California #2 Flashcards
How many AVAs are in Napa County?
16
- Napa Valley 1981
- Howell Mountain 1983
- Wild Horse Valley (Napa, Solano) 1988
- Stags Leap District 1989
- Mt. Veeder 1990
- Atlas Peak 1992
- Oakville 1993
- Rutherford 1993
- Spring Mountain District 1993
- St. Helena 1995
- Yountville 1998
- Chiles Valley 1999
- Diamond Mountain District 2001
- Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley 2004
- Calistoga 2009
- Coombsville 2011

How many AVAs are in Sonoma County?
18
- Sonoma Valley 1981
- Chalk Hill 1983
- Dry Creek Valley 1983
- Green Valley of Russian River Valley 1983
- Knights Valley 1983
- Russian River Valley 1983
- Alexander Valley 1984
- Northern Sonoa 1985
- Sonoma Mountain 1985
- Rockpile 2002
- Bennet Valley 2003
- Fort Ross-Seaview 2011
- Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak (Sonoma, Mendocino) 2011
- Moon Mountain District Sonoma County 2013
- Fountaingrove District 2015
- Petaluma Gap 2017
- West Sonoma Coast 2022

List the 17 AVAs of Sonoma in chronological order.
- Sonoma Valley 1981
- Carneros AVA 1983
- Chalk Hill 1983
- Dry Creek Valley 1983
- Green Valley of Russian River Valley 1983
- Knights Valley 1983
- Russian River Valley 1983
- Alexander Valley 1984
- Northern Sonoma 1985
- Sonoma Mountain 1985
- Sonoma Coast 1987
- Rockpile 2002
- Bennett Valley 2003
- Fort Ross-Seaview 2011
- Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak (Sonoma, Mendocino) 2011
- Moon Mountain District Sonoma County 2013
- Fountaingrove District 2015
- Petaluma Gap 2017
- West Sonoma Coast 2022

California produces appx what % of all American wine?
90%
- Followed by New York, Washington, and Oregon
Name three early modern pioneers of Sonoma.
- Hanzell
- Martin Ray
- Simi

In 1969, who took over production of “Monte Bello” at Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains?
Paul Draper

Who originally established Mount Eden Vineyards in 1878?
Paul Masson
- Produced its first vintage under its new name in 1972

What is Monterey’s oldest commercial vineyard?

Chalone Vineyard
- 1st bottling debuted in 1960

Who, in 1970, disregarding much advice to the contrary, planted Pinot Noir in Santa Barbara’s Santa Ynez Hills?

Richard Sanford
What wine was the first Napa Valley bottling to top $100 mark at release?; in what year?
Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, 1978

The major winegrowing regions of California are divided into what four large AVAs?
- North Coast
- Central Coast
- South Coast
- Sierra Foothills

(Central Valley/San Joaquin Valley is NOT an AVA, but simply a growing region)
The inland Central Valley is the source of what % of California’s wine?
75%

What is the tiniest AVA in USA (refers to area covered, not area under vine)?
What winery encompasses the entire AVA?
Cole Ranch, Mendocino
- 150 acres total (less than 1/4 sq mile), 60 acres planted
- One vineyard here controlled by Esterlina Winery (good Riesling)

Where is Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak AVA?
- Shared btwn S Mendocino and Sonoma
- Added in 2011

What are the top white and red varietals by acreage in Mendocino?
W - Chard, Sauv Blanc, Gewurztraminer
R - Cab Sauv, PNoir, Zin

(Cabernet Sauvignon in Mendocino often falls into blends or in North Coast AVA wines)
Buena Vista was founded by: ________
Inglenook was founded by: _______
Beaulieu Vineyards was founded by: _________
Buena Vista: Agoston Haraszthy
Inglenook: Gustave Neibaum
Beaulieu: George de Latour

What is the longest continuously running winery in California?
Buena Vista
- Founded in 1857 by Agostin Haraszthy

The 1st planting of vines in California was where?; by whom?
- San Diego della Calla
- By Junipero Serra and his parish
- 1st of 21 California Missions
What was the first vintage of BV’s Georges de Latour Private Reserve?
1936

What is the name of the mountain range to the east of Napa Valley?
Vaca Mountains

What % of California’s vineyard acreage is in Napa Valley?
4%
What is the first sub-appellation wholly within Napa Valley to receive its own AVA?
Howell Mountain AVA, 1983

What is the northernmost AVA within Napa?
Calistoga

Who is responsible for the term “Rutherford Dust”?
Andre Tchelitscheff of Beaulieu Vineyards
What was the 1st vintage of Robert Mondavi?
What was the 1st vintage of Opus one, and who is it a collaboration between?
- 1966
- 1979, Robert Mondavi & Philippe de Rothschild
Where is Martha’s Vineyard?
Oakville
T/F: Howell Mountain faces southeast.
False. Howell Mountain faces west.
The windy, foggy Carneros AVA is a cool Region I area, whereas the warm northern AVAs of Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley are considered Region what?
Region III

