After actualizing months of planning, and the long day of putting on an educational symposium, it’s virtually impossible to do anything else of substance that day. That won’t keep me from trying, however, if I come up with what seems like a great idea…. Something I’ve never seen done before and it’s got “great idea” written all over it.
That happened to me this past 10th Annual Petite Sirah Symposium, hosted by Concannon Vineyard.
The symposium had moved to the final stage… the tasting of Pets in Concannon’s wine cellar. As I looked at over 40 Petite Sirahs in the barrel room, I was urged by many people to “Come taste my Petite!” After six or seven invites, I finally gave in, in the last half hour of the event. I knew, though, if I tasted one, I’d also have to taste them all, not just one.
My parents had favorite children within the five of us, and not being one of the “favs” taught me a lot; i.e., love them all for their uniqueness, because they all have merit and it’s worth finding out what that might be.
That got my mind churning, as I was tasting my first one.
- How can I taste them all, except for one sip?
- How would that be worth it for anyone?
- They’re all going to be so different (that’s just Petite’s way, like each one of your kids), how can I even begin to remember what I’m doing without taking copious notes?
- Oh… wait a minute… what if I was to taste each brand, and only one from that brand?
This would make it really simple… I would just come up with a one word adjective that would describe that brand.
Yeah, as Jon Lovitz would say, “That’s the ticket!”
So, I began. When I told everyone what I was doing, they mostly said, “That’s a great idea!” Yeah, I thought so. It was pretty simple until about the last 10. Then, it became a bit more complicated, because I could easily duplicate an adjective. I was, however, not going to do that. I forced myself to be creative, get closer to the heart of the wine… I forced myself to not only stretch my perceptions of Petite, but I also gathered an adjective vocabulary for the variety that I had never seen before… making it a first for me; maybe it will also be that for you, too.
Now, it’s worth sharing. Enjoy all of the capabilities of Petite Sirah… And, I’m naming names, but the adjectives are in alphabetical order, so you’ll have to look for brands.
I couldn’t, however, taste them all. By the time I gave in to tasting, we were nearing the end of the tasting. I did the best that I could with the half hour I had left.
Adjectives first ~ brand second:
- Artistic ~ Artezin Garzini Ranch Petite Sirah
- Bing ~ Barra of Mendocino
- Blueberry ~ Concannon Vineyard
- Bold ~ Silkwood Wines
- Cottoncandy ~ PaZa Vineyard and Winery
- Conversationalist ~ Robert Biale Vineyards
- Feisty ~ Foppiano
- Intriguing ~Shoeshine Wine
- Intense ~ Diamond Ridge
- Jammy ~ Line 39
- Lavender ~ Cantara
- Luscious ~ Nottingham Cellars
- Mint ~ Gustafson Family Vineyards
- Old World ~ Pedroncelli
- Pensive ~ Occasio Winery
- Peppery ~ Rosenblum Cellars
- Petasera ~ Mounts Family Winery
- Plums ~Ranchita Canyon Vineyard
- Precision ~ Crusher by Don & Sons
- Pretty ~ Bogle
- Rich ~ Guglielmo Vineyard and Winery
- Metamorphic ~ Clayhouse, Old Vines
- Round ~ Shoe Shine Wine
- Rustic ~ Aver Family Vineyards
- Savvy ~ Aaron Wines
- Serious ~ Artezin, Mendocino Blend
- Smooth ~ David Coffaro
- Sumptuous ~ Ruby Hill
- Tasty ~ Vina Robles
- Velvet ~ Thomas Coyne
- Voluptuous ~ Fenestra
- Yummy ~ Michael~David
At this point, the event was over, as I started tasting in the last 30 minutes. I wish I could have started earlier, and tasted every single wine. It was impossible, as was writing each vintage, AVA, alcohol, etc.. There just wasn’t time. all I wanted to do was get a one word adjective to prove that Petite Sirah is never going to be easily pigeon holed.
I think this proves my point… In a word, complicated…
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