Petite Sirah

Durif is the VIVC prime name for this grape, variety number 3738, a black-skinned variety. Its country of origin is most likely France, which VIVC records as its country of origin. Its parents are Syrah and Peloursin Noir, a pedigree confirmed by markers, and its full pedigree is known. The passport flags offspring, though WineWiki's VIVC-derived lineage data list no children for Durif. They do list one half-sibling, Rubin.

• VIVC prime name: Durif; VIVC variety number 3738; berry skin colour: noir (black)
• Country of origin: France (likely)
• Parents: Syrah and Peloursin Noir (pedigree confirmed by markers)
• Offspring: flagged in the VIVC passport; none listed in WineWiki's lineage data
• Half-sibling: Rubin

Durif was bred in southern France by François Durif, who named it after himself, and was first grown there in the late 1800s. The grape first arrived in California in 1884, thanks to Charles McIver of Linda Vista Vineyard at Mission San Jose, who was importing Durif and called it Petite Sirah. Concannon Vineyards in Livermore Valley found early success with it. A University of California at Davis study determined that 90 percent of the Petite Sirah found in California is Durif, and that Durif is a cross between Peloursin and Syrah. In 1999, C.P. Meredith and colleagues published "The identity and parentage of the variety known in California as Petite Sirah" in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture. The California name has also been applied to field blends of at least four varieties: Syrah, Durif, Durif's parent Peloursin and a Peloursin x Durif crossing.

• Bred in southern France by François Durif, who named the variety after himself
• Introduced to California in 1884 by Charles McIver of Linda Vista Vineyard at Mission San Jose
• Concannon Vineyards in Livermore Valley found early success with Petite Sirah, and continues to
• A University of California at Davis study found that 90 percent of the Petite Sirah in California is Durif

Petite Sirah is much more tannic and rustic than Syrah. It can make intense, peppery wines, and the best examples are brimming with blackberry and licorice flavors. Smaller berries give the grape a higher skin-to-pulp ratio, and the resulting wines are inky dark and bold, with rich flavors and powerfully dense tannins. Like Cabernet, the best examples can age slowly and may take on complex, mature notes while the fruit and tannins remain strong.

Petite Sirah is a midnight-black grape. Its smaller berries mean a higher skin-to-pulp ratio in the grapes, and the resulting wines are inky dark, with powerfully dense tannins.

• Smaller berries give a higher skin-to-pulp ratio, yielding inky dark wines with powerfully dense tannins

Petite Sirah is midnight-black in hue and intensely tannic. Its characteristic flavors are black pepper, plum, blackberry, blueberry and spice, and the best examples are brimming with blackberry and licorice flavors, with plenty of aromatic detail.

• Midnight-black in hue and intensely tannic
• Characteristic flavors: black pepper, plum, blackberry, blueberry and spice
• Bright, plummy fruit, laden with spice and pepper
• The best examples show blackberry and licorice flavors, with plenty of aromatic detail

Though French in ancestry, the grape is scarcely found outside California. USDA NASS and the California Department of Food and Agriculture counted 11,757 acres of Petite Sirah standing in California in 2024. Major California regions for the grape include Livermore Valley, Paso Robles, Sonoma County and Napa Valley. In 2002, Foppiano Winery in Healdsburg, a longtime Petite Sirah advocate, helped launch the P.S. I Love You organization to promote the grape.

• USDA NASS and the California Department of Food and Agriculture counted 11,757 acres of Petite Sirah standing in California in 2024
• Major California regions: Livermore Valley, Paso Robles, Sonoma County and Napa Valley
• Foppiano Winery in Healdsburg, a longtime Petite Sirah advocate, helped launch the P.S. I Love You organization in 2002
• Many surviving California vineyards from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are interplanted with Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and other heritage varieties such as Alicante Bouschet and Peloursin

Petite Sirah has often been used as a blending wine to provide color and structure, particularly to Zinfandel, and it is a popular grape for red blends, to which it can add weight and, especially, color. On its own it can make intense, peppery, ageworthy wines.

• Often used as a blending wine to provide color and structure, particularly to Zinfandel
• Adds weight and, especially, color to red blends
• On its own, can make intense, peppery, ageworthy wines
• Like Cabernet, the best examples can age slowly

Outside California, Petite Sirah cuttings were taken to Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. In France, where Durif was first grown, the variety never took off.

• Petite Sirah cuttings were taken to Mexico, Brazil and Argentina
• Durif never took off in France

Primary sources: https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=3738 ; https://www.vivc.de/index.php?var=3738&r=eva-analysis-mikrosatelliten-abstammungen%2Findex ; https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Specialty_and_Other_Releases/Grapes/Acreage/2025/grpacSUMMARY2024Crop.pdf Reference sources: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/red/petite-sirah ; https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/Petite-Sirah-the-beautiful-brazen-monster-grape-15812725.php ; https://www.winespectator.com/articles/what-is-difference-between-petite-sirah-syrah-54022 ; https://www.winespectator.com/articles/does-california-petite-sirah-age-vinny-54082 ; https://www.winespectator.com/articles/varietal-characteristics-1001 Last verified 2026-10-20