Wine grape Petite Sirah was originally named Durif after its inventor

Philippines wine supplier Manila wine shop discusses wine by the grape variety Petite Sirah.

October 12, 2010

Petite Sirah, old and new

Petite Sirah is commonly dismissed as a “lesser” grape, but I like it. At its best it’s rich and intense, perhaps monolithic in its youth but offering a glimpse of something in its depths that patience and time will eventually reveal.

Opening a bottle of it can be like uncorking a taste of California history, although the grape is actually a “modern” cross of true Syrah and the ancient French variety Peloursin, developed in 1880 in Southern France. That’s only a short time back by the standard of grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Syrah, which go back to medieval times and beyond.

The variety – originally named Durif after its inventor – picked up its common name when it came to California a few years later. (The full story of Petite Sirah and its origins is available online in an intriguing timeline by Louis M. Foppiano, with commentary by the wine-grape scientist Dr. Carole Meredith, on the informative Website, “P.S. I Love You.”)

As I wrote in a quick survey of another Petite Sirah last year, the grape has never been dominant in California but has remained an important niche player. Many of its plantings, and arguably the best, are ancient, dry-farmed vines, some of them in patches going back to the late 1800s, most of which have been found to be “field blend” combinations of Durif, Peloursin, true Syrah, Zinfandel and Carignan.

Today we’re tasting a Petite Sirah from one of the first California wineries to grow and make it. Langtry Estate & Vineyards was founded in 1888 in Lake County’s Guenoc Valley, north of Napa, by a flamboyant British actress named Lillie Langtry, who declared her wine the “greatest claret in the country” and, by 1900. had a shelf full of medals and trophies to prove it. She sold the winery in 1906, and it closed during Prohibition. After a half-century of neglect, new owners brought it back in the 1960s.

Guenoc Valley was declared an American Viticultural Area (“AVA”) in 1981, and it remains one of the world’s few wine appellations that has only a single producer.

Langtry Estate produces higher-end wines under its own name; today’s tasting features the Petite Sirah from its “Guenoc Lake Country” line, wines made by Langtry with purchased grapes and generally very good values. The 2005 Guenoc Lake County Petite Sirah, reviewed below, is 100 percent Petite Sirah, aged in a combination of French and American oak barrels.

Source: http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor2/tswa20080206.php

Clark Wine Center was built in 2003 by Hong Kong-based Yats International Leisure Philippines to become the largest wine shop in Philippines supplying Asia’s wine lovers with fine vintage wines at attractive prices.  Today, this wine shop in Clark Philippines offers over 2000 selections of fine wines from all major wine regions in the world.  As a leading wine supplier in Philippines, Pampanga’s Clark Wine Center offers an incomparable breadth of vintages, wines from back vintages spanning over 50 years.  Clark Wine Center is located in Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone adjacent to Angeles City, just 25 minutes from Subic and 45 minutes from Manila.

Wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, Loire, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Alsace, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, Chile and Argentina etc. are well represented in this Clark Wine Shop.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila

Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple:  after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave.  From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City.  From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Clark Wine Center

Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building

Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,

Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023

0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars

Manila Sales Office

3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,

Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605

(632) 637-5019   0917-520-4393  ask for Rea or Chay

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.