ISBN: | 978-5-5142-0798-5 |
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Durif is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in California, Australia, France, and Israel. Since the end of the 20th century, wineries located in Washington`s Yakima River Valley, Maryland, Arizona, West Virginia, Chile, Mexico`s Baja Peninsula, and Ontario`s Niagara Peninsula have also produced wines from Durif grapes. It is the main grape known in the U.S. and Israel as Petite Sirah, with over 90% of the California plantings labeled "Petite Sirah" being Durif grapes; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recognizes "Durif" and "Petite Sirah" as interchangeable synonyms referring to the same grape. It produces tannic wines with a spicy, plummy flavour. The grape originated as a cross of Syrah pollen germinating a Peloursin plant. On some occasions, Peloursin and Syrah vines may be called Petite Sirah, usually because the varieties are extremely difficult to distinguish in old age.