Petite Sirah: Petite or not?

A recent conversation and tasting with Girard winemaker, Zach Long, brought to my attention that a long held belief that Petite Sirah is so named for its small berry size may be a myth. As we tasted Girard’s 2007 Petite Sirah, a deliciously big, fruity, inky, juicy wine from Napa, I was quite surprised to hear Zach say that in fact Petite Sirah berries are not wee things compared to, say, Syrah, or other popular red grapes. I quickly checked my own book (beware: shameless plug ahead), Wine At Your Fingertips, to make sure that I had not been lying to my tens of readers all this time. Phew, I left out discussion of Petite Sirah berry size altogether!

That didn’t mean, however, that I had not read in more than one place that “Its smaller berries with higher skin to pulp ratio leads to more intense flavors” in reference to Petite Sirah. I thought this was kind of the gist of it and, well, it does make sense. Petite Sirah is intensely flavored and has formidable tannin structure, which in part comes from the skins of the grapes. When I Googled “Petite Sirah berry size” the majority of results made reference to the small sized berries. However, when I Googled actual images of the grapes on the vine (see picture) the berries did not appear to be that small after all. The clusters are snug but that is all that I could decipher from the pictures. Ambling down this road has only succeeded in confusing me (and now you!) so let’s just get down to what we know…or what we think we know…

Petite Sirah was cultivated in the 1870s in the Rhone region of France where it is known as ‘Durif’ or ‘Petite Syrah’. The grape is the result of a cross between Syrah and a relatively minor Rhone variety, Peloursin. It is more successful in California than it ever was in France and is most commonly spelled ‘Petite Sirah’ there, an anglicized spelling of the original name. The grape generally produces bold, deeply colored wines with big, dark, inky fruit and plenty of tannin structure. It is often used as a blending grape most notably to add color. Wineries in the U.S. can now use either Petite Sirah or Durif on wine labels. I love Petite Sirah in the winter because it is warming, soul-satisfying, and unique. We have some great examples in the store at various prices including Vinum Cellars PETS ($15.99), The Terraces ($33.99), and Outpost The Other (54.99). You should give it a try no matter the berry size!

Happy New Year & Vintry Wine & Whisky

Ok, ok, so we haven’t blogged in ages; apparently since May 2009 in fact. Before you go all ‘east coast’ on us, please bear in mind that 2009 was a busy year for the Drink the Good Stuff bloggers. We opened up our retail shop, specializing in California wines, in the Financial District of Manhattan just a scant 13 months ago. Having just survived our first real holiday season, we are now moving in to the doldrums of January. With new years’ come new intentions and we are sincerely, definitely, maybe going to keep blogging on a regular basis – starting………… NOW!

Few wine related bars or restaurants impress us all that much anymore so we have to give a shout out to the folks at Vintry Wine & Whisky. This bar recently opened on Stone Street amongst a sea of beer bars, Swedish meatballs, and 5 dollar foot longs. Needless to say, it is an enormously welcome addition to the neighborhood and we have fast become regular clientele.

Vintry pretty much gets everything right. The atmosphere is an oasis of calm and sophistication without being fussy or overdone. It’s comfortable and fun and the tunes will have you jolting from Frankie Blue Eyes to Led Zeppelin, to The Killers in a matter of minutes. In a good way. The wait staff is knowledgeable and super friendly and they seem to keep their calm even on the busiest of evenings.

The small plates of food are delicious, even if you are ‘over’ small plates. The menu offers tastes of high quality, well-made food that pairs well with the wine and whisky menu (we’ll get to that in a minute.) Our current faves are the sheep milk ricotta gnocchi & lamb ragu (heavenly little pillows of goodness) and the veal meatballs. The pan seared ribeye is not bad either, which is not surprising considering the family association with Harry’s Steak.

Speaking of Harry, many of the wines come from his cellar, which means you can get amazing vintage stuff from Burgundy, Bordeaux ― you name it ― all in superior condition. The list of wines is deep and varied and can keep you busy for hours. Not that we would know. The only thing we can find lacking is any substantial representation of good California wines on the list. That said, we are considerably more picky that most in that area. And it is OUR area, so stay out of it! ;)

The whisky list may be even more impressive. Bourbon, Scotch, Irish Whisky, Japanese Whisky, you name it they’ve got it. We’ve discovered more than a few excellent whiskies at Vintry, including our latest favorite, the 16 Yr Scapa Single Malt Scotch Whiskey. In a word, “wow!”

All in all, we have always had a positive experience at Vintry and we think you will too.

Vintry Wine & Whisky

57 Stone Street

(212) 480-9800