Petite Sirah: I Think I Felt The Earth Move!

There are some common truths in wine appreciation. I think one of those is the more wine you drink, the more you're going to seek out bigger wines.

I've been drinking wine long enough now - seriously about 5 years - that I like the occasional big, big, big wine. Earthquake 2005 Petite Sirah was my latest great find .. and yes, it's spelled that way!

Even the winery has fun with the name. "It's over the top ... and it will rock your world." And as cute as that is, and as much as I hate to admit it, they're right.

This wine rocks!

Now, it certainly can be characterized as a big fruit bomb. And for those who criticize big California wines as fruit bombs miss the point. I don't want all wines to be alike. I want some that knock me over with fruit, or with structure, big bold flavor, sometimes with the tannin structure. I like the fact wines can be so different.

This is not a begginner's wine. It has big flavor and big alcohol at 15.5 percent. That usually is where I start losing interst, and you could tell it packed a wallop, but the huge impact on the palate somewhat lessened the burn of the alcohol in the throat.

This has blackberry, oak and vanilla going on. It has spice and herbs. The word I like best for this big boy is rich!

I bought this wine at Wine Styles in Westfield/Carmel for $24.95. I found it online running $20-$27.

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