This Petite Sirah wine is a Rhone-style red with an intense color and deep hues of red. Although its alcohol level gives it a bolder and warmer taste, it is a smooth wine with a light structure and floral blueberries notes. On the palate, we find blackberry, cacao and cardamom. This is a well balanced wine with rounded tannins and savory qualities that make surprisingly easy to drink.

This wine comes from grapes harvested during the deadly 2017 fire that occurred in Redwood Valley when we had to run for our lives in the middle of the night, right before harvest! We decided to come back several days later when the wind had changed direction. We were able to pick the fruits with a crew of friends and brave volunteers. We sometimes can taste the smoke in the wine, and that reminds us of the gargantuesque red wall of fire galloping towards us on that momentous night.

Our estate fruit is dry-farmed and the vineyard is not tilled. Cover crops are used to improve the soil’s texture and richness. Every task is done by hand with minimal intervention of machinery. There is no use of insecticides or pesticides in the vineyard.

At the winery, we respect the integrity of the wine by using a low intervention approach. Sulfite is never used. We age the wine in neutral barrels to let the fruit from each year tell its story, the story of that year in the vineyard.

Wine Type: Red

Varietal: 100% Petite Sirah, a grape that finds its origins in southern France and is considered a rare varietal, with only 10,000 planted acres worldwide, mostly in California.

Appellation: Redwood Valley (California)

Vineyard: Powicana Farm, certified organic by CCOF.

Altitude: 900 feet

Winemaking: Fermented whole cluster in steel tank with very gentle pump-over, and pressed at 4 brix, aged for one year in neutral French oak barrels. No added sulfites. 

Harvest Date: 10/13/2017. Brix at Harvest: 26.2. Bottling Date: 07/18/2018. 

pH 3.5, TA 7g/L, Residual sugars 2.5g/L, Total sulfites less than 5mg/L, Alcohol 15.7%.

Production: 255 Cases, Bottle size: 750ml.

Serving: Open the bottle a few hours before serving or use a decanter. Serve at 50-60°F.

Food pairing: Petite Sirah’s tannins and full body structure pairs well with meat and fatty foods.

Storage and shelf-life Store in a dark place, at a temperature between 50 and 60°F and at 60 to 70% humidity. This wine, if properly stored, will age beautifully in the bottle for 20 years or more.