The resilience of our Petite Sirah is impressive. Not irrigated in over fifty years, the vines remain high producers even in periods of drought.While the root mass of drip-irrigated vines is concentrated under the irrigation emitters, our dry-farmed vines send roots deep and wide in search of water—and they find it in our water table. With their extensive root systems, they also access a wider range of soil nutrients and minerals than do conventionally irrigated vines, resulting in wine that is complex and nuanced with flavors expressive of our canyon site.

Petite Sirah first arrived in California from France in 1884. The grape did well in the state’s Mediterranean climate. Along with Zinfandel, Carignan and a few other reds, Petite Sirah became popular among grape growers in Napa Valley at the turn of the 20th Century. During Prohibition, when the sale of wine was illegal, Napa Valley grape growers sold their grapes to home winemakers who legally were still permitted to make wine. Because Petite Sirah’s thick skins held up well during cross-country shipping to eastern home winemaking markets, farmers increased their plantings. Petite Sirah was the most widely planted red grape in Napa County into the 1960s.