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Brrrrrrrrr…
Baby, it is cold outside but wine lovers in Florida see the bright side: Perfect weather for stews, barbecue, chili, leg of lamb… and big reds. At last!
Some folks bring out the amarones, the big mountain cabs or the ports. Me, I call the chill wind “petite sirah.”
2006 Girard Petite Sirah Napa - 24.99 (22.49 by the case!)
Despite the name, petite’s very big, the John Wayne of wines. It’s an unsophisticated fieldhand working with zinfandel in old California field blends. Big in alcohol, a truckload of flavors, black berries, blueberries, raspberries, pepper and spice, chocolate and licorice, and yet its texture is lush and supple thanks to palate-friendly tannins.
While petite is a secret weapon in many great zins and newfangled table reds, it’s rich on its own. In the value cellar, petite’s my fave on the flavor-per-dollar scale. Bogle and McManis (9.99) and Ravenswood ($6.99) are consistent winners. At those prices and this weather, better lay in a case before snow blocks the passes.
Petite is not just a cousin from no-name corners of the Central Valley; Petite still grows in NapaValley and comes out elegantly in 2004 Delectus ($43.99) and Girard’s 2006 ($24.99). Up in Alexander Valley where the Seghesios show great respect to their pioneer elders, they expanded and replanted the 1895 clones to make an historic and heroic Home Ranch Petite Sirah in2005 ($31.99).
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