May 16 2013

Passionate About Petite Sirah

Published by at 5:03 pm under Beef,Desserts,Food,Petite Sirah,Red Wine,Steak,Vegetarian

Petite Sirah is one of those grapes that many wine drinkers find obscure but for those who know California wine well, they know that this varietal nearly finds a native home in Northern California and that it captivates the consumer and vintner alike. 

The grape originally was introduced in 1884 from France into California as the grape “Durif”.   It grew well while Syrah vines struggled throughout the 1880’s and by the year 1900, Petite Sirah had gained popularity in the United States.  When the Prohibition arrived, many California vines of Petite Sirah survived as the fruit from the vines was capable of surviving long train trips across the country to the East Coast for home wine making.  Since that time period, other varietals have come and gone in popularity but this grape has remained a quirky love for many a vintner.  Depending on the vintner in Napa Valley, you might find Petite Sirah hailing from true old vines and others from younger plantings.  Regardless the grape is a pet varietal for many wine makers and a few make several different bottlings depending on the vineyards, fruit sourced, etc.  

Elyse Winery (“Elyse”) in Yountville is one such winery that makes more than one bottling of Petite Sirah.   A visit to their cozy tasting room will often provide you with the opportunity to compare and contrast the different Petite Sirah wines that they have released and their knowledgeable hospitality staff can educate you on the specific vineyards, what makes one taste different than another, etc.   In 2011, I featured a 2007 vintage of Elyse’s Barrel Select Petite Sirah, (see “Seriously Petite Sirah” on this site) and this week, while the wine is not available for purchase, I am featuring the vintage to share information on how it is aging and draw a few comparisons to the 2010 vintage, which is currently available for purchase at the winery.

The defining factor in what differentiates vintages of wine is the weather.   While the soil will tell its story to the vine, the vine’s ability to listen largely depends on the weather of that growing and harvest season.   2007, for example, was every winemaker’s year.   In Northern California, a winemaker was hard-pressed to bottle a varietal that would not be a rock star.  The year was the classic textbook year for growing grapes so someone would truly have to be asleep at the wine making wheel to have screwed up a bottle of wine.   Because the year was a “big year” for Napa Valley, there was plenty of fruit to go around.  Depending on the varietal, the grapes produced wines which were big and bold and often needed long time in bottle-aging to create more palate-approachable wines.  2010, however, was the polar opposite of 2007.  Many touted that 2010 was a “stinker year” and people might as well as have been nibbling, biting, if not gnawing at their fingernails wondering and praying if the vines would produce any fruit and whether it would be up to wineries’ branding standards.   Yet here we sit today in 2013 and it turns out that there was good fruit in 2010.  Elyse’s 2010 vintage of its Barrel Select Petite Sirah is receiving quite a buzz in the wine media and among consumers.   Its flavor profile based on reviews is slightly different than the 2007 vintage, of course, but of interesting note is that the winery is noting that it will age nicely 6 to 9 years, whereas the 2007 will age nicely 8 to 10 years.  This is nothing of alarm and for those who understand the effect of a growing season on the wine grape, it simply reflects that 2010 was a softer year and that it will produce a wine that perhaps is more readily accessible now.  For those who do not want to have to wait for their wine, likely the 2010 vintage will have something wonderful in store for you today.   For those of us, however, who were fortunate enough to cellar multiple bottles of another vintage (such as the 2007), we can continue to experiment and study the aging process of our cellared vintages.


The 2007 vintage of the Barrel Select Petite Sirah by Elyse is almost six years into aging and with a glass in hand, you will know that this wine still has time to age and continue to be incredibly enjoyable.  The bouquet of the wine delivers deep notes of blackberry jam, dusty mocha, bits of blueberry, sweet red plum, bits of clove spice, white pepper and anise.  The bouquet is so involved that at this stage of aging, it truly fills the wine glass voluptuously as if it is celebrating the sensuality of this wine and the vintage.  On the palate, flavors of blueberry, plum, blackberry, cinnamon and spices emerge but the best discovery is a delicious, savory, tangy and juicy tartness that is present on the wine’s finish, long after the wine is gone.  To prove this, a simple swallow action of the mouth will continue a secondary release of tangy blackberry juice or sweet red plum at the back of the palate.  The wine has solid recognizable tannins which dry in the mouth and the wine itself delivers the start of a velvety texture which is the product of the wine continuing to age.  The wine coats the lips like a seductive finger tip drawing across to shush and to refocus the palate in silence on the attributes of the wine.  The wine has a wonderful structure and it will continue to exhibit that as the wine ages.

