Syrah

Availability: -

With it’s historic home in the northern Rhône in France, Syrah was first mentioned as a varietal in 1781. UC Davis laboratories carried out genetic analysis in 1998 discovering that the parents of Syrah are most likely Mondeuse Blanche and Dureza and that a great grandparent of Syrah is most likely Pinot Noir.

Syrah is a mid-ripening variety with a short ripening period after veraison. With a short window of harvestability, Syrah does very well in the Finger Lakes with the exception of it’s susceptability to bunch rot. Berries are quite small and tend to shrivel quickly once they are ripe.

Planted in 2014, The Fulkerson vineyard site that holds our Syrah planting is the best site on the farm. Deep, sandy soils and a sheltered east facing slope lend well to grapes of excellent quality. Our first vintage will be in 2016, with the release of Syrah and Reserve Syrah.

Syrah tends to have a natural medium weight to the palate due to the high amount of grape tannins extracted from the skins and seeds during fermentation. In under-ripe examples, wines made from this grape are typically characterized with notes of leather, licorice, and spice marked with black pepper. Ripe wines can be of the sweeter black-fruit flavors with notes of dark chocolate, punes and jammy overtones.
AVAILABLE AS CRUSHED FRUIT ONLY