It was a rather dull day at Ye Olde Wine Shoppe. There were very few customers, so I spent a lot of time dusting bottles and putting up cases of wine, all the while watching the black hands of the clock moving at the speed of slow.

Finally, it was 6:00 p.m. and I could go home. I was getting ready to get into my orange truck when my cell phone rang.

When I answered, the deep voice of my friend Mr. Vino said: “Come to the King Cab Grill. I want you to try some wines.”

I never could say no to fine wine, so I pointed my truck in the direction of King Cab Grill, a new eatery downtown known for their thick steaks and monster wine list, mostly populated with Bordeaux and California cabs. King Cab Grill was a vegetarian and teetotaler’s nightmare.

I lucked out and parked my truck right in front of the glass and steel restaurant. The very blonde, statuesque hostess took me to the booth where Mr. Vino was sitting. He got up and gave me a little bow. As I looked at the short and handsome man wearing a new Italian suit that cost at least a couple of grand, I wondered where he got the money for it all. He’s never had a job or even an address to call home.

As we sat down, I surveyed the modern restaurant. The restaurant was crowded full of beautiful people enjoying overpriced martinis and large glasses of cabernet.

“My friend, I am doing some consultation on this wine list and I have several wines for us to try,” Mr. Vino said as a cheese and meat platter appeared before us like magic. On the table were a few bottles of wine, all of them from California and all petite sirah.

I went over the petite sirah story in my head as Mr. Vino opened the first wine. In the 1940s, the California wine industry was quite different – the emphasis was on generic jug brands such as “Burgundy.” Also in existence was an undistinguished grape from southern France called durif, a high-yielding grape that produces lots of tons per area, as well as color, flavor and alcohol. The grape founded its true home in California and became the wonderful petite sirah.

No other wine reflects the importance of terroir more. It is often blended with other red grapes like zinfandel and other Rhone grapes. In recent years, the wine has become very popular among California red wine fans for there is a lot of old-vine petite sirah around, and it is delicious.

The first petite sirah we tried was the Guenoc 2003. The wine was dark as ink.

“This wine is from Lake County, just a few miles north of the Napa Valley,” Mr. Vino said. “It is a very underrated wine-growing area that has been producing excellent wines.”

I took the first sip and watched Mr. Vino’s head bop up and down while he rolled the wine in his mouth. As he swallowed, he wildly gestured with his hands and said in a loud voice, “A box of chocolates!”

I nodded my head and thought, wow, Mr. Vino was right. The Guenoc had a raspberry truffle flavor, tons of chocolate and vanilla cream. What a wonderful wine.

“Terrific,” I said.

Mr. Vino pulled out another wine as I looked fondly at the Guenoc, wanting to go back. I saw the bleached-white label and I knew at once that we were going to have a bottle from Stags Leap Winery, the ’03.

Mr. Vino and I both enjoyed the beautiful color, and I often have thought that the Stags petite was their best wine from the Napa Valley.

“This wine is blended with sirah and grenache. I detect a little white wine, possibly viognier, on the nose,” Mr. Vino said, taking a sip and chasing it with some cheese.

From its color, you would expect to have a Godzilla-like huge wine, but the wine was supple and elegant with lots of blackberries and hints of dark chocolate. It was lovely.

Mr. Vino and I stared at each other in silence.

I sang first, “Beautiful isn’t it?”

Mr. Vino gave a simple head nod. He pulled out the last wine, a petite from Lava Cap, another ’03. I pulled the cork as Mr. Vino ate some more cheese.

I rolled the wine in my mouth. It was huge, full of violets and blackberries. There was pepper – and lots of it. It was very intense.

Mr. Vino said plainly, “I love big wines.”

We went on to try other petite sirahs, including the Rosenblum Picket Road ’02 and the David Bruce Central Coast ’03, all them full of jam and chocolate. Wonderful!

It was a great night after a dull day.

Frank Marquez has worked as a wine buyer, seller, writer and lecturer. He can be reached at dirtdog7@cox.net.