This newsletter is particularly appealing to me because the two wines featured are the lightest and darkest wines we’ve ever made. It says so many things about our collective personalities — bipolar, prone to extremes, domestic/foreign, subtle/ostentatious, refined/crude, bouillabaisse/side of beef, chilled or room temperature... (ok, I am in therapy.) Anyway, the only common ground between the two wines is that neither is anywhere near mainstream consumer tastes. Imagine some nice young couple walking into The Healdsburg Hotel and ordering a glass of Dry Rosé and a Petite Sirah instead of Chardonnay and Merlot. Suddenly, all of the patrons freeze E.F. Hutton-commercial-like. Both grapes have a dubious history here in California, supporting mostly low-end jug wine. It takes courage to drink even high quality versions of them in public. These are proletariat wines, but when handled with artistry can appeal to the masses and yet still satisfy the elite.

Despite their vast differences, Grenache Rosé and Petite Sirah fit in a wide range of summer venues. They could appear at the Symphony and Croquet Outdoor Grilled Dinner Gala or Horseshoes and Barbecue at the KOA without seeming out of place. Summer is the perfect time for both wines — this Rosé is one of the few chilled wines you can serve with grilled foods and Petite Sirah will stand up to anything, including the charcoal.

2002 Grenache Rosé

For those who missed out on last year’s model, we offer a bit more quantity in 2002. What is different about this year? Not a whole lot. The wine is a slight shade lighter in color, which was by design. Darker color usually indicates higher tannins. Even slightly elevated tannins can result in bitter-beer face when combined with a high alcohol, no residual- sugar-wine that is going to be served chilled. The new Rosé has a higher percentage of Grenache (95% vs 80% in 2001). As you might expect the ’02 goes to eleven on the floral fruity scale, thanks to Grenache, without ever becoming blush-like. Its full body, crisp acidity and alcohol structure make this a serious wine for un-serious people. Very dry humor, that is.

Harvested: 10/2/02, 10/12/02 & 10/16/02
Total acidity: .71 g/100 ml
pH: 3.34
Oak Aging: Stainless steel tank and barrels
Blend: 95% Grenache, 5% Mourvedre
Alcohol: 14.5%
Bottled: 4/9/03
Cases produced: 249
Price: $18.00 bottle

2001 Petite Sirah

How Petite Sirah got its name is beyond me. Its wine is neither small nor is it much like Syrah. Most of what we call Petite Sirah in California is actually a grape called Durif. Dr. Durif created this grape in the late 1800’s by crossing Syrah with an obscure varietal called Peloursin, both native to the Northern Rhone. His intention was to find a Syrah-like grape that was resistant to powdery mildew. Durif was quickly poo-pooed in France because its tight clusters were susceptible to bunch rot, and though the resulting wine was black, it had coarse tannins, lacked complexity and just wasn’t sophisticated enough for the French. Naturally, this vulgar grape found a home in California. It’s black color and rough tannins were ideal for fixing anything that ailed the everyday red (mostly Zinfandel) prevalent at the time. Eventually, Petite Sirah was made as a varietal on its own, mostly by immigrant Italians. The same dynamics are at work in Dry Creek today. Dad planted this 4-acre vineyard in 1998 chiefly for its blending abilities (every Zinfandel winemaker in Dry Creek knows you need good Petite Sirah to make good Zin) but we had enough left after the zin blend to make a few barrels on its own.

Petite Sirah, like it’s brother in arms, Zinfandel, is a wine that could only be made in America—opaque in every definition of the word. I could go on, but in patriotic support of free speech, I’m going to let our resident Frenchman describe our first ever Petite Sirah. Says Sebastian Pochan, "This is no ballerina wine: black color, flashy aromas of blackberry, sweet spices and promiscuous oak; lush mouthfeel, big velvety tannins and a long, rich finish. It's like an Italian bordello (see, I told you he was French), a baroque Bavarian palace or a Las Vegas honeymoon. It ain’t pretty, it’s just good." You can only imagine how he describes Grenache.

Harvested: 10/6/01
Total acidity: .66g/100ml
pH: 3.74
Oak Aging: 13 months 80% French oak barrels and puncheons, 20% new; 20% American oak
Blend: 100% Petite Sirah
Alcohol: 14.5%
Bottled: 11/10/02
Cases produced: 129
Price: $25.00

4 2 0 2   D r y   C r e e k   R o a d  -  H e a l d s b u r g  C A  9 5 4 4 8          -         t e l  7 0 7 -  4 3 3 - 5 5 9 0  /  f a x   7 0 7  -  4 3 3 - 5 5 9 1

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