June 10, 2003
It's wine made by elves right?
Here's a tip: This week's Wine Spectator "Wine of the Week" can actually be found in the NH Liquor Store: FOPPIANO Petite Sirah Paso Robles 2001 (90 points, $15) Bursting with rugged blueberry, black and white pepper, black cherry and earthy flavors, supported by formidable tannins that display some brawn, with everything folding nicely into the spicy, concentrated finish. A new Paso Robles bottling, and an excellent value, from this old-time Sonoma vintner. Best from 2004 through 2012. Here's a quick link to check the stock level at your closest NH state store.
Fun Wine Fact: The Petite Sirah grape and Syrah (aka Shiraz) grape, while both used for wine, are totally unrelated to each other. I just recently learned that myself after reading this article on Petite Sirah. A few days after reading the article, I was in a specialty wine shop in Mass where they were doing a little tasting for customers. One of the wines they were serving was a Petite Sirah, and the wine "expert" was explaining to the assembled patrons that it was called Petite Syrah because the grapes were picked when they were smaller than normal. Well, he certainly looked like an expert, and he acted like one. He probably normally only deals with French wines...
Posted by David at June 10, 2003 11:20 PM | EditWell, actually, it is somewhat related in that Petite Sirah (Durif) was created "by crossing true Syrah with a minor varietal called Peloursin."
As for the Cape Code wine store "expert", picking grapes when they are smaller would mean picking them when they were not yet ripe. How would you get all the characteristics that a PET is known for if you used under-ripe fruit in the process.
Whatever happened to "I'm not sure of the answer but let me check and I'll get back to you."
They pick the grapes when fully ripe, but then shrink them in an "appareil se racornir" until they are only 10% of their normal size.
...wait, you mean this isn't the French Sci-Fi Blog? Sorry :-)