Que Syrah Sirah #WinePW

A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet and a Durif wine called Petite Sirah is still as lovely.  But is Petite Sirah the same as Petite Syrah? 

Ahhhhhh.....that is the question I posed to my Wine Pairing Weekend Group this month.

Thirty some years ago, when I had transitioned from sweet wines to dry white wines and was heading towards dry red wines, I found Petite Syrah from Bogle Vineyards.  This became my go to wine for the longest time.  

I don't remember why I chose that bottle for my transition to red wines but I remember really loving that wine that eventually led me to my love of stronger dry reds.

Loving Bogle Petite Syrah, when I did transition I stuck with Bogle and loved their Cab and  Zinfandel.  I still pick up Bogle wines as I find them very drinkable and reasonably priced.

This article, though, is not about Bogle wines but rather Petite Syrah as they called it back then and/or Petite Sirah as they call it now.

One day, I couldn't find Petite Syrah.  Not by Bogle and not by any other winery.  I did find a Syrah wine but when I bought it and sipped I found that it was not at all like the wine I had been drinking.  

Then I came across a bottle of Petite Sirah and I wondered about the name change but never researched it until now when I received this bottle of  Petite Sirah from Buena Vista Winery named The Daredevil. 

Buena Vista has a rich history having been established by Agoston Haraszthy from Hungary who emigrated to the USA in 1840.  He came from a wine growing, land owning family and after traveling the States, experimenting with different opportunities and plantings finally made his way to California for the Gold Rush.

In 1856 he discovered Sonoma, California.  He knew that he had found the location for his "Purple Gold" and bought an old dry farmed vineyard already known as Buena Vista Ranch. He proclaimed himself "The Count of Buena Vista. There is a great story all set in a timeline by the winery in which they write "The Count understood that great wine comes not only from great grapes, but also from great terroir".

The count died in 1869 and sadly the winery sat dormant until it was purchased by the Bartholomew family in 1949 and restored the winery to it's former glory.  In 2011, the winery became part of Boisset Family Estates, a family who owned historic wineries throughout Burgundy, France.

Nowhere in this article did I find the answer to my original question.....Is Petite Sirah and Petite Syrah the same wine? ..... but I did enjoy the story of this family very much and would love to visit their wineries both here in the USA and in France.

What I did learn is that the Durif grape was created when Syrah and Peloursin plantings cross polinated creating a new grape that was named Durif.  It was renamed Petite Sirah upon it's arrival in California.  

One of the best explanations I have heard thus far comes from my friend Martin of Enofylyz Wine Blog who said "I always thought they had just misspelled Sirah when I saw it labeled Syrah". 

Since this is a Wine Pairing group we do include food pairings and our thoughts on the pairing with our readers.  You will find some great pairing tips, recipes and more answers to my original question in the links below.

I chose to pair my wine with a Hungarian Pancake as a nod to the Count of Buena Vista who first discovered this wonderful setting for a winery.  The pairing worked very well together and you can find my recipe for this great stew that I serve over potato pancakes in this article.  You can make one large pancake or serve the stew with individual potato pancakes.  I have done it both ways depending on the number of people that I'm serving.

Here are the linkups to the other articles being shared about Petite Sirah this month......

• Camilla of Culinary Cam shares A Meaty Match: Petite Sirah from Monterey with Merguez Sausage and Saucy Ribs 
• Cathie of Side Hustle Wino paired Petite Sirah and Smoked Brisket a Match Made in Heaven 
• Susannah of Avvinare writes  "PS I love You, A Change of Heart”
• David of Cooking Chat shares "Petite Sirah Pairings" 
• Martin ENOFYLZ Wine Blog visits Theopolis Vineyards Petite Sirah + Kare Kare
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm sings Que Syrah Sirah
• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator says "PS I Love You: Dark and Delicious Sierra Foothills Petite Sirah from Cantara, Kehret, Lava Cap" 

You are also invited to join in a Zoom Meeting that will be held on Saturday, March 11th at 11 AM ET.  All are welcome to attend but preregistration is required.  

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