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experimented with the grape. That’s probably because the resultant wines can be deliciously inky, with a firm but plush mouthfeel. John Concannon is fond of saying that Petite Sirah is the St. Bernard that wants to sit in your lap. “You can drink it now or leave it in the cellar for 20 years. Sure, it’s usually a hand-sell, because there’s nothing petite about Petite Sirah. But education is the key. Tell the consumer it’s big and bold with staying power? Then it flies off the shelves.” In addition to his work with P. S. I Love You, John is also a fourth-generation vintner at Concannon Vineyard, in the Northern California town of Livermore. His father Jim was THE TASTING PANEL's 2010 Man of the Year. “My dad says that it’s an honor for us to have our wine on someone’s table. Sure our wines make money, but you can’t get rich off of Petite. It’s truly a labor of love.” Petite Past, Petite Present DNA fingerprinting done in 1997 at the University of California, Davis, showed that Dr. Durif’s discovery in Languedoc-Roussillon (bordering the Rhône region) resulted from Syrah pollen ger- minating a Peloursin plant. To confuse the situation even more, Syrah was introduced to California in 1878, six years prior to Durif’s entry, and immigrant vine growers used the term Petite Syrah (note the spelling) to refer to the lower yields that the vines produced in California. On some occasions Peloursin and Syrah vines can also be called Petite Sirah, usually when very old and extremely difficult to distinguish. Finally, the name is also sometimes (intentionally or not) misspelled as Petite Syrah, which has historically referred to a small-berried clone of the Syrah grape in France’s Rhône Valley. Having said all that, more than 98 percent of the California plantings labeled Petite Sirah are Durif, and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the U.S. Treasury is in the process of recognizing Durif and Petite Sirah as interchangeable synonyms referring to the same grape. Concannon Vineyard’s own vines were initially purchased from France in 1911. “We still have the original purchase statement,” John says. “In 1961, my father was the first vintner to introduce California Petite Sirah as a varietal wine; before that it was all used as blending material. Now it’s one of the fastest growing varietals, up more than 11 percent in 2010 as compared to the previous year.” Petite Profile None of this would matter if Petite Sirah couldn’t be fashioned into distinctive, lovely wines, but varietally specific pitfalls abound throughout the vinification process. The Petite portion of the name refers to the size of its berries and not the vine, which is particularly vigorous. The grape’s tightly-packed clusters can be susceptible to rotting in rainy environments. Small berries create high skin-to-juice ratios that produce big tannins if the maceration period is extended. Comparisons to Syrah abound, but Petite Sirah is noticeably darker. Bouquets are herbal, with black pepper overtones and flavors of blue and black fruits, especially blueberries and plums. In the pres- ence of new oak barrels, an aroma of melted chocolate can often develop. Petite is typically rounder and fuller in the mouth than Syrah and often quite tannic, with a spicy, plummy flavor. Petite offers a brightness that Syrah lacks, but can sometimes be rather short on the palate. That’s why it is often blended with grapes such as Syrah and Mourvèdre, which may lack mid-palate depth but can add length and elegance. The varietal is also quite ageable, many wines prospering in the bottle for more than 20 years. Petite Potential “The varietal will continue to grow,” says John Concannon. “Petite Sirah is now a distinct wine, even differentiated from Durif. As with other such varietals, regionality and terroir will more fully distin- guish various bottlings. Showing where the wine comes from on the label, that’s something we can do to benefit the consumer. That’s the future of Petite Sirah.” To some extent, Petite Sirah will probably always be a hand-sell. As long as the name is shared with Syrah, there will be confusion. But as Concannon would say, that’s all just part of the fun of discover- ing a new varietal. www.psiloveyou.org january–february 201 1 / the tasting panel / 67 Concannon made the first varietally- labeled Petite Sirah. PHOTO: COURTESY OF CONCANNON VINEYARD