1.   Americans got used to the taste of wines made from French grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and an Italian Sangiovese or Nebbiolo tastes different.

2.   Adding French grapes to Tuscan wines is fashionable now, but they have been part of Carmignano since the last century.

3.   After all, cabernet sauvignon is known in Italian as the uva francese, the French grape.

4.   By historical standards, at least, the French grapes should have been the interlopers.

5.   It turns out that Shiraz is the same as Syrah, and Petite Sirah is a cross between Syrah and an obscure French grape called Peloursin.

6.   More recently, he has worked with Italian and Spanish varieties, the Portuguese grapes used in port, and less familiar French grapes like pinot meunier.

7.   Napa gamay proved to be an obsolete French grape called the valdiguie and gamay Beaujolais was shown to be a lesser clone of pinot noir.

8.   Now, genetic analysis reveals that the petite sirah is in fact a cross between the Rhone syrah and a different obscure French grape, the peloursin.

9.   No one is entirely sure what it is, but it appears to be close to an unloved and little-used French grape called the durif.

10.   The grape known in California as petite sirah was thought to be a French grape called Durif.