Durif is a variety of red wine grape mainly grown in Australia, California, France, and Israel. Since the end of the 20th century, wineries located in Washington's Yakima River Valley, Maryland, Arizona, Texas, West Virginia, Chile, Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, and Ontario's Niagara Peninsula have also produced wines from Durif grapes. It is the primary grape known in the U.S. and Israel as Petite Sirah, with over 90% of the California plantings labeled "Petite Sirah" being Durif grapes. The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recognizes "Durif" and "Petite Sirah" as synonyms.[PS I Love You Petite Sirah Timeline.] The grape produces tannic wines with a spicy, plummy flavour. It originated from Syrah pollen germinating a Peloursin plant. On occasion, Peloursin and Syrah vines may both be called Petite Sirah, usually because the varieties are extremely difficult to distinguish in old age.
History
In the 1860s the French botanist François Durif kept a nursery of several grape varieties at his home in the commune of
Tullins where he most likely had plantings of both
Peloursin and
Syrah. At some point the two vines cross pollinated and Durif discovered a new grape variety growing in his nursery. It was identified and named
Plant du Rif (later Durif) by ampelographer
Victor Pulliat in 1868.
[J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz Wine Grapes – A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours pp. 316-317 & 779, Allen Lane 2012 .]
As a conclusion of DNA fingerprinting at the University of California, Davis in 1997, Syrah was identified as the source of the pollen that originally crossed with Peloursin flowers.[J. Robinson "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition p. 244, Oxford University Press 2006 .]
Regional production
Australia and
California are now the two leading producers of Durif. The grape can also be found in
Israel,
[J. Robinson Vines, Grapes & Wines p. 227, Mitchell Beazley Publishing 1986 .] Brazil,
Argentina,
Texas,
Chile, and
Mexico.
[J. Robinson "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition p. 514, Oxford University Press 2006 .]
Australia
Confirmed as recently as 2024, old plantings of Durif continued to be used to produce popular wine in the Rutherglen, Victoria region of Australia. Durif is now grown in other wine regions of Australia, such as
Riverina and Riverland, with over under cultivation by 2000.
United States
DNA fingerprinting has shown that the majority of Petite Sirah plantings in
California are actually Durif.
[O. Clarke Encyclopedia of Grapes p. 88, Harcourt Books 2001 .] Some vineyards were found to be a
field blend of Durif and other varieties, such as
Mondeuse noire, all labeled as "Petite Sirah".
[Appellation America " Mondeuse-Refosco" Accessed: May 7, 2013.] The vine is a popular planting in Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, Monterey and San Joaquin County. In addition to being produced as a
varietal wine, the grape is sometimes blended with
Zinfandel.
In years when heavy rain or the excess sun has weakened the quality or yield of Cabernet Sauvignon or
Pinot noir plantings, Petite Sirah may also be used as a blending partner to strengthen the wine. The average age of Petite Sirah vines tends to be older than that of most Californian vines.
As of December 2007, the TTB lists both Petite Sirah and Durif in 27 CFR § 4.91 as approved grape varieties for American wines, but they are not listed as synonyms.[ Federal Register: June 6, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 109).] appears to be postponed indefinitely, probably because the new regulation is tied up in the trade dispute that would see the TTB recognise Primitivo as a synonym for Zinfandel.[ 2206. Proposal To Recognize Synonyms For Petite Sirah And Zinfandel Grape Varieties.]
While not one of the officially sanctioned grapes of the Côtes du Rhône AOC, Petite Sirah's linking to Durif caused the California's Rhone Rangers to add the grape to its listings of wine in 2002.[M. Worobiec " Petite Sirah Rides Shotgun as Rhone Rangers Trot Into Town " Wine Spectator April 30, 2002.]
Israel
In
Israel, Petite Sirah had a history much like that in California—historically used as a blending grape to add body to inferior wines. However, Petite Sirah has recently experienced somewhat of a revival, both in high-end blends and bottled as a single or majority variety. The
UC Davis-trained winemaker and Ph.D. chemist Ya'ir Margalit, familiar with the grape from his time in California, showed that Petite Sirah need not be consigned to jug wine when he blended small portions into his reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2002 winemaker
Assaf Paz made his first varietal Petite Sirah in his family winery
Vitkin winery and in 2004 in Carmel winery where his was employed. Seeing that Israeli
terroir could grow great Petite Sirah, wineries such as Lewis Pasco the founding winemaker at
Recanati winery followed suit with a Petite Sirah/Zinfandel blend, while others like Sea Horse,
Carmel Winery,
Tishbi Winery have made single-varietal Petite Sirah in addition to using it for blending.
Petite Sirah and Petite Syrah
Petite Sirah is sometimes mistakenly spelled "Petite Syrah," which has historically referred to a small berried clone of the Syrah grape by
Rhone wine growers.
[O. Clarke Encyclopedia of Grapes p. 168, Harcourt Books 2001 .] In California, immigrant vine growers introduced Syrah in 1878 and used the phrase "Petite Syrah" to refer to the lower yields that the vines then were producing in California. Actual Petite Sirah (Durif) was then introduced in 1884.
Viticulture
The "petite" in the name of this grape refers to the size of its berries and not the vine, which is particularly vigorous. The leaves are large, with a bright green upper surface and paler green lower surface. The grape forms tightly packed clusters that can be susceptible to
Decomposition in rainy environments. The small berries create a high skin to
must ratio, which can produce very tannic wines if the juice goes through an extended maceration period.
[Durif Grape Variety Cellarnotes.net.] In the presence of new
Wine barrel, the wine can develop an aroma of melted
chocolate.
[J. Laube " Petite's Road Back " Wine Spectator Jan 31st, 2004.]
In the 20th century, ampelographers Louis Levadoux and (decades later) Linda Bisson categorized Durif as a member of the Pelorsien eco-geogroup along with Bia blanc, Béclan, Dureza, Exbrayat, Jacquère, Joubertin, Mondeuse blanche, Peloursin, Servanin and Verdesse.
Wine
Petite Sirah produces dark,
colored wines that are relatively
, with firm texture and mouth feel; the
Odor has
and
black pepper overtones, and typically offers flavors of blue fruit, black fruit, plums, and especially blueberries.
The wines are very tannic, with aging ability that can exceed 20 years in the bottle.
Petite Sirah can sometimes be rather "short", that is, the flavor does not linger in the mouth, hence the benefit of blending with another grape which may lack mid-palate depth, but adds length and elegance.
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