Making the softest Petite Sirah possible

[buzi]

@NorCal another wonderful thread. You might need to start writing for Winemaker magazine I just found the thread and would like to add one consideration for next year partial/semi- carbonic maceration.

Thanks for the great read and all the great suggestions from others!

 

[NorCal]

I thought I would update the thread, as it's been 8 months. I've been tasting along the way and the wine is clean and has achieved the darkness and depth of flavor that I was searching for. Even with all I've done, there is some tannin there, but not mouth numbing tannin. I would really like this wine to stay in the barrel another 9 months; I think it would really soften and become a better wine with additional micro-ox. However, I will have this season's wine that will need to go in that barrel, so it will be bottled in 3 months or so.

 

[Snafflebit]

buy more barrels! I think this is how half of all wineries begin

 

[NorCal]

buy more barrels! I think this is how half of all wineries begin

I’ve started businesses. For me, this will remain a hobby. Limiting my capacity is a good way to curb my enthusiasm to make wine.

 

[NorCal]

A good follow up to this 2021 Petite Sirah blend.

I brought 2 bottles of the Petite Sirah to a company dinner last night at a restaurant (fine dining). I asked if the Somm would come over. He was up for tasting my wine. I asked for honest feedback and he gave it to me. He said it lacked the tannin structure he looks for in a PS, otherwise he liked it. I thought it was a fair assessment, since I went to great lengths to avoid the tannins. I will say that my two bottles were gone before the restaurants $100+ bottles of Cab Sauv

 

[Boatboy24]

A good follow up to this 2021 Petite Sirah blend.

I brought 2 bottles of the Petite Sirah to a company dinner last night at Ella’s (fine dining). I asked if the Somm would come over. He was up for tasting my wine. I asked for honest feedback and he gave it to me. He said it lacked the tannin structure he looks for in a PS, otherwise he liked it. I thought it was a fair assessment, since I went to great lengths to avoid the tannins.

Sounds like you were successful in achieving your goal with this one! Nice!

 

[Shurt1073]

A good follow up to this 2021 Petite Sirah blend.

I brought 2 bottles of the Petite Sirah to a company dinner last night at Ella’s (fine dining). I asked if the Somm would come over. He was up for tasting my wine. I asked for honest feedback and he gave it to me. He said it lacked the tannin structure he looks for in a PS, otherwise he liked it. I thought it was a fair assessment, since I went to great lengths to avoid the tannins. I will say that my two bottles were gone before the restaurants $100+ bottles of Cab Sauv

Thats great .... congrats! Read the whole thread today and its pretty darn cool everything you've gone through with 2021 PS.

 

[AR324]

A good follow up to this 2021 Petite Sirah blend.

I brought 2 bottles of the Petite Sirah to a company dinner last night at a restaurant (fine dining). I asked if the Somm would come over. He was up for tasting my wine. I asked for honest feedback and he gave it to me. He said it lacked the tannin structure he looks for in a PS, otherwise he liked it. I thought it was a fair assessment, since I went to great lengths to avoid the tannins. I will say that my two bottles were gone before the restaurants $100+ bottles of Cab Sauv

Curious, did the PS go through MLF and if so, was it natural or did you induce it.

 

[NorCal]

Curious, did the PS go through MLF and if so, was it natural or did you induce it.

Mlf, with my go to CH16.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

A good follow up to this 2021 Petite Sirah blend.

I brought 2 bottles of the Petite Sirah to a company dinner last night at a restaurant (fine dining). I asked if the Somm would come over. He was up for tasting my wine. I asked for honest feedback and he gave it to me. He said it lacked the tannin structure he looks for in a PS, otherwise he liked it. I thought it was a fair assessment, since I went to great lengths to avoid the tannins. I will say that my two bottles were gone before the restaurants $100+ bottles of Cab Sauv

I have taken some of my Zinfandel out and done the same, got rave reviews on it and the owner asked me if I planned to commercialize it cause he would buy it if I did. Hah I wish I work for other wineries it’s too much legal work and red tape to setup my own operation.

 

[NorCal]

I entered the Petite Sirah in the CA state fair. They have not had the home wine making contest since 2020, so there were a lot of wines entered. The wine did not meet the 75% varietal rule to enter it as a Petite Sirah, so the category it fit into was Rhone Blend. When I think of a Rhone blend, I think of GSM, but PS was in the Rhone category.

