A guy I know once told me that vegetarians live longer. I said, “No, it only seems longer”. Although I like meat, I know that eating red meat all the time is not the best thing for you. All things in moderation is the byword here. But when it is time to have some red meat, the right wine will make everything better. And we’re unequivocally saying red wine with red meat here. So if you don’t want to pay an arm and a leg while you’re eating a loin or a leg (sorry), here is some good information.
Of course Cabernet Sauvignon is what comes to mind first when you think of beef – especially a steak. If you’d like to try a different red wine with beef, I have a suggestion. Petite Sirah, not to be confused with Syrah, is a full bodied red wine. The first impression on one of big fruit flavors. It is dark, even opaque, and purple when young. You will mostly see Petite Sirah from California, although it is made elsewhere. Most do not show a great deal of mouth puckering tannin which is often seen in full bodied wines. I’ve read that drinking Petite Sirah is like putting on silk pajamas. That’s probably a little fanciful for me, but it is usually a wine with the right fruit flavors to go well with red meat. I had the pleasure recently of attending a tasting of 4 wines made from this grape. It was a red wine with beef kind of night.
Bogle, California Petite Sirah. Bogle is on my list of value wineries, and their Petite Sirah doesn’t disappoint. The nose initially shows leather and dark fruit. Blueberries are prevalent on the palate, and there is some soft tannin. You may also get blackberry, smoky oak, and dark cherry. You don’t have to spring for a steak to enjoy this wine; Lesser cuts that have simmered for hours in stock and/or wine will do very nicely. Bogle is one of those wineries that continues to impress because of the overall quality, consistency, and volume of good wine they are able to produce. Bogle is pretty consistent vintage to vintage. Their Petite Sirah is widely available for $10-13.
McManis California Petite Sirah. The McManis is different from the Bogle up front; it doesn’t have quite the leathery component on the nose. You get the big, even a little spicy, berry fruit on the palate. There is also some oak there, because most red wines are oak aged for a few months or more. Tannins are soft, and red wine lovers could sip this wine all by itself. The fruit carries the wine very well, but full flavored cheeses or meat dishes would go well also. This is an excellent value which is priced about the same as the Bogle.
Michael David Petite Petit. This wine is a bit different because it is not 100% Petite Sirah. There is Petit 
Verdot blended in. Petit Verdot (pronounced “vair DOE”) is usually found in Bordeaux as a blending grape. It is still a big wine, and it comes from Lodi in California which is known for big red Zinfandels. The nose has plum and spicy blueberry. The palate is soft with very nice dark fruit flavors. Not overly tannic, the wine is very drinkable now. It was rated 89 by Robert Parker, a well known wine critic. This wine is a bit more expensive at about $18, however it is a different wine with an additional grape blended in.
Michael David Earthquake Petite Sirah. This last wine is aptly named Earthquake. It has the big tannic structure to go along with huge fruit flavors. This is from the same winery as the Petite Petit, and the fruit is from Lodi. The wine was presented as not being for beginners. I would agree. A beginner would not know to wait to see if the wine rounded out after it was opened, and this one did. Beautifully, as a matter of fact. But it took about 1 ½ hours. But it was worth the wait, and it was interesting to follow it as it developed – something only wine geeks would appreciate. The downside to this wine is the alcohol, which comes in at 15.5%. The big fruit, the oak and spice were enough to hide some of the alcohol, so it wasn’t as noticeable as I had thought it would be. Still a monster of a wine, and it would be wonderful with a grilled Porterhouse. This one was the most expensive, and can be found at $22 to $25.
Petite Sirah fits very well into our red wine with beef category. But it doesn’t have to be beef. Red wine with red meat is a cliche because it’s true. Try a big Petite Sirah with some lamb. It looks like we have found some good wine values. I’ll fire up the grill.