California: Napa County Flashcards
What percentage of California wine production by volume is from Napa County?
What percentage of California wine production by value is from Napa County?
4% by volume
27% by value
Napa Valley AVA encompasses the whole valley, but how many smaller AVAs are included?
18
What type of wine is Napa Valley famous for?
Very high quality Cabernet Sauvignon
How many hectares under vine in Napa County?
18,200ha
Napa Valley is formed by the ____ river, the ____ mountains to the west and north and the ____ mountains to the east.
Napa River
Mayacamas mountains to the west and north
Vaca mountains to the east.
Describe the climatic influences experienced by Napa Valley AVAs on the valley floor
- Vineyards sit below the fog line
- Afternoon fog comes in from San Pablo Bay, giving cooler temperatures into the night (high diurnal range)
- Vineyards in the south on the valley floor are more effected
Name 3 valley floor AVAs in Napa that are most effected by the fogs.
Why are these most effected? What effect does the fog have on temperatures here?
Carneros AVA
Coombesville AVA
Oak Knoll AVA
These are southerly AVAs - The valley is open to the San Pablo Bay in the south, where the fog comes in from.
The fog here does not burn off until well into the morning, limiting warmth and sunlight.
What is the most southerly Napa AVA?
Is on the valley floor or mountainside?
What grapes are grown here?
Carneros AVA
Valley floor
Known for early ripening Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
What are the main grapes grown in Coombesville AVA and Oak Knoll AVA?
Describe the expected style of wine from these AVAs, explaining why.
Cab Sauvignon, but Merlot and Chardonnay are widely planted
Due to relatively cool conditions, Cab and Merlot from these southerly AVAs tend to be lighter in body with fresher fruit and acidity than the warmer AVAs
From north to south, name the 9 Napa Valley AVAS that are located on the valley floor
Calistoga AVA St Helena AVA Rutherford AVA Oakville AVA Stag's Leap AVA Yountville AVA Oak Knoll AVA Coombesville AVA Carneros AVA
Describe the climate in Rutherford AVA, Oakville AVA, Stag’s Leap AVA and Yountville AVA
Warm climates with some cooling influence from winds and fogs coming in from the south (the effect decreases in the more northerly AVAs)
Describe the style of Cabernet Sauvignon expected from Rutherford AVA, Oakville AVA, Stag’s Leap AVA and Yountville AVA
Concentrated ripe fruit
Blackcurrant, blackberry, plum, liquorice, clove and herbs
Medium (+) to full body
High, ripe tannin
Rounder and more fruity than wines from the mountains
What is the most planted white grape in Rutherford AVA, Oakville AVA, Stag’s Leap AVA and Yountville AVA?
Describe the style of wine from this grape
Sauvignon Blanc
Juicy ripe fruit
Peach and tropical flavours
Medium (+) acidity
Other than Cabernet Sauvignon, name other black grapes that are grown in Rutherford AVA, Oakville AVA, Stag’s Leap AVA and Yountville AVA.
Merlot and Cabernet Franc (much smaller quantities than Cab Sauv)
Some Zinfandel is found in Rutherford
Where is the Rutherford Bench?
The most famous vineyard area in Rutherford and Oakville
3 mile stretch of vineyards on a sloping alluvial fan at the bottom of the Mayacamas range
Name the two most northerly valley floor AVAs in Napa?
Describe the growing conditions here
Calistoga AVA and St Helena AVA
Warm and hot
Barely any cooling influence from San Pablo Bay
Calistoga gains some relief through the Chalk Hill Gap in the Mayacamas
Describe the climatic influences experienced by Napa Valley AVAs on the mountainsides
- Vineyards are generally above the fog layer, receiving more sunlight hours
- Cooling influence comes from altitude
- Less extreme temperatures and less diurnal range than valley floor sites
- More tannin and acidity from mountainside wines
- AVAs with a more southerly latitude gain some costal influence
Describe how exposition of vineyards in Napa Valley AVAs on the mountainsides can effect the final wine produced
West facing vineyards are exposed to intense afternoon sun - warmer than east facing vineyards with riper fruit character and higher alcohol
Name the most southerly mountainside AVA in Napa Valley
Mount Veeder AVA on the south west
Cab Sauvignon can struggle to ripen some years
Which mountainside AVA is located in the south east of Napa Valley? Describe the growing conditions here
Atlas Peak AVA
Relatively cool but gains warmth from the afternoon sun
Which mountainside AVA is located in the north east of Napa Valley? Describe the growing conditions here
Howell Mountain AVA
One of the warmest AVAs in Napa Valley, producing intensely concentrated and ripe Cabernet Sauvignon with firm tannins
Name the two mountainside AVAs located in the north west of Napa Valley
Spring Mountain District AVA
Diamond Mountain District AVA
Describe the soils found on the mountains in Napa Valley.
