2021 Wood Family Vineyards Petite Sirah and Verona18 – A Winning Combination
The Winery and Background
Wood Family Vineyards, located in eastern Livermore Valley, with Rhonda Wood owner & winemaker, has been producing award winning wines for over two decades. You can read more on her background from airline pilot to award winning winemaker at:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2016/02/10/wood-family-vineyards-2/
and
Her awards are extensive and too numerous to list here in this article and would refer you to their website at the bottom of this article.
The Wine “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Petite Sirah, as an educational note, is not a “smaller” version of Syrah as it is a wholly different varietal. The background on Petite Sirah is that it is the offspring of Syrah and Peloursin (a scarce and almost extinct grape) from northern Italy/Switzerland area. The varietal name is Durif and was first introduced in 1880. Petite Sirah possess one of the highest levels of antioxidants. In a 2021 report of the top 10 grape varieties planted in California, Petite Sirah represented only 4%.
Once in the glass the Petite Sirah has a dark purple color and a heavy viscosity. On the nose, floral and spicy notes of blackberry and black pepper. On the palate is where this wine varietal stands alone with intense and chewy flavors of plums, dark berry fruits (plum & cherry) and blackberry. The enormous and mouth-filling finish a collaboration of spices, dark chocolate and coffee resonate sip after sip. The strong tannins in Petite Sirah are meant to be go with fatty foods. Their 2020 Petite Sirah was awarded 93 points from Wine Enthusiast. The 2021 comes in at 14.4% alcohol and will be released mid-September at $35/bottle. Only 100 cases were produced.
The Food and Wine Pairing “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
First, started out with a seared Ahi salad with water chestnuts, pickled onion, fried wontons, sesame dressing and soy glaze furikake. Paired with a 2021 Wood Family Vineyards Chardonnay. The rich and lush texture was beautifully paired with this artistic as well as pleasing appetizer.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The other appetizer for the evening, and the wine being described, is the 2021 Wood Family Vineyards Petite Sirah. Petite Sirah is a wine varietal that deserves a food as big and as bold as it gets. So this evening at Verona18 it was paired with a dish called Quesabirrias which is shredded beef birria, jack cheese, cilantro, onion and salsa served with 3 small tacos. The flavorful and a tad spicy dipping sauce absolutely made this dish exquisite. While not getting the exact recipe, we were able to pick up flavors of chilies, garlic, onion, cumin and cinnamon in the sauce. The wine this evening was chosen to pair with the shredded beef and the sauce. The big and flavorful fruits calmed down and surrounded the spicy flavors in the meat and sauce. A wonderful pairing and could not think of a wine (outside Malbec) that would work as nicely as this did.
Sláinte,
Michael
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
https://woodfamilyvineyards.com/
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