Durif 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. 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
Baja California wine industry Petite Sirah than its cousins in Italy. These vines arrived after World War II but identification tags were lost in transit, so no one knows exactly what varieties they are. Many growing and production methods are newer as most wineries have been in existence for only a short time. Many vineyards are new or recently replanted using modern cultivation techniques, improved rootstocks and cultivars. Most wines are fermented in stainless steel. Length of maceration and fermentation depends on the producer. Red wines are usually aged in French or American oak for a period of between a couple to as many