California Flashcards
(29 cards)
What was the first and second AVA in America?
- First: Augusta, Missouri 1980
- Second: Napa Valley, California 1981
Geographical features of the North Coast
- Sonoma Mountain Range (West)
- Mayacamas Mountain Range (Center—between Sonoma and Napa)
- Vaca Mountain Range (East)
- San Pablo Bay (South)
- Napa River (N-S through the heart of Napa)
- Petaluma wind gap—Funnels cool Pacific air inland
California Wine Law
- 75% minimum grape variety
- 85% minimum for AVA
- 95% minimum for vintage
- 95% minimum for single vineyard
- 100% for estate bottling
** AVA laws are geography based. No law regarding growing or wine making. **
The Volstead Act
- Prohibition!
- 1920-1933
- Decimated wine industry
How much of US wine comes from California?
90%
1976 Judgment of Paris
- Competition to celebrate US bicentennial
- Blind tasting of Chardonnay and Cab Sauvs/Bordeaux
- Chateau Montelena (Calistoga AVA) won best Chardonnay
- Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (Stag’s Leap AVA) won best red
- Put California on the map!!
What is Meritage?
- Bordeaux blends (RED or WHITE)
- Trademarked by the ‘Meritage Alliance’—Only members can use the term
- Meritage = Merit + Heritage
** ‘Claret’ means the same thing as Meritage (Bordeaux blend) but is NOT a protected term **
Napa’s mountainous AVAs
(N to S)
(West — Mayacamas Mountains)
- Diamond Mountain
- Spring Mountain District
- Mount Veeder
(East — Vaca Mountains)
- Howell Mountain: Dunn Vineyards
- Crystal Springs
- Atlas Peak
Buena Vista Winery
Sonoma County, California
- Founded by Agoston Haraszthy (1857)
- California’s first premium wine estate
— Commerical failure
- André Tchelistcheff consulted for the winery for 50 years
Schramsberg Vineyards
Castiloga AVA, Napa Valley, California
- America’s best sparkling
— ‘J Schram’ is their prestige cuvée
— Traditional method
- Founded in 1862 by German immigrant Jacob Schram
- Bought and revitalized by The Davies in 1965
Inglenook Winery
Rutherford, Napa Valley, California
- Founded in 1879 by Gustave Niebaum: A Finnish-American sea Captain
- First to sell their wine in individual glass bottles (rather than bulk)
- Estate bottled
- Most successful non-French winery in 1889 at World’s Fair in Paris
- Bought by Francis Ford Coppola (Godfather)
Beaulieu Vineyard
Rutherford, Napa Valley, California
- Established by Georges de Latour in 1900
- Obtained nationwide contract for ‘sacramental wine’ during prohibition
- Hired André Tchelistcheff in 1938—revolutionized American wine
Philip Togni Vineyards
Spring Mountain, Napa Valley, California
- Estate wine making
-Produces Ca’stogni, a sweet wine mimicking Castantia, a SF sweet wine
-Tanbark Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is their flagship
Dunn Vineyards
Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California
- Founded by Randy Dunn in 1978
- Randy worked at Caymus at the time
- Aged in 100% new French oak for 32 months
Chateau Montelena
Calistoga, Napa Valley, California
- Their Chardonnay WON the Judgment of Paris competition in 1976
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellers
Stags Leap District, Napa Valley, California
- Founded by Warren Winiarski
- Their 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon was the highest rated wine at 1976 Judgment of Paris
— Shocked the wine world
— Thrust Napa Cab into the international spotlight
Santa Barbara County
South Central Coast, California
— Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the cooler areas, Syrah in the warmer areas
— East-West Orientation that funnels sea breezes and fog in land (W to E)
- Santa Maria Valley AVA (North, Large)
- Santa Ynez Valley AVA (South, Large, three nested AVAs)
— Sta Rita Hills AVA (Furthest West, coolest!)
— Ballard Canyon AVA
— Happy Canyon AVA (Furthest East, warmest!)
Monterey County
Central Coast, California
- Lots of agriculture, some wine
- WINDY! Cool breezes funnel N to S through the valley
- Santa Lucia Highlands AVA: Pinot Noir
- Arroyo Secco AVA
Paso Robles AVA
San Luis Obispo, Central Coast, California
- Hot!!
- Limestone soil (very little elsewhere in CA)
- Syrah, Rhône varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon
- Sauvignon Blanc
Who was Robert Mondavi?
- American whom advocated for American wine and pioneered winemaking techniques in CA
— Cold fermentation, aged wine in small barrels (like the French)
— Promoted wines being labeled varietally—became the New World standard
— Created ‘Fumé Blanc’—Dry, Sauvignon Blanc AGED IN OAK BARRELS - His parents bought Charles Krug (1943, St. Helena, CA)
- Founded his own winery: Robert Mondavi Winery (1966, Oakville, CA)
- Created Opus One (1979)
Famous Oakville wineries
Oakville AVA, Napa Valley, California
- Harlan
- Scarecrow
- Screaming Eagle
- Opus One
- Heitz
- Robert Mondavi
Who was Agoston Haraszthy?
- Hungarian born (1812)
- Founder of Buena Vista (1957)
— First stone wineries in the state
— Brought back countless cuttings from Europe
— Commercial failure
— Fled to Nicaragua and was killed by a crocodile
Who was André Tchelistcheff?
(“Maestro” or the Dean of American Winemakers”)
- Russian born (1901-1994)
- Hired by Beaulieu Vineyards (1938)
- America’s most influential post-prohibition winemaker
— Defined Napa’s style
— Helped institute cleanliness and malolactic fermentation as standard practice
— Developed winemaking in California and Washington
What is Opus One?
- Collaboration between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild (owner of Château Mouton Rothschild)
- The first ultra-premium wine from USA
- Unofficial California ‘First Growth’
- Blends Bordeaux traditions with California terrior
