What’s the Silver Bullet, Dr. Vino? ~ Juicy Tales by Jo Diaz, August 9, 2010
“The question posed to Dr. Vino at the Eighth Annual Petite Sirah Noble Symposium this year was, ‘Can Petite Sirah be the next Pinot Noir?” Or, more to the point, “What’s the key to making Petite Sirah the next hottest variety?’
“This topic was suggested by a marketing agent, who thought this would be a great concept to explore for its possibilities.” [...]
How to Grow and Make Petite Sirah ~ Wines & Vines ~ Paul Franson, August 6, 2010
“California grapegrowers and a winemaker talk techniques and tannins: Petite Sirah growers and winemakers discussed the variety at the annual PS I Love You meeting.
Livermore, Calif. — At the recent annual meeting of PS I Love You, the organization of Petite Sirah growers and producers, experts discussed the special requirements of this increasingly popular but demanding grape variety. Three grower/managers described their farming practices, and a winemaker described how he treats Petite Sirah grapes in the cellar.” [...]
Top Wine Stories ~ StarkSilverCreek.com ~ Clinton Stark, August 7, 2010
Can Petite Sirah become the next Pinot Noir?
Petite Sirah I Love You: This was the question asked at a recent wine symposium in Livermore, California. The “families” as I called them arrived to discuss the little grape that could: Petite Sirah. What to do? Will consumers ever accept the bold, inky little guy?
Apparently so enamored with the topic, I wrote about it twice:
* PS - I Love You
* Godfather, can Petite Sirah become the next Pinot Noir?
Petite Sirah Stars at Symposium ~ Lodi News, Jon Bjork, August 2, 1010
“When kid-less guys get together, the conversation can turn to Ferraris, Porsches and BMWs, or some other brand that brings on that unmistakably desire for possession [...]“
My Lips Turned Blue, So Did My Teeth ~ My Vine Space, Laura Ness, August 1, 2010
“My lips turned blue, so did my teeth, and blue-purple juice was dripping down my chin. And it was happening to everyone around me. No. I was not taking part in a blueberry pie eating contest, or sampling juicy ripe plums at a Farmer’s Market. I was at Concannon Vineyards in Livermore, the Stonehenge of Petite Sirah. It was the 8th annual focused tasting that PS I Love You, an advocacy organization dedicated to this most delightful teeth-stainer, holds yearly for its members, all who are passionate about purpleness.”
Eight Annual Petite Sirah Noble Symposium ~ Palate Press, Ken Payton, August 1, 2010
“In 2002, the year PS I Love You executive director Jo Diaz began keeping records, there were some 60 growers and producers of Petite Sirah (PS) in California. Now, owing in part to her tireless efforts, Ms. Diaz may proudly count in excess of 126 growers and a staggering 723 producers in the state. And on July 27th at PS pioneer Concannon Vineyard in Lodi, California, was held what has become Petite Sirah’s State of the Union celebration [...]“
Godfather, can Petite Sirah become the next Pinot Noir? ~ July 30, 2010, by Clinton Stark
“The families gathered this week in Livermore to talk business. The question—can Petite Sirah become the next Pinot Noir?—would be discussed at length amongst the assembled winemakers, marketeers and trade for the better part of a day. At the head of the long table, in a conference room next to the lofty barrel room at Concannon Vineyard, sat The Godfather, Jim Concannon, and his son, John, playing the part of the up-start, savvy Michael Corleone.
“Before Dr. Vino (author Tyler Colman) addressed the families, Mr. Concannon stood and announced, “The best bottle of wine is an empty one.” Here, here! Agreeable nods of approval from those assembled around the room. [...]“
Some delicious petite sirahs are out there ~ July 30, 2010, by Laura Ness
“Yesterday, my lips turned blue. So did my teeth, and blue-purple juice was dripping down my chin.
“And it was happening to everyone around me. No, I was not taking part in a blueberry pie-eating contest, or sampling juicy ripe plums at a Farmer’s Market.
“But there was some component of both of those delightful activities involved, because, as it turns out, I was at a petite sirah tasting. Not just any petite tasting, but the annual focused tasting that PS I Love You, an advocacy organization dedicated to this most delightful teeth-stainer, holds yearly for its members, all of whom are passionate about purpleness. [...]“
“The Eighth Annual Petite Sirah Noble Symposium took place July 27, 2010 at Concannon Vineyard of Livermore. Concannon rolled out the red carpet and went out of their way to provide first-class hospitality to both winery owners and press. [...]
Vivivino.com ~ Wine Region Travels with Lori Lapid Petite Sirah stains my thumbs!
