Last year I had such a great time at PS I Love You’s Dark and Delicious event held at the Rosenblum’s Rock Wall Winery in Alameda tasting an amazing collection of Petite Sirahs paired with delectable bites from prestigious restaurants from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. A few wineries, like Twisted Oak, also shared verticals of their Petite Sirahs. It’s always fun and insightful to taste through the years of a particular varietal.

Of course that’s me with the purple teeth in this picture from last year’s event with my new friend Jerae-Ione Knutson aka Red Wine Girl and Thea Dwelle of the blog Luscious Lushes and on Twitter as WineBratSF. Oh, we ALL have purple teeth–that’s Petite Sirah for you!

Since this year I’m missing out on all the fun, fine wine, and tasty bites that’s going on tomorrow, I decided in honor of this year’s Dark and Delicious to open three wines from the original King of Petite Sirah, Concannon. The Concannons started farming, growing wine grapes, and making wine in the Livermore valley in 1883. Over 50 years ago, they started growing and making Petite Sirah as a single varietal. While most vintners use Petite Sirah as a blending grape, the Concannons believed in the varietal and bottled it alone to showcase its depth, color and richness. Jim Concannon, who I met at his big birthday shindig last summer (and where I tasted a TON of Petite Sirah! and more notes here), put Petite Sirah on the California map. As a tribute to his father, his son Jim, at the birthday bash, presented his father as well as the celebrants with his new blend, Crimson & Clover, which showcases Petite Sirah blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.

Annie Any-Day, Bacchus Schmaccus, Marshall Moneybags and I gathered recently to enjoy a steak dinner and to taste the 2009 Crimson & Clover plus the 2007 and 2008 Conservancy Petite Sirahs, all media samples which retail at under $20 and with alcohols from 13.5-13.7%. We served seared steaks, baked potatoes, asparagas and thoroughly enjoyed the wines and the time.

The Crimson & Clover Concannon Conservancy 2009 is sweet to start with dryness on finish, black cherry fruit overtones, tannin skin nose, adequate balance with enough complexity to keep it interesting.  Tasted with cheeses:  good with brie and mushroom cheese, ok with italian truffle cheese, and GREAT with chocolate cheddar.  The color of Draculas blood and reminiscent of gothic churches.  “I want to drink your blood,” we teased.

We agreed that this Crimson & Clover red wine blend would be a great “gateway” red wine for the typical American white wine drinker.

Petite Sirah Concannon Conservancy 2007 is masculine plum color graphite interesting with an angular finish.  Hunk a hunk of burning love, we thought, robust displaying strong character. I liked this one best and found it most complex.

Here are our notes for the Petite Sirah Concannon Conservancy 2008: for workmen who like wines steal this bottle.  Fruit forward complex nose, remarkable wow and smooth operator, lush and aged to perfection.  Smoke your finest cigar,  buy a winning lottery ticket, and seat a supermodel like Claudia Schiffer on your lap.  You are in for a treat with this remarkable wine, went to heaven with an angel.

Today you can find Concannon’s value priced PS at a grocery store near you so go get lucky!

And if you’re really lucky, you’ll be at this year’s Dark & Delicious:

Friday, February 17, 2012 ~ Rock Wall Wine Company in Alameda
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
2301 Monarch St., Suite 30D, Alameda, CA 94501
Tickets: $63.00 per person ~ Free Parking

tasting wines from:

1. Andis Wines (Debut of new member)
2. Aratas Wines (Debut of new member)
3. Artezin (Hess Collection)
4. Aver Family Vineyards
5. Ballentine Vineyards
6. Berryessa Gap Winery
7. Bogle Vineyards and Winery–great wines for the price, great intro to Petite Sirah
8. Christian Lazo Wines (Debut of new member)
9. Clayhouse Wines
10. Concannon Vineyard
11. David Fulton Winery
12. Diamond Ridge Vineyards
13. Don & Sons–really impressed with their PS
14. Estrella Creek Wines
15. F. Teldeschi
16. Field Stone
17. Foppiano Vineyards
18. Grizzly Republic–if you go, check them out for sure!
19. Guglielmo Winery (Debut of new member)
20. Gustafson Family Vineyards
21. Handal Denier (Debut of new member)
22. Harney Lane Winery
23. J. Baldwin Wines
24. J. Rickards Winery (Debut of new member)
25. Lava Cap
26. Line 39
27. Line Shack + Lido Bay Winery
28. McCay Cellars
29. Mettler Family Wines
30. Michael~David Winery
31. Miro Cellars
32. Mounts Family Winery
33. Nottingham Cellars
34. Occasio Winery
35. Odonata Winery (Debut of new member)
36. Page Mill Winery
37. Parducci Wine Cellars
38. R & B Cellars
39. Ridge Vineyards–don’t miss
40. Robert Biale Winery–def don’t miss
41. Rock Wall Wine Company–the hosts with the most!
42. Rosenblum Winery
43. Rutherford Grove
44. Shadowbrook Winery (Debut of new member)
45. Silkwood Wines
46. Stage Left Cellars
47. Stags’ Leap Winery
48. Stanton Vineyards
49. Tercero Wines
50. Trentadue Winery
51. Tres Sabores
52. Trueheart Vineyard (Debut of new member)
53. Turkovich Family Winery (Debut of new member)
54. Twisted Oak–say hi to Jeff for me!
55. Vezér Family Vineyards
56. Vina Robles
57. Wilson Vineyards

To purchase tickets, go to Brown Paper Tickets.