#jonesofwashington

[coolspringswinesspirits-blog]

Thank you Tracey w/Premier Crush for a great educational seminar featuring #JonesofWashington #Wines tonight 🍷

[coolspringswinesspirits-blog]

Thank you Tracey w/Premier Crush for a great educational seminar featuring #JonesofWashington #Wines tonight 🍷

[jonesofwashington]

PS AROUND THE WORLD Petite Sirah has somewhat of a cult following with some of us wine geeks, but outside of that the popularity declines drastically. Currently there are less than 10,000 acres worldwide. This grape originally made its home in France, but it is nearly nonexistent there now. The United States is the largest grower of Petite Sirah with California dominating as the primary region. From what we found the next largest producing country would be our friends down under in Australia. Other areas that produce notable Petite Sirah are Israel, Mexico, Chile, South Africa, Brazil and Argentina. If you notice you will see a trend with these areas...warm growing regions.

[jonesofwashington]

PS...WE LOVE YOU While we love Petite Sirah around the Jones winery, it is still fairly obscure for most Washingtonians. In the latest acreage reports that that state and Washington Wine Commission puts out as of 2017 Petite Sirah didn’t make its own ledger entry on the reports. It was mentioned, but included the ‘Other Red’ category. We couldn’t find any concrete numbers on current acreage, but if we were to take an educated guess there is probably less than 75 acres grown in the state. Notable AVAs in which it is grown from what we found are the Horse Heaven Hills, with Daven Lore Winery and Alexandria Nicole as top producers, the Wahluke Slope, Yakima Valley and Red Mountain. Pay attention to wine reviews as you are starting to see more and more Petite Sirah varietal wines geting some attention in the press. We also found this interesting…some of our wine friends in the southern part of the Willamette Valley in Oregon are starting to make a name for themselves with Petite Sirah!

[jonesofwashington]

THE WINE BIBLE ON PETITE SIRAH If you haven’t checked out our friend Karen MacNeil and her awesome book, The Wine Bible, we highly suggest it. Here are some of her findings and thoughts on Petite Sirah... "What Californians call Petite Sirah is not the same as Syrah, but the histories of the two are interwoven. Vines called Petite Sirah have grown in California since the 1880s. In the early days some of those vines were probably a type of Syrah that had small (petite) grapes. (All things being equal, winemakers prefer small grapes because there’s a high ratio of skin to juice. Since color, flavor and tannin come primarily from a grape’s skin, small grapes yield the most concentrated, flavorful wines.) Indeed, there is nothing petite about Petite Sirah. The wine is mouth filling and often hugely tannic. Over the course of many decades in California’s early history, other vine types were often mixed in with Petite Sirah vines, creating what are known as field blends in the same vineyard. As more and different varieties found their way into California, and as new vineyards were begun with unidentified cuttings from older vineyards, Petite Sirah’s true identity grew more and more obscure. Then, in the 1990s, DNA typing revealed that most California Petite Sirah is actually the French grape Durif, a cross of Peloursin and Syrah created in the 1880s. Today, some of the oldest ‘Petite Sirah’ vineyards remain field blends of many varieties, including true Syrah, Durif, Carignan, Zinfandel, Barbara and even Grenache." -Karen MacNeil

[jonesofwashington]

GRAPE CONFUSION Neither petite or Syrah, there seems to be some misconceptions behind this grape with many consumers. First of all it is only petite in appearance. Petite Sirah is a full throttle wine and one that your taste buds should be ready for. High levels of fruit, body, tannin and alcohol make this wine the opposite of petite! As for the Sirah...notice it is not Syrah. While there is a relationship here (more on this in later posts) it is a completely different and its own distinct grape varietal.

[jonesofwashington]

NEW RELEASE OF CHARDONNAY! If you ask us there is no better way to welcome the New Year than with a delicious new vintage of Chardonnay! The 2015 Chardonnay is now available at our tasting rooms, just in time to welcome 2018 in style. This wine has a polished touch of American oak that adds a complexity and nuances to this wine. Aromas of ripe banana, lemon custard, fresh pineapple and a subtle vanilla note jump off this wine. On the palate, it's bone dry with notes of grilled pineapple, Golden Delicious apple, lemon zest and Bosc pear. The finish brings flavors of sweet vanilla and a hint of toasted coconut, with a creamy, balanced mouth feel and a lingering finish. Get yours today!

[jonesofwashington]

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here's to a bright New Year And a fond farewell to the old; Here's to the things that are yet to come And to the memories that we hold. We hope you all have a wonderful 2018...may it be filled with love, peace, joy and happiness, cheers! *The tasting rooms are closed today.