“It took over 24 hours to get the wine stains out of my right thumb after attending a Petite Sirah lunch and wine tasting last week. If you don’t already know, Petite Sirah is a very dark and robust grape that is made into a very dark and robust wine. Some people get confused in thinking that the Petite Sirah grape is just a smaller Syrah grape. That is wrong. It is its own varietal from a little grown French vine called Peloursin, and Syrah, but the name of Petite Sirah has become attached to several different grape varieties all of which have been traditionally planted together in California. This varietal has been talked about in California wine literature as far back as 1880. Petite Sirah produces a savory, almost meaty character and dense blackberry fruit. Its powerful style has long made it a useful blending wine, especially for Zinfandel. The Petite Sirah wine is often age worthy, lasting up to 20 years in the bottle. It’s best known for growing in Mendocino and Sonoma County, and Livermore Valley in California. It is also grown in Argentina and Brazil where unirrigated vineyards of often very old vines produce wines of considerable depth, backbone and brutal power.” [...]
The Petite Sirah Symposium began in 2002, and was sponsored by Foppiano Vineyards. Louis Foppiano had had a meeting of Petite Sirah growers and producers prior to 2002, and he asked me to create a current PS Symposium. It proved to be very successful, and those annual meetings continued at Foppiano until 2007. At that [...]
Petite Sirah Symposium At Concannon Features Aver, Occasio ~ My Vine Space, Laura Ness, July 30, 2010
“Tomorrow, July 27th, Concannon Winery once again hosts the annual PS I Love You Petite Sirah Symposium in Livermore. This year’s event is SOLD OUT, but you can tune in to the festivities by signing up for the live feed. at www.psiloveyou.org/live
“Last year, there were excellent examples of Petite from all over, including from Spangler in Oregon. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of trying new releases from Parducci (go Bob Swain! he’s speaking tomorrow, way cool), Mounts Family, Cupcake, Artezin, Mitchel Katz, Vina Robles, Poetic Cellars, Crooked Vine, Bodegas Aguirre, Stanton and Line 39. What a panoply of tastefully made Pets! But oh, the 2008 Occasio from Del Arroyo Vineyard in the Livermore Valley.! [...]“
PS I (gulp) Love You ~ Dan Berger, July 29, 2010 ~ Dan Berger’s Vintage Experiences
“Tannin is Petite Sirah’s constant nemesis, and at the eighth annual PS I Love You symposium this week, it was the one word that was almost completely unspoken. Yet it was on display most [...]
Petite Sirah ~ Girl With a Glass ~ Alana Gentry, July 29, 2010
“Have you noticed that Petite Sirah is a well-known grape but not a popular one? I’ve never overheard anyone requesting a glass of Petite Sirah in a bar, and I rarely see it on a wine list. But I have seen it in many blends. In fact, Clark Smith, a leading authority on the enhancement of wine structure says, ‘the best Zinfandels have Petite Sirah in them.’” [...]
PS - I Love You ~ StarkSilverCreek.com ~ Clinton Stark, July 28, 2010
“The best bottle of wine is an empty one.” And with those prescient words from Jim Concannon, the Godfather of wine (at least on this day) who presided with his son Jim at the head of the table, the “family” began discussing business. Fortunately I was there, and spent the day in one of my favorite places, Livermore, at Concannon Vineyards for the annual “PS – I Love You” symposium.
The symposium is all about the little grape that could: Petite Sirah. In its 8th year, the event brings out winemakers and industry folks from across Livermore, Napa, Sonoma, and also up to Mendocino, and seemingly just about every other place (e.g. Fair Play) interested in the mysterious varietal that delivers that oft-feared wallop of tannins and assertive fruit. All while asking, “Don’t you like it inky?” [...]
Is there a Durif in the house? ~ Sostervinobles by , July 28, 2010
A different week, a different bridge. And different AVAs to explore. Your West Coast Oenophile took in two very different tastings this past week in the overshadowed wine regions of the East Bay. Given the Arctic summer we are experiencing in San Francisco, the quest for heat played no small role in my sojourns.
Given that I covered both of these events in 2009, my trek entailed less about new discoveries, rather more about reinvigorating relationships Sostevinobile had forged last year (or earlier). I started with the rather eclectic P.S. I Love You, a still somewhat nascent trade organization for growers and producers of Petite Sirah. Now single varietal advocacies are nothing new-the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) is now in its twentieth year and I understand a new Pinotage association has been formed. Nor are single varietal tastings uncommon-again, the ZAP Grand Festival every January, Pinot Days, the discontinued Merlot in May. Unlike the others, however, P.S. I Love You’s major annual conclave, the Petite Sirah Symposium, is strictly an industry affair, a daylong conference for growers and producers, with an intimate tasting that includes trade and media at the end. Not a great vehicle for public advocacy, but certainly a much more pleasurable alternative to the mob scenes with which professional attendees like myself must contend (he notes with trepidation as Family Winemakers looms on the near horizon…). [...]
Petite Sirah Symposium a Continuing Success ~ Juicy Tales by Jo Diaz, July 28, 2010
The Petite Sirah Symposium began in 2002, and was sponsored by Foppiano Vineyards. Louis Foppiano had had a meeting of Petite Sirah growers and producers prior to 2002, and he asked me to create a current PS Symposium. It proved to be very successful, and those annual meetings continued at Foppiano until 2007. At that [...]
BrixChix Facebook image of Liza and Jo, July 28, 2010
Recent Comments