The Trentadue family has been making wine for several generations.
They have been growing Petite Sirah grapes and making wine from this varietal for over four decades. They had a new vision for their wines and 2021 is the 5th vintage of this new vision.
Petite Sirah Grapes
The Alexander Valley, north of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, was founded by Cyrus Alexander in 1840. The winegrowers in the valley have primarily focused on Cabernet Sauvignon, but the Petite Sirah grape loves this area as well. Marine air from the Pacific Ocean via the Petaluma wind gap and the Russian River Valley cools the valley from south to north. The diurnal shift of warm days and cool nights preserves the freshness and acidity key to great wine grapes.
Geyserville sits in the middle of the valley. Some of the vines on their Geyserville Estate vineyards are over a century old and produce wines of great depth, inky dark color, and complex structure.
I tasted the 2018 La Storia Petite Sirah in 2024. The winery says this wine can be aged 5-8 years. I aged it for 3 or 4 years (or so —I can’t remember exactly), and I’m glad I did. This allowed the wine to age and settle down. Petite Sirah is a robust and full-bodied red wine known for its deep color. The beautiful purple wine was elegant with soft tannins and a bold, yet mild flavor. The aging had allowed it to mellow out nicely. It had fruity notes of blackberries and blueberries. There were also hints of black pepper, cocoa, and a hint of vanilla or oak from the aging.
According to their tasting notes:
This is a winemaker’s blend of all handpicked barrels. All 7 barrels of this Petite Sirah selection came from a field blend from Blocks 400 and 404 and it was all fermented in open-top fermenters. Block 400 is located on top of an ancient creek with very sandy soils with low fertility causing the vines to produce tiny clusters with small berries. The result is an impressive wine with a very dark, opaque color and a beautiful nose of concentrated blueberries and blackberries, leading to a full-body mouth feel with engagingly soft tannins.
According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle https://winejudging.com/judges/list/winemaker-industry-representatives/miro-tcholakov/
Miro Tcholakov is Vice President and Director of Winemaking Operations for Trentadue Winery LLC in Geyserville, Sonoma County, overseeing all aspects of winemaking; including custom crush and bottling. Chiefly responsible for reinvigorating the Trentadue brand when he came aboard in 1999, Miro has worked tirelessly to take our wines to a new level of quality and prestige.
“Making wine has been a lifelong dream of mine. After completing my studies in 1990 at the higher Institute of Agriculture in Bulgaria in Agronomy/Viticulture, I traveled to California on an Exchange program in wine business. I continued my education by attending Santa Rosa Junior College and UC Davis, focusing on specific courses in Winemaking and management. My internship started at Dry Creek Vineyards in the summer of 1990 and in nine years of employment, I transitioned through the ranks of Cellar Master and Assistant Winemaker. It was during this time that I fell in love with two distinctively California varietals; Zinfandel and especially Petite Sirah.
This wine won Double Gold at the 2023 Sonoma County Harvest Fair. It is a bold expression of Sonoma’s Richness.
Many thanks to the “P.S. I Love You”, marketing group for sending this wine to the Wine Review Council to taste, pair with food and review.
For more information go to: https://trentadue.com/