Petite Sirah by Darryl Beeson Jewel Petite Sirah, Lodi 2004 ($10)- Petite Sirah fans should try this one.  It offers earthy blueberry, grape not unlike that of Welch's with wild black cherry on the nose, then more huge flavors of blueberry, dark brambly wild fruit, licorice and a finish with a bit of dried fruit. The tannins are big, but balanced. Bring on a thick slab of precious meat so that these two may meet, or should that be meat. The current vintage is 100% fruit from Lodi, California. Check out this "stuff in Lodi, again." Cue Creedence Clearwater Revival, then drink and enjoy with beef from the grill, flame entwined, with zesty rub or thick barbecue sauce applied with gusto. Then again, try a "meat lover's" pizza, take-out, or hamburgers from the grill. This wine demands meat, then spice, then thick slices of onion. Better yet, smear on some spicy, whole-grain mustard. This red wine is not shy.   Though Petite Sirah is one of the lesser understood grapes in American wine, experiment. It offers more power than Merlot. Perhaps it offers more power than a Cabernet Sauvignon, though the Jewel Petite Sirah is crafted to be softer and richer than some of the more harshly tannic Cabernets. Remember, Petite aint always petite. Que Sirah, Sirah. Learn more at jewelwine.com   Italian Western   Far west Texas is not, at least just yet, associated with fine wine. Consider a fine wine made with a traditionally Italian grape. Kim McPherson's Sangiovese comes from vineyard land near Dell City (not to beconfused with Austin), just below the foothills of the Guadalupe Mountains.   The sip starts with a little cedar and black currant. The sip introduces cherry, but with very subtle oak flavors, a good thing due to the delicate nature of the Sangiovese grape. The French barrels are two to three years old, offering soft nuances of oak rather than a that of a two-by-four.   "I've been preaching this for 10 years," says winemaker McPherson. "You have to plant to the land." But how can this grape of Tuscany do well in desert near prickly pear, under the Texan sun?  "People don't realize that the heat doesn't stay around up here. It can drop to around 60 degrees at night." The vineyards are closer to Santa Fe, N.M., than, say, to Austin. "The climate is different up here."   McPherson has close to three decades of winemaking under his belt. His father, Texas Tech Chemistry Professor Clinton "Doc" McPherson, is perhaps Godfather of the Texas wine industry, having helped start Llano Estacado Winery in Lubbock in 1976. McPherson, graduated from Texas Tech and then studied at the University of California-Davis in the late 1970s, in a class, elbow to lasso with notables that include Randall Graham of Bonny Doon and Bruce Cakebread of Cakebread Cellars.   Serve this west Texas Sangiovese with spagetti, better yet, spagetti westerns. Learn more by calling McPherson at 806-543-5313. For more great wine suggestions, click here Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions? Email: jwdineline@aol.com Copyright © 1998 Inter Active Media Solutions. All Rights Reserved. The interactive components of this site require that you use a current browser version of Explorer; be sure to maximize your window out so you can see the entire page. This page was created by Inter Active Media Solutions.