# Mountain Tides Carbonic Petite Syrah (2020)

- **Producer:** Mountain Tides Wine Co.
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Petite Sirah
- **Region:** California, United States
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 13.0%
- **Average price:** €28
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 12–15 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** blueberry, blackberry, plum, cherry, violet, black pepper, smoke

## About this wine

Mountain Tides Wine Co. was founded by Scott and Allie Kirkpatrick with a singular focus on exploring the versatility of Petite Sirah across California's diverse terroirs. Moving away from the traditionally heavy, oak-laden expressions of the grape, Mountain Tides crafts fresh, vibrant, and low-intervention wines. This carbonic maceration bottling showcases a playful, highly fruit-forward expression of the variety, proving Petite Sirah can be light-footed and refreshing.

## Interesting facts

- Mountain Tides is one of the very few wineries in California dedicated almost exclusively to Petite Sirah.
- Carbonic maceration tames Petite Sirah's naturally intense tannins, making this red ideal served slightly chilled.
- The grapes are fermented using 100% ambient native yeasts and whole clusters.

## Food pairing

Carbonic maceration yields a wine with lively acidity, vibrant dark fruit, and soft tannins. This enables it to pair seamlessly with savory pork dishes, duck, grilled poultry, and earthy mushrooms without the heavy tannin clash typical of traditional Petite Sirah.

## Wine making process

The fruit underwent 100% whole-cluster carbonic maceration in sealed tanks for roughly two weeks, allowing fermentation to begin inside the uncrushed grape berries. This process extracts rich fruit aromas and bright flavors without heavy tannin extraction. Following pressing, native fermentations finished in neutral French oak barrels and stainless steel, where the wine rested prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur additions.