Appx how many acres are within Sonoma Coast AVA?
500,000 acres
- As a larger appellation there is temperature variation (from cooler AVAs in the north to more inland and southern AVAs that are warmer Region II and lll) and soil variation
- vs. Napa - 45,000 acres

What is Goldridge and where do you find it?
Sandy loam fertile alluvial soils that characterize the Russian River Valley

Name three Sonoma Coast producers.
- Hirsch
- Marcassin
- Peay

Name four prominent Russian River Valley producers.
- Dehlinger
- Joseph Swan
- Rochioli
- Williams-Selyem

Are you more likely to see Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon in Bennet Valley?
Merlot
- Bennet Valley is too cool to routinely ripen Cabernet Sauvignon

What is the warmest AVA in Sonoma County?
Knights Valley

How do Cabernet Sauvignons from Alexander Valley tend to show in comparison to Napa Cabernets?
more herbaceous and less body

Name a producer who makes Cabernet Sauvignon from Knights Valley.
Peter Michael “Les Pavots”
- 2/3 Cab Sauv plus Merlot, Cab Franc
- Can be more similar to fuller Napa Cabernet styles

Name a Champagne house and a Cava producer who set up American sparkling wine estates in Carneros in the 1980s.
- Taittinger
- Codorniu
List the 9 AVAs within Mendocino AVA.
- Mendocino Ridge
- Anderson Valley
- Yorkville Highlands
- Redwood Valley
- Potter Valley
- Cole Ranch
- McDowell Valley
- Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak
- Dos Rios

What is the smallest AVA in America?
Cole Ranch

Cole Ranch is essentially a monopole AVA of what winery?

Esterlina

T/F: Anderson Valley is one of California’s warmer climates.
False
- Anderson Valley is one of California’s coolest climates - cool ocean air and fog trails inland along the Navarro River, framed by steep hills
What is the smallest wine-producing county in the North Coast?
Lake County

Name two of the most celebrated parcels among the Santa Cruz Mountains.
- Ridge’s Monte Bello
- Bonny Doon Estate Vineyard (an eventual victim of Pierce’s Disease)
Who is the most notable producer within the warm inland Livermore Valley?
Wente

Where will you find the “lettuce capital of the world”?
Salinas Valley, in Monterey County
- south of San Francisco

What is the dominant grape in the Monterey AVA?
Chardonnay
- Accounts for more than 50% of plantings in the Monterey AVA

San Luis Obispo’s Paso Robles AVA covers how many acres?
612,308 acres
- vs.
- Napa - 45,000 acres (18,200 ha)
- Bordeaux - 300,000 acres (120,000 ha)

In what year were 11 AVAs created for Paso Robles?
2014

How do you broadly describe the characteristics of the western reaches of Paso Robles in comparison to the more eastern parts of Paso Robles?
- West - cooler marine air funneled through Templeton Gap, more limestone and calcareous soils
- East - of Salinas River, sandier, warmer and more arid

Who planted the first commercial Syrah vines in California?

Gary Eberle, in Paso Robles

What 4 AVAs are located within Santa Barbara’s Santa Ynez Valley AVA?
- Sta. Rita Hills 2001
- Ballard Canyon 2013
- Happy Canyon 2009
- Los Olivos District 2016

T/F: Santa Barbara County has the longest growing season in California.
True
- Region I maritime climate

What is the oldest commercial winery in Monterey?

Chalone Vineyard

What geographic feature borders Napa on the south?
San Pablo Bay

Name the two sub AVAs of the Russian River Valley?
- Chalk Hill
- Green Valley

What county is Paso Robles in?

San Louis Obispo

Where is the Templeton Gap?
Paso Robles

Where is the Sanford & Benedict vineyard?
Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County

What three California wineries established in the late 1800s?
- Schramsberg - 1862
- Beringer - 1876
- Inglenook - 1879
What is the major soil type of Jahant (Lodi)?
-
Rocklin-Jahant
- pink sandy loam with a high clay content
What is the Franciscan Assemblage?
- Mix of greywacke sandstone, limestone, deep sea radiolarian cherts, greenstone (altered mafic volcanic rock), serpentinites, shale, and metamorphic rock.
- 2nd major series in Russian River
What is Santa Barbara’s newest AVA created in 2016?
Los Olivos District AVA
- btwn Ballard Canyon and Happy Canyon

What are the 5 AVAs located in San Benito County?

- Cienega Valley 1982
- Lime Kiln Valley 1982
- Mt. Harlan 1990
- Pacines 1982
- San Benito 1987
What are the sub-AVA’s of the new West Sonoma Coast AVA (2022)?
N-S:
Annapolis
Fort Ross-Seaview AVA
Freestone-Occidental
What are the elevation boundaries of:
a. Diamond Mountain AVA: __________
b. Mount Veeder AVA: __________
c. Spring Mountain AVA: ___________
d. Atlas Peak AVA: __________
e. Howell Mountain AVA: _________
a. Diamond Mountain AVA: 400-2200ft
b. Mount Veeder AVA: 500-2600ft
c. Spring Mountain AVA: 600-2600ft
d. Atlas Peak AVA: 760-2600ft
e. Howell Mountain AVA: 1400-2600ft