D&D.  Those two letters evoke so many memories for those of us who grew up in the time of TRON, Atari, and The Dukes of Hazzard.  You remember D&D, right?  Yes, that that obnoxious role playing game with pewter dragons and triangular playing boards in the 70s and 80s?  Yes, [...]]]>

D&D.  Those two letters evoke so many memories for those of us who grew up in the time of TRON, Atari, and The Dukes of Hazzard.  You remember D&D, right?  Yes, that that obnoxious role playing game with pewter dragons and triangular playing boards in the 70s and 80s?  Yes, I mean Dungeons & Dragons, the full time obsession of most of my male contemporaries for the better part of 10 years.

FORTUNATELY, I am NOT actually referring to the Freaks & Geeks Game of Champions in this post.  THe D&D I speak of is the penultimate event for Petite Sirah lovers, hosted by P.S. I Love YOu, the trade organization dedicated to furthering the adventures of Petite Sirah producers and lovers.

Dark & Delicious is the  quintessential Petite Sirah food & wine event which is held once a year.  This year, it will be on February 19th at Rock Wall Wine Company on the old Alameda Naval Base.

If you know anything about Petite Sirah, you know it is a dark and brooding beast that will leave your teeth purple and your tongues numb.  But y7ou will love it.   Petite Sirah is the colloquial name for Durif, which is the result of a Peloursin grape being pollinated by Syrah.  It was often referred to as Petite Sirah, because people mistakenly thought the grapes were small Syrah grapes, and thus a legend was born.  The newly created offspring was named for François Durif, a botanist at the University of Montpellier, France.  Because of it’s high resistance to downy mildew, it was widely cultivated in the early 20th century; however, the mass produced wine wasn’t exactly complex, and so there poor Petite Sirah was relegated to being a filler wine for low brow jugs everywhere.  Even today, it is almost purely a new world wine, but baby you’ve come a long way!

So far, there will be 41 producers pouring at this event, which will also have some great food pairings.  I am really looking forward to this event, because i will get to taste some old favorites like Twisted Oak and Mounts Family Winery, but also because I will have the change to taste 40 OTHER Petite Sirahs!  Tickets are $60 per person in advance or $70 per person at the door.  Yes, I know that it’s a lot of money, but where else can you taste this much PET with this fabulous food?