There were three judges (mostly from UCD). Two scored it a Silver, one a Gold. Overall the wine received a Silver. Based on the description I gave, the judges could see the blend and that I used free run.



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I think this judge got what I was going for in making the softest Petite Sirah possible. I can't make out what the third to last word is.



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Of course I would have like to have received a Gold overall, but I'm happy with the wine and the family and friends that I have shared it with enjoy it as well. When I make PS again, I would keep it 100% varietal, but would not hesitate making it the same way. I would just need to start with a lot more fruit.

 

[crushday]

I think this is what it says: "If what you were going for was a more complex P.S. that wasn’t overpowering, well done. As a “blend” it’s only by definition of commercial rules cause the MV (Mourvèdre?) is absent."

Nice job, @NorCal!!

 

[Snafflebit]

Make a tannin bomb and go for the double gold!

 

[NorCal]

I think this is what it says: "If what you were going for was a more complex P.S. that wasn’t overpowering, well done. As a “blend” it’s only by definition of commercial rules cause the MV (Mourvèdre?) is absent."

Nice job, @NorCal!!

Ah...you got it @crushday

 

[AR324]

Congrats. That is terrific. I love Petite Sirah but like mine a bit more tamed than most. Probably not as soft as you like it but I don’t like mine super tannic.

Good job.

 

[Shurt1073]

Congrats .... its nice to be recognized for a job well done!

 

[sour_grapes]

Congrats

 

[wood1954]

Way to go

 

[Hazelemere]

I’ll be getting a bin (1,000 lb) of late harvest (27+ brix) Petite Sirah (PS) next week. I’ve drank more PS that I did didn’t like than PS that I’ve enjoyed. The tannin and gripiness of the wine has made it not all that enjoyable to me, unless I’m eating a big fat steak. My goal is to make a dark, fruit forward, soft, smooth Petite Sirah that is approachable at an early age.

plan:
- super clean sort, no stems, no jacks
- water back to 25.5-26.0
- conservative on any acid adjustment, living with a 3.8 wine
- easy on the punch downs
- pull off the skins at 1 brix
- free run only into the barrel
- easy on the oak; 2nd year equivalent French oak, medium toast

Any other ideas?
View attachment 78516
Picture of my retired barrels care of @4score.

get rid of the stems and don't crush the fruit

 

[Hazelemere]

Don't know if this helps or not. It is from an article in Winemaker Magazine.

Taming tannins
There are a number of possible solutions if you have extracted excessive tannins, all very effective. The extent of tannin “removal” depends largely on timing, i.e. trying to remove small vs. large molecules, and concentration.

Tannins have a strong affinity for proteins, and so, you can fine using a protein-containing fining agent such as egg whites, gelatin, or isinglass. Since gelatin comes in different formulations, i.e. low vs. high molecular weight, choose the one that best fits your needs based on the manufacturer’s recommendations, and avoid overfining. Gelatin formulations with different molecular weights show preferential affinity for tannin size.

PVPP, short for polyvinylpolypyrrolidone, is a highly insoluble, high-molecular weight synthetic polymer that is effective in absorbing and precipitating small tannins. And so, PVPP is recommended for early-drinking wine or where bitterness needs to be toned down.

Another potential solution is gum arabic (gum acacia), a natural gum extracted from the sap of specific species of African Acacia trees. It is very effective in reducing tannin astringency and increasing the perception of body or volume, and reducing the perceptions of acidity and tannin harshness, while adding body.

And lastly, you can tame tannins by readjusting the wine balance by tweaking sugar and acidity contents. I often repeat Émile Peynaud’s guidelines; keep them in mind when tweaking your wine. “A wine tolerates acidity better when its alcoholic degree is higher; acid, bitter and astringent tastes reinforce each other; the hardest wines are those which are at the same time acid and also rich in tannins; a considerable amount of tannin is more acceptable if acidity is low and alcohol is high. The less tannic a red wine is, the more acidity it can support (necessary for its freshness); the richer a red wine is in tannins (necessary for its development and for its longevity) the lower should be its acidity; a high tannin content allied to a pronounced acidity produces the hardest and most astringent wines.”

egg white idea is perfect