Sometimes it takes a visitor to get you out of your bubble. My dear Irish friend Eilíse came to visit me and asked to go to Livermore in California and go wine tasting at Concannon Winery because her mother was a Concannon and it turns out that the founder of this winery was from the same small set of islands in Ireland as her mother’s family!
Concannon claims to be the oldest California winery that is owned by the same family and is under the same label. Founded in 1883 by James Concannon they survived prohibition by making sacrament wine. They started making Petite Sirah in 1961 and were America’s first Petite Sirah. And … because that’s not enough cool history it is estimated that about 80% of California’s Cabernet Sauvignon is planted with their Concannon Clones. When I learned that my jaw dropped! How had I been tasting for so long in CA and never heard that?!?! Petite Sirah (I didn’t spell that wrong) is also known as Durif. This grape is very rare and is a mix between Syrah and another grape Peloursin (which is even more rare and another grape I’d never heard of!). Petite Sirah is grown mainly in CA and only 10,000 acres are grown throughout the world! This grape has tons of fruit, body and tannin with an incredibly deep color of purple.
My favorite wine of the tasting was the Heritage Petite Sirah.
🍇 Petite Sirah
📆 French and American Oak barrels for 18 months
🗺 Livermore Valley, Central Coast, CA
🏅SF Chronicle 2017 silver
👀 Deep Ruby
👃 dark fruits and plum
🍷 full bodied but very smooth with lots of tannin, very dry
⏳not sure?
💰~$75
