I usually avoid writing the kind of blog post that just lists a bunch of wines.

I like to tell stories.

And I think story telling is my strength.

But sometimes it is necessary to just resort to a few keys words to convey a story about wine when you’re trying to talk about many wines.

In this case, many bottles of wine–but they’re all Petite Sirah.

I am trying to remember if I’ve ever been to a tasting of one varietal like this other than Dark & Delicious which is also Petite Sirah and I’m scratching my head. I’ve been to New Zealand new release tastings where there was mostly sauvignon blanc and Pinot noir…but that wasn’t the point of the tasting.

I went away from Tuesday’s PS I Love You Petite Sirah symposium and tasting flabbergasted at how different these wines can be based on terroir and wine maker style and vintage and more. To suss out terroir a bit more, instead of organizing the tasting alphabetically, I’d love to attend a Petite Sirah tasting organized by AVA!

So here are the links to many of the participating Petite Sirah wineries, most of whom belong to PS I Love You, the Petite Sirah industry advocacy group organized by Jo Diaz, with a few of my notes from the wineries alphabetically from A-C.

• Aratas Wines ~ Napa
• Artezin Wines ~Napa;
  Mendocino Garzini Ranch: mild and gamey, they also do a PS that has a bit of zin and charbono in it! The family planted vines in 1921.
• Artisan Family of Wines ~ Napa;
  08 Seven Artisans Clayton Road, Suisun Valley: beautiful gold calligraphy bottle! They made 800 cases. Clean, pure, fruit. $18.
• Aver Family Vineyards ~ San Martin;
  He brought 3 wines, 2 decanted.
  08 Family Album 73% PS, 13% cab, 15% mourvedre–savory, meaty, vegetal–basil, lime. $25.
  07 Blessings PS also very savory, all estate grown which is sustainable and organic, this wine sells out 2:1.
  Not yet released Blessings 08 96% PS, 6% syrah will be released in October more earthy and rich with molasses, graphite, grilled/stewed plums. Wow.
• (Robert) Biale Vineyards ~ Presenting ~ Napa
  This was fun! Robert Biale brought in 4 2010 barrel samples from different vineyards. They were all so good, it was hard to believe they hadn’t been bottled yet! He thinks of himself as a zin house but I know his Syrah is amazing too.
  Thompson well balanced
  St Helena: like blue berry pie, with a finish that went on and on like “The Never Ending Story”
  Rutherford: peppery, earth, old vines (115 years!)
  Sutro Calistoga: very balanced, complete, perfect
• Bogle Vineyards & Winery ~ Clarksburg
  08 Grapes from Clarksburg and Lodi. Savory nose of leather, then blackberry jam and a long finish with some cherry cola. I’d love this with duck breast and cherries. This is a great entry level PS since it typically retails for around $12. They also brought a PS rose ($8) and a port ($18) but I didn’t get a chance to taste them.
• Bray Vineyards ~ Plymouth
  This is what I said about Bray in yesterday’s post about what to eat with your Petite: I met John Hody, the GM and winemaker from Bray; they make about 3600 cases of 22 wines including Tempranillo and Verdelho–the AVA up there in Amador County is well above the fog and warm which Petite Sirah likes. When I tasted it that afternoon, I found the 08 “husky” and very earthy, but a few days later, I am finding it FANTASTIC full of fun blue berry fruit which reminds me how well PS likes to hang out in the cellar for a few years.
• Clavo Cellars ~ Templeton
• Concannon Vineyard ~ Sponsor ~ Livermore
  We enjoyed Concannon wines with our dinner on Monday and then our lunch on Tuesday: Nina’s Cuvee and Captain Joe’s plus Crimson and Clover for dessert with dinner. I enjoyed Nina’s softer tannnins and blackberry fruit with the barbecued chicken and the more intense Captain Joe’s smoke and black cherry with the tritip. I’ll be writing more about the Crimson and Clover when I get a sample to review soon. They also had their 06 Heritage PS which retails at $60. This recent release is a very rich husky, musty, warm and lusty wine!
• More to come!