Petite Sirah the mystery uncovered

Wines & Vines, Sept, 2000 by Dennis Fife

Currently, one-third of the Petite Sirah in California is non-bearing and unlike Syrah, most of the grapes are in Coastal counties. (Of course, Syrah is growing faster, as it should.) On an industry-wide basis, Petite Sirah plantings will always grow at close to the same rate as the Rhone category in total, since it is one of the principal varieties in Rhone blends, and often blended into Syrah. Thus, there will probably always be new, updated them similar in value.

I would also like to point out that Petite Sirah wines are improving rapidly at the present time thanks to the existence of more sophisticated winemaking equipment and a greater knowledge of how to handle the grapes in the winery for optimum results. We now have the means to significantly reduce harsh tannins and bitterness, and at the same time better bring out Petite Sirah's great fruit. I expect a big step up in quality by the top producers of this variety over the next few years.

While Syrah is clearly the top Rhone grape for California in the future, it is still fun to compare the finest Syrahs with the rarer top Petite Sirahs. To date, the ratings, awards received and general recognition of the two varieties in America have been outstanding and pretty equal--with Syrah on the rise. In our country, competition has always been a great generator of attention and improvement. Think of all the great press opportunities to follow the progress of Syrah vs. Petite Sirah vs. Rhone blends. While we all believe that Syrah has already become the "star" of the red Rhone varieties, having Petite Sirah in the "wings" can only help Syrah's elevation--and competition only helps to motivate us all to do our best work.

Perhaps the strongest recommendation by the press for including Petite Sirah in our efforts to promote Rhone varieties is the attached statement by Remington Norman in his recent award winning book Rhone Renaissance. He states: "Whatever the truth, and however vocal the dissenters, the variety (Petite Sirah) can make excellent wine which often is indistinguishable from true Syrah."

Resources:

(1.) Paraphrased from conversations with and two articles by Dr. Meredith of U.C., Davis. 1996-2000.

(2.) Paraphrased from A Companion to California Wine, by Charles L. Sullivan, 1998.

(3.) A Practical Ampelography, Pierre Galet, 1979.

(Dennis Fife, proprietor of Fife Vineyards, delivered this speech at a seminar at the recent Hospice du Rhone.)