Wine 101
Volume 31

Petite What?

 Petite Sirah appears to be either a grape called Durif or a cross between Durif and Peloursin, a grape no longer grown and sold in the wine world. Some say that there may even be some true Syrah in its genetic profile, but note the more popular spelling of the grape, Petite Sirah, is different than Syrah.
 
The Petite Sirah grape grows in very tight bunches and is susceptible to rot.  In growing regions without much rainfall, like California for instance, this does not represent a problem.  In areas with rain during the growing season, it practically disqualifies the grape. Under the right conditions, Petite Sirah can make strong red wines with peppery flavors.
 
Petites are anything but petite…they tend to be big, strong, muscular, and very purple.
 
Its small berries, and consequently high skin-to-juice ratio, allow Petite Sirah to produce wines with high tannin levels, surprisingly high acidity, and a deep, dark inky color.  Unlike most red grape varietals, Petite Sirah features dark fleshy fruit inside, as well as the dark skins on the outside. This double dose of color adds more color to the glass.  Characteristically, these wines have dense blackberry fruit character, mixed with black pepper notes. The grape’s similarity to parent Syrah became confusing for early planters in California. Starting in the 1880s, some of the original Durif vines were confused for a clone of Syrah and subsequently named Petite Sirah.

Until the push for varietally-labeled wines came to the fore in the 1960s and 1970s, little thought was given to the actual name of this variety in California. It was often added to provide color and body to California’s bulk wine production, or used to add richness to North Coast Zinfandel and Barbera. Recent research by Doctor Carole Meredith, at U. C. Davis, has confirmed many of California’s Petite Sirah vines to be Durif. Still, other vineyards thought to be planting Petite Sirah have been identified as Syrah, Pinot Noir, and even Peloursin, with other plots a mixture of many varieties.
 
Recent amendments by the California and U.S. wine regulators allow wines to be labeled either Durif or any of the many different spellings of Petite Sirah. By any name, this variety has the ability to create rich, age worthy reds and is reestablishing itself as one California’s great grapes.