a respectable 2004 Petite Sirah Ramona Valley<\/strong> from this notably warmer region. Mediating between these two extremes, the Central Coast\u2019s Vina Robles<\/a> pour their 2007 Petite Syrah, Jardine<\/strong>.<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

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The permutations of how different wineries spell this varietal certainly argues for standardizing it as Durif, its other nomenclature, in honor of French nurseryman Dr. Fran\u00e7ois Durif, who cloned this varietal by pollinating Peloursin with Syrah. As this debate continues within the wine world, it seemed in arguable that the 2006 Artezin Garzini Ranch Petite Sirah Mendocino County<\/strong> from Hess Collection<\/a> was as big as its name. Nearby in Lake County, Langtry Estate<\/a>, the umbrella operation to Guenoc, featured both their 2006 Guenoc Petite Sirah Lake County<\/strong> and a very sumptuous 2005 Langtry Petite Sirah Serpentine Meadow<\/strong>, a fitting tribute to winemaker Maria Navarro\u2019s craft. Nearby in Cloverdale, winemaker Miroslav Tcholakov displayed both the 2004 La Storia Petite Sirah<\/strong> from Trentadue<\/a> and the award-winning 2006 Miro Cellars<\/a> Petite Sirah<\/strong>, his own label. Also from Sonoma County, Fortress Vineyards<\/a> debuted their 2007 Petite Sirah Red Hills Lake County<\/strong>.<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
 is a plaudit longtime readers of this blog know that I dispense rather sparingly. today\u2019s entry will be no exception. Still in keeping with my Durante motif, I must bestow an Ha-cha-cha-cha-cha<\/strong><\/em> on the 2007 Silkwood Petite Sirah<\/strong> from Monnich Family<\/a>; this multi-award winning wine was every bit as velvety as the texture of its distinctive label. Another gold medal winner from the Central Valley was the 2006 Petite Sirah<\/strong> from Maley Brothers of Woodbridge.<\/span><\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

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Of course, it seems only logical that Petite Sirah should have had its greatest representation from Napa County. The inveterate Stags\u2019 Leap<\/a> proffered their 2006 Napa Valley Petite Syrah<\/strong>. Single Varietal producer Fulton Mather<\/a> increased the tally with his 2005 David Fulton Winery, Estate Petite Sirah<\/strong>. And, from among the multifarious labels produced by RDJ Artisan Wines<\/a>, the 2007 Seven Artisans Petite Sirah<\/strong> from Clayton Road Ranches (Suisun Valley)<\/em> placed a wonderful coda to the afternoon.<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

While I appreciated the intimacy of this tasting, I do need to admonish P.S. I Love You<\/a> <\/strong>for not providing a program that detailed the wineries on hand and the individual wines they poured. Expecting to find such a guide in the press kit, I was initially at a loss for composing this entry until I corresponded with each of the attendees.Not only did nearly everyone e-mail back immediately back with their particulars, it was extremely gratifying to see how the wineries expressed such tremendous enthusiasm for Sostevinobile<\/font><\/strong> and for having their wines included in our program. As the irrepressible Jimmy Durante so often said, \u201cEverybody wants to get into the act!\u201d<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Someday, someone (not Your West Coast Oenophile) should open a winery primarily focused on Petite Sirah and call it Schnozzola Vineyards. Or, to be a little less obscurant, Durante Cellars. The connection? Whenever I hold up a truly wondrous glass of this underappreciated varietal, its lush, ebony tincture devoid even of a hint of pellucidity, I find myself quietly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[158,10,88,3,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-peloursin","category-petite-sirah","category-port","category-syrah","category-zinfandel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}