To pair food, Petite Sirah often leaves wine lovers puzzled.   If you are one of those, look at the right side margin of this web site.  As you scroll down, you will notice different varietals of wine listed.  Click on Petite Sirah and a list of prior articles that I have written will appear.   In reviewing that, I have paired Mexican food from pasilla chiles grilled and stuffed with polenta to mole poblano and veering off to pair a balsamic-rosemary burger with Petite Sirah.  The last time I featured Elyse’s 2007 Barrel Select Petite Sirah, I elected to pair Mexican food.   This go-round, I decided to serve and pair the wine for a special occasion:  my birthday.  Given the description of the wine above, I had fortuitous foresight that the wine would be such a knockout in the glass.  It is worthy of any serious celebration and even so, this web site will be turning four years old at the end of this month as well.   It is fitting as we look back at countless articles, recipes, pairings, varietals and vintages that Elyse’s 2007 Barrel Select Petite Sirah be included in the celebration.   This pairing menu hosts:

  •  Sautéed spinach, chive-cauliflower puree, grilled petite sirloin steak topped with exotic mushroom medley with a side of garden-fresh asparagus; and

 

  •  Truffle brownie with home-spun vanilla ice cream, fresh raspberries and a bittersweet chocolate sauce drizzle.

 

Given the fruit profile, the tartness and juicy savoriness of the wine, the Elyse 2007 Barrel Select Petite Sirah pairs wonderfully with spring vegetables.   If you think about spinach, there is a slight bitterness to it.   Asparagus first in the season can be sweet but it too can sometimes yield a subtle bitterness to it as well.   These bitter components tend to cut through the tannins and similarly are erased by the wine’s acidity.  As a result, lush vegetable flavors are accentuated and the wine’s fruit becomes more forward, too.   Similarly the sauté of exotic mushrooms adds an earthy element to the plate with which Petite Sirah pairs exceptionally well.   And while one thinks of Cabernet Sauvignon when pairing steak, Petite Sirah can pair equally well if not calm its tannins with the natural fat of the meat.   Plate it in layers and prepare for the perfect bite.


While Julia Child lamented that a party is just a meeting without cake, here a truffle brownie begs to differ.   Dark rich chocolate between the truffle brownie and the bittersweet chocolate sauce bring out the sweeter elements of Elyse’s 2007 Petite Sirah.  The wine also loves the raspberries as the acidity in the fruit neutralizes the acidity in the wine.  With each bite, the wine becomes rich and decadent.  If you have ever had the chance to try Elyse’s Port when made with Petite Sirah grapes, this pairing of the wine with the truffle brownie will set off bells and whistles for you as you will distinctly recognize the fruit and remember the port vividly.

If you have a bottle of Elyse’s 2007 Barrel Select Petite Sirah in your collection, revisit it.  Share it with something or someone special.  Enjoy it for yourself.  Pair it with the first vegetables coming out of the home garden and first steaks off the grill.  If you do not have a bottle left, go visit the good folks at Elyse Winery on Hoffman Lane in Yountville.  Give them a call first and let them know that you are coming.  They will be happy to introduce you to Petite Sirah.  Celebrate the discovery of a varietal that some are so incredibly passionate about and celebrate knowing how to pair it.  

As the web site here turns four this month, I thank you for your loyal reading over the years.   Do not forget to use the site as a library source.  As the weather is warming up, I know that many of you are getting ready to get out and visit the wineries and share wine with friends and family at your backyard barbeques.  I will be back to posting articles and pairings more regularly here on the main page and also on the adjacent pages for San Luis Obispo County, New England and we might get a few articles from Colorado.  And by all means we at the site welcome your contributions, too.  Please make sure to “like” us on Facebook and participate in our weekly “What’s in your wine glass” on Thursdays, share your pairings, your discoveries and to view closer photos of some of the food that is paired in the articles.  Who knows, maybe a recipe or two will appear on the fan page this summer.   Anything can happen when you have been around for four years.   Cheers!

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