How does this affect the grapes that are grown here?
Tend to be thin and poor in nutrients
Vigour is restricted
Yields are smaller
Grapes are more concentrated
Describe the soils found in the middle and the east of the valley floor in Napa Valley.
How does this affect the grapes that are grown here?
Typically clay and silt formed by the Napa Valley flooding and shrinking over time.
Soils are fertile with good water retention.
Wines are less structured than those from mountains or fans
Describe the formation and type of soils found in the alluvial fans in Napa Valley.
How does this affect the grapes that are grown here?
Generally on the west side of the valley
Caused by deposition of sediments by mountain streams as they reach flat valley floors.
Soils are deep, rocky and moderately fertile.
Wine style treads the middle ground between valley floor (fruity, round) and mountain (tannin, structured) wines
What is the name of the association, founded in 1968, that awarded tax benefits for people who kept vineyard land in Napa rather than building on it?
What percentage of the land is under protection today?
Napa Valley Agricultural Preserve
90%, meaning it is not threatened by construction. Almost all viable and permitted vineyard land has therefore been planterd
Why is land with a slope of more than 30% not converted into vineyard land in Napa?
It is prohibited - instead these areas are forested to help prevent erosion
Name three reasons why grape and land prices are so high in Napa Valley
Popularity
Prestige
Inability to expand the vineyard area
Describe how vines might be trained in Napa Valley.
Is mechanisation common?
Typically trained and pruned to cordon or replacement spur with VSP trellising
Mechanisation is possible on the valley floor, but mountainside vineyards often require tending by hand
What weather hazards might be expected in Napa Valley (why and where) and what can be done to mitigate the effects of these?
DROUGHT
- Very dry growing season
- Throughout Napa
- Drip irrigation is widely installed
FROST
- Cool night time temperatures
- Mostly problematic in valley floor AVAs
- Planting in mountainside AVAs can reduce risk, where nights are warmer
- Use of sprinklers or wind machines
What percentage of total production by volume in Napa County is made up by Cabernet Sauvignon?
40%
What are the three most planted white grapes in Napa Valley?
Chardonnay
Sauvignon Blanc
Pinot Gris
Explain how the style of Napa Cab Sauvignon has changed from 1990s to the modern day
1990s:
Full bodied, ripe, intense, high alcohol. Harvest was later, lots of overt new oak was used
Modern day:
Pick fruit earlier (less jammy flavours). High use of new oak is still common but maturation is generally shorter. Even if labelled as a single varietal wine, it is common for Napa Cab to have a small proportion of other varieties in the blend
Name three significant Cabernet Sauvignon producers from Napa Valley.
Screaming Eagle (Oakville AVA) Stag's Leap (Stag's Leap District AVA) Harlan Estate (Oakville AVA)
What style of winemaking might you expect for Chardonnay from Napa Valley?
Sauvignon Blanc?
Chardonnay is often fermented and aged in oak, although less overt new oak is used now than in the past.
Sauvignon Blanc is usually made in an unoaked style
Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from ____, southerly valley floor AVAs in Napa valley tend to have ____ acidity than those from the ____ valley floor AVAs in the north, which give ripe fruit flavours. Fruit grown in mountainside AVAs is ____ pronounced.
Cooler southerly valley floor AVAs
Tend to have higher acidity than those from the warmer valley floor AVAs in the north,
Fruit grown in mountainside AVAs is less pronounced.
Name two well known vineyards in Napa Valley
To Kalon (Rutherford Bench) Martha's Vineyard (Oakville)
How do the Mayacamas Mountains to the west of Napa effect the climate?
How do the Vaca Mountains to the east effect the climate?
Mayacamas Mountains protect the region from cool ocean breezes
Vaca Mountains protect from warming influences from inland
The Napa Valley is open to the ____ ____ ____ and its cooling influence in the south
San Pablo Bay
