The Cellar Society held another summer event in Truckee and this time the weather cooperated nicely. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the tasting was held outdoors for 15 guests (with 12 tasters) at the cabin of John Henry & Sue Beyer by Donner Lake. We tasted Petite Sirah from a numerous regions, including Paso Robles, Amador County, Monterrey County, Napa, Sonoma. The top 2 wines only differed by 1 point and were both from Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma: #1 2016 Ridge from Lytton Estate ($37) and # 22014 Puccioni ($34). After the tasting, we went over to Donner Lake beach to have a BBQ dinner while listening to live music performed by Deja Vu. Most of the guests stayed late and enjoyed dancing in the sand to the great dance music (see photos below).
Thanks also to the co-hosts David Hartford and especially Vera who skipped the tasting so she could hold the tables that we reserved for the picnic on the beach.
The hosts: John Henry & Sue Beyer
The co-hosts: Vera & David Hartford
The wine lineup, with the top wines starting on the left
For full descriptions of the wines including prices and locations to purchase them, click here: 2019-08 Petite Sirah Description & Rankings
The tasters on one side of the big table
And the tasters from the other side of the table
All the tasters and guests on Donner Lake Beach
The band Deja Vu provided the evening entertainment…
and the Cellar Society rocked the dance floor (actually the sandy beach)
Click on the link below to hear a 36 second clip of the band playing Stray Cat while Sandy shows off her dance moves: Deja Vu singing Stray Cat
ANNOUNCEMENT
Petite Sirah Tasting at Donner Lake
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Arrive at 4:30 or earlier to set up your tasting glasses
Tasting starts at 5:00 pm sharp
Hosts: John Henry & Sue Beyer, David & Vera Hartford
Note: The date is one week earlier than usual because that’s when the rock ‘n’ roll band Deja Vu is at the beach. The early start time is so we can finish the tasting and get to the beach for a picnic dinner, and be there when the band starts playing at 7:00 pm.
On Saturday, August 3, activities include:
* From mid morning on: Hang out at the Donner Lake Property Association (DLPOA) white sand beach, 2 blocks from the Beyer’s cabin. Swim, float on an air mattresses, have a BYO picnic lunch, read a book, do computer stuff (there is WiFi), etc.
* Pre-tasting wines will be available at 4:30 pm and the tasting will start at 5:00 sharp. Bring your regular wine glasses.
* After the tasting we will walk to the beach for a picnic BBQ dinner. Plan to put your wines into plastic or metal bottles, and bring plastic “glasses.” NO GLASS ON THE BEACH. Also no pets and no smoking.
* Later in the evening, Deja Vu will get us on our feet dancing in the sand.
On Sunday, August 4, everyone is welcome to return to the beach. Nearby you can rent paddle-boards and jet skis. Alternatively, there are many trails for hiking and biking, and places in Truckee to rent bikes.
Please, RSVP (YES or NO) as soon as you possibly can (like now)
The bylaws say that Members and Preferred Guests can wait until 10 days before the tasting to be admitted before other guests. But that would not give Preferred Guests and other guests enough time to make reservations for accommodations, which fill up fast in August.
A Few Facts About Petite Sirah
- History:Petite Sirah (or Durif, the grape’s original name) was created by botanist Francois Durif in Montpellier, France around 1880. The grape is a cross between Syrah and the rare varietal Peloursin, which is nearly extinct, found in just a few places in the French-Alps. It was imported to America by Charles McIver in the mid-1880s where it got it’s new name: Petite Sirah. DNA fingerprintingat the University of California, Davis in 1997, identified Syrah as the source of the pollen that originally crossed with Peloursin flowers.
- Petite Sirah is loved for its extraordinary deep color and full-bodied flavors of blueberry, chocolate, plums and black pepper. It’s an exceptionally rare grape with less than 10,000 planted acres worldwide, growing mainly in California.
- Petite Sirah is not a more wimpy, “petite” version of Syrah (or Shiraz), it’s a distinct grape variety. It’s a bold wine that pairs with roasted pork, barbecue beef, beef burgers, chicken in mole sauce, aged gouda, melted Swiss cheese, fresh mozzarella, camembert. The “petite” comes from the fact that the grapes are small.
- Serving: A slightly cooler temperature (65ºF) will deliver more floral and mineral aromas along with Petite Sirah’s characteristic bold fruit.
- Decanting: Petite Sirah, with such high tannin, is the perfect red wine to pour in a decanter and let it evolve for 2–4 hours (if you can wait!).
- Aging: This warm-climate grape often loses too much acidity and fruit within the first 7 years to make it a contender for longer term aging. That said, a few producers (try Napa and Sonoma) have made some outstanding wines that will age 10–20 years.
- Anti-Oxidants: Petite Sirah is one of the deepest, most opaque red wines with very high levels of anthocyanin (an antioxidant). Similarly colored wines to Petite Sirah include Tannat and Sagrantino.
PLEASE NOTE – There is no glass allowed on the beach because everyone is barefoot during the day. So … please bring a plastic bottle for your wine to share at dinner, and plastic cups or plastic wine ‘glasses’ for dinner.
Temperature – It may by 80 during the day, but as soon as the sun goes down it gets cool, trending toward 50 degrees. Bring a jacket or fleece.
A few of the accommodation options, from closest to a bit farther away:
Donner Lake Inn, donnerlakeinn.com
Loch Levin Lodge, lochlevenlodge.com
Truckee Donner Lodge, truckeedonnerlodge.com
The Inn at Truckee, innattruckee.com
Cellar Society of San Francisco 