WHINE # 42

 

YOU SAY SYRAH, I SAY…  A couple of weeks ago a Whiner e-mailed me noting how much he had enjoyed a bottle of Bogle Petite Sirah.   Since this wine is probably not all that well known to many of you this might be a good time to try and throw some light on some rather confusing names of varietals.

SYRAH:  This varietal has been grown for about 800 years in Northern Burgundy.  For a long time it was thought that the grape came from around the town of Shiraz in Persia.  However, recent DNA testing suggests that the wine may be indigenous to the area and may date back as far back as Roman times.  Syrah is often described as full-bodied and quite tannic.  Personally, I would see Syrah as full-bodied only when compared to other French wines; not when compared to wine from the New World.   There is a nice fruit flavour that is most frequently described as blackberry.

SHIRAZ:  For some reason when the Syrah vine stock was taken to Australia, the name got changed to Shiraz, perhaps thinking the origin had been in Persia.  One should note that Shiraz and Syrah are genetically identical.  Yet, if you simultaneously tasted an Australian Shiraz and a French Syrah you would find it hard to believe they were the same grape.  Shiraz is much more full-bodied and tends to have a much spicier taste.  Australian Shiraz is extremely popular in Canada and is a favorite summer accompaniment to bar-b-que, whereas French Syrah is little known on this side of the Atlantic.

PETITE SYRAH:  Sometimes a French producer will call an inferior Syrah a Petite Syrah.  I have never tasted one (I try to avoid inferior wines) so I shall comment no further.

PETITE SIRAH:   This wine is not Syrah.  It is a cross between Syrah and a little known varietal called Peloursin.  It is almost as unlike a Syrah as Cabernet Sauvignon, a cross between Cabernt Franc and Sauvignon Blanc is unlike its white wine parent.  Petite Sirah is a wonderful dark (almost purple) wine with lots and lots of tannins.  Unfortunately we see it very seldom in our wine shops.  It makes a wonderful alternative to the also tannic Cabernet Sauvignon. 

On my Whiner friend’s advice I found a bottle of the Bogle (California) Petite Sirah and served it blind to some dinner guests.  At the same time I served a much-more expensive Cabernet Sauvignon.  Everyone preferred the Petite Sirah.  If you can find a bottle, try it.  By the way, Bogle Petite Sirah is currently available at Premier Wines in Halifax and also available in Manitoba.  Not available in Ontario.

WINE AND CHEESE IN THE DEEP SOUTH:  Having recently spent the dreadful winter months of February and March in the deep South, I can now report on drinking in that part of the country.
First, wine consumption is low in the fundamentalist countryside.  Georgia, in particular, was one of the first states to bring in prohibition and many towns were still “dry” only a few years ago.  In restaurants one notes few people drinking wine, and if they are they are purchasing it by the glass rather than by the bottle.  Sweet tea seems to be what is ordered after the hand-holding ceremony of saying grace.

Waiters are not very familiar with wine culture, even in better restaurants.   Twice I had a waiter call another staff member because they didn’t know how to uncork a bottle.  Whenever a waiter did uncork a bottle the cork was immediately stuck back in the bottle.

One night I asked our waiter what wines they had.  The response was Merlot and Cabernet.  I asked for a bottle of Merlot and with a shocked look the comment was “But sir, you’ll get sloshed.”  Apparently the only wine they had was in gallon jugs.

One afternoon we pulled into a nice hotel in Albany, Georgia.  It was too early to go to dinner and too late to do much else.  Betty said she’d like some crackers and cheese to accompany a glass of wine.  With the help of my trusty GPS I located a large supermarket and found the tiny cheese section.  There was Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and one lonely piece of Parmesan.   A woman who looked suspiciously like the manager offered to help.  I asked where the cheese was.  She looked bewildered and pointed to the Cheddar.  I asked if there was any other cheese.  She asked “what kind.”  “Oh, some Brie or Camembert, or even some Gouda”, was my response.  “Come with me” and she took me to a display of more Cheddar.  “This is the only other cheese we have, what kind of cheese was it you wanted?”  “Well, any cheese really, you know Camembert, Brie, Gouda, Havarti”, I suggested.  “Well, I have never heard of any of those” she said.  I guess if you don’t drink wine, why bother with cheese.

WINE TASTING IN GEORGIA:  Despite the above, Georgia does have a burgeoning wine industry in the northeast corner of the state.  In fact, they have a “wine trail” with scores of tiny boutique wineries, all of which are open for tasting.  Like any wine trail, it is fun to drive and to stop for wine tasting.  Several of the wines we tried were quite good, although a tad overpriced.  I shan’t describe them here as I expect you would not find them anywhere except in northeast Georgia.

FOR ONTARIO WHINERS:  Last time I passed on my younger son’s recommendation for Zenato Veneto Rosso.  This time I shall pass on a recommendation from my older son:  Zonte’s Footsteps, an Australian Shiraz.

OPIMIAN OFFERING 217:  This time Opimian is offering wines of Beaujolais, Bergerac and Bordeaux.  If you want a very light Beaujolais I suggest 7088 the Julienas.  There are many expensive Bordeaux in this offering and I expect some of them are quite good.  If your pocket is feeling heavy from carrying around too much money perhaps you might lay down a case of 7136 Hortevie Saint-Julien.  Cellared for three or four years it will be a wine to impress the most discriminating of guests.