Fall is right around the corner, so it's time for a wine with some depth. Tastings columnists Dottie Gaiter and John Brecher tried a few bottles of Petite Sirah and share their picks. (Sept. 12)
Virtual Wine Tasting Clip: Bloody Good Red 2004Wine Tasting Clip of Bloody Good Red 2004 selected from Oddbins on 27 June 2006.WINE: Bloody Good Red 2004VINTAGE: 2004PRODUCER: Bonny DoonGRAPES: 25% Carignane, 13% Petite Sirah, 10% Cabernet Franc, 11% Sangiovese, 8% Zinfandel, 7% Barbera, 6% Syrah etcREGION: CaliforniaCOUNTRY: USAONE WORD: JammyTASTING: A full, slightly jammy mish-mash of black fruit, spice and green stalky aromas and a full bodied, rich palate. Definitely not one for the faint hearted!FOOD MATCH: Venison with wild mushrooms and rosehip jellyFOOD MATCH FROM: "The Gastro Pub Cookbook"
My birthday present to David was a roadtrip getaway, a 3-day scenic trip up the coast. We left on Friday morning, stopped in Santa Barbara for lunch, then continued on to Los Olivos where we visited several of the wine tasting rooms, our favorite being Epiphany (who had the yummiest Petite Sirah). We got into Cambria late afternoon on Friday, just in time to open that same Petite Sirah, enjoy a bite of bread and cheese and enjoy the scenery off the Central California coastline. For dinner we headed to historic Cambria Pines Lodge and afterwards dazzled everyone with our dancing in the little bar attached to the hotel where we had dinner. Saturday morning we took a walk (complete with very brisk wind) along the pedestrian boardwalk that runs along the rocky coast, then headed north a few miles to San Simeone to visit Hearst Castle. After visiting the castle, our plan was to turn back south to Arroyo Grande to visit my dear friend Julie and spend Saturday night there, but we couldn't resist stopping in Avila Beach on our way, which was just gorgeous and also the home of the Alapay Cellars wine tasting room, which turned out to be our favorite wine stop of the trip. We stayed at Julie's on Saturday night and on Sunday hit the road again to return to Los Angeles and reality. In short, it was as close to a perfect weekend as you can get - beautiful weather, very relaxing, very romantic... (happy sigh...) I highly recommend!
Today Gary vaynerchuk tastes through 5 different red wines from California. Watch as gary spits through 1 Pinot Noir,2 Cabernets,1 meritage and a Petite Sirah.
In the last few years there has been an explosion of wine culture in Israel. There are many new wine stores all over Israel and numerous different types of wine, grape varieties & wine growing regions. Israelis are hungry for information, and wine appreciation courses are over subscribed. Many wine lovers have become winemakers, making their own wines, at home or in the garage. There are now well over 100 wineries in Israel -- from those producing millions of bottles, to the garagiste producing a few thousand. The quality is at worst international standard and at best, even world class. Only in 1996 the wine consumption in Israel was 3.5 liters a head; by 2004 it had doubled to 7 liters a head. The local market is worth US $ 170 million a year. Exports of Israeli wines increased by 40 % in 2004. It is a small, vibrant, & successful industry with a variety and quality that will surprise those who have not visited Israel recently.During my own visits to Israel's wineries, I have discovered an amazing new world, in which hundreds of people with the same passion have dedicated themselves to studying, enjoying & producing wine. It is almost as if their veins flow with wine not blood ! They talk about wines with the shining eyes of a fanatic and but also with a love that is greater than passion.My personal discovery is that behind every simple bottle of wine there is a fascinating story; every bottle contains a soul which is alive as it changes & develops. Believe me, producing wine is not an easy thing to do.I got the bug of this seductive business and have grown to love & appreciate both the stories of the people who make wine & the places where it is made. I have realized that only after fully understanding the background, is it possible to really appreciate the wine in the glass.For the benefit of all the winemakers and the wine lovers - and also for me personally, I have decided to build this internet site: www.israelwines.co.il . It was initially launched in Hebrew only, but I have now introduced an English section.Many hours have been dedicated to build this site; there is still a long way before us.It seems as if the wine stories and inventions in the Israeli wine industry will never end -- new wineries seem to open daily.I am an engineer by profession, working in the electronic field during the week and at the weekends I switch hats, change my way of thinking and enter the spirit & atmosphere of the world of wine. Everything I am able to find about Israel wine, its vineyards, its viticulturists & winemakers, you will be able to find in this site which is dedicated to the wonderful product which I am so proud of: Israeli wine!Please do not hesitate to contact me by email to give your opinion or to ask for information. I receive emails from all over the world and I would be happy to hear from you too. This site is a one man project, with the help of a few friends, set up & maintained by someone with a passion. My objective is to faithfully record what is happening on the wine scene in Israel. I personally visit the wineries, wine events, tastings, take photographs, conduct interviews, write articles and manage to keep everything updated. Most news about Israeli wine appears in israelwines.co.il first! Cheers -- or as we say here, Le Chaim -- To Life !!
Petite Sirah is it the same as Syrah? Is Petite Sirah bigger or smaller then Syrah? Is Petite Sirah the same as Durif? All these questions and more will be answered by a sad Gary Vaynerchuk.
Gary tastes 3 Petite Sirahs that come in at the low price range. Learn a little bit more about what Sirah is, what grape family it's from and what kinds of sniffy sniffs and whirly whirls they provide.Free Wine Library Reserve Weekly Video Podcast on iTunes: http://bit.ly/winelibraryreser e_itunesRevision3 Facebook Fan Page: http://bit.ly/revision3_facebookFor more visit: http://revision3.com/winelibraryreserve
Toucan Wines estate Zinfandel and Petite Sirah harvested in 2007 from our 3 1/2 acre vineyard and estate winery in Arroyo Grande Valley, Central Coast of California.
Brant and Jackie Davis live in Lodi California where the raise painted horses and make delicious wine.Riverbluff Cellars is a small boutique winery that produces a gret Rhone blend called Tantalize and a very bold petite syrah.
