California North Coast Flashcards
What is the epicenter of fine wine production in the US?
California’s North Coast.
What are the North Coast AVAs
Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino Lake Solano Marin
What are the 16 SUB AVAs of Napa Valley
Diamond Mountain Spring Mountain Mount Veeder Howell Muntain Chiles Valley District Atlas Peak Calistoga St. Helena Rutherford Oakville Yountville Stags Leap Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley Carneros Coombsville Wild Horse Valley
What bay is to the South of Carneros?a
San Paoblo Bay, cold air funnels in through the Petaluma Gap.
What kind of wine do Napa Valley Mountainside vineyards make?
sun-drenched hillside vineyards and mountainside AVAs is prized for its density, dark fruit and concentration, and its ability to retain a good acid structure through intense ripeness.
What are the two mountain ranges in Napa Valley?
Vaca on the West and Mayacamus on the East
What is a heavy concern for Napa Valley Hillside growers?
Erosion, heavey rains wash away topsoil leaving nothing but hard bedrock behind.
What is the highest altitude in Napa Vally
2,000 ft.
What is the topsoil like on the valley floor?
Deeper - producing elegant and supple styles styles of Cabernet.
What are the soils like in Napa Valley?
volcanic, alluvial and maritime soil types, ranging from well-drained gravel loam to dense clays to the thin, rocky soils of the hillside vineyards.
What are the other grapes found in Napa Valley AVA?
Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Sangiovese, and Pinot Noir—the latter is heavily planted in Carneros.
What borders North Sonoma County?
Mendocino and Lake Counties
What boarders South Sonoma County?
Marin, Solano and Contra Costa
What are the AVA’s of Sonoma County?
Sonoma Coast AVA Fort Ross Seaview Chalk Hill Russian River Green Valley of Russian River Rockpile Dry Creek Alexander Valley Knights Valley Pine Mtn Cloverdale Peak Fountain Grove District Bennett Valley Sonoma Mountain Moon Mountain Los Carneros
What region is Carneros AVA?
Region I
What regions are Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley?
Both are Region III
What types of grapes are most commonly found in Sonoma County AVA?
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Rhone Varieties
How large is the Sonoma Coast AVA?
500.000 acres
What is the climate of the regions of inland Sonoma Coast AVA?
Region II - its a little warmer inland father away from the Marine layer and above fog layer wines can full of power and concentration.
What kind of climate is Sonoma Coast AVA?
Closets to the water are Region I.
What river is found within the Russian River Valley?
The Russian River
Where is the sandy loam soil known as “Goldridge” found?
In the Russain River Valley AVA.
What are the sub-AVA’s of Russian River Valley?
Chalk Hill
Green Valley
What are some of the prominent producers in the Russian River Valley AVA?
Dehlinger
Joseph Swan
Rochioli
Williams-Selyem
What are some coastal producers of note?
Hirsch
Marcassin
Peay
What are the climates of Rockpile, Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Knight’s Valley
Region III
In what sub-AVAs is Cabernet most successful?
Alexander and Knights Valley - Sickass gravelly soils and has a “greener” character.
Name a famous Knights Valley Cabernet.
Peter Michael’s “Les Pavots”
What kind of wines are Rockpile and Dry Creek Valley AVA known for?
Zinfandel ages in either french or american oak.
What kind of grape does Bennett Valley favor?
Merlot - as it is too cool to routinely ripen Merlot.
What is similar about Sonoma’s climate to Napa Valley’s?
A sone travels father North it gets warmer.
What producers are located in the Sonoma portion of the Carneros AVA?
The Champagne house of Taittinger and the Cava producer Codorníu both set up American sparkling wine estates in Carneros in the 1980s, following the pioneering example of Gloria Ferrer.
What is the biggest thing that happened in 2011?
Everyone is required to state Sonoma County on the AVA wheather or not it is from an additional AVA.
Clarksburg
Merit Island
What are the two river located in the Southern part of the Mendocino AVA?
Russian River
Navarro River
What are the Sub AVA’s of Mendocino AVA?
nderson Valley, Potter Valley, Redwood Valley, McDowell Valley, Yorkville Highlands, Cole Ranch, and a portion of Mendocino Ridge
Is Medocino AVA the same as Mendocino County AVA?
No, guidelines are different.
What AVAs are apart of Mendocino County AVA but not the Mendocino AVA
Covelo and Dos Rios
Pine Mtn. Cloverdale Peak
What happened to the Mendocino AVA in 2014 that was a “rare move.”
It was decreased in size, so as not to overly a new AVA approved that year Eagle Peak Mendocino County AVA
What is the smallest AVA in America?
Cole Ranch AVA, a monopole of Esterlina.
Who makes wine in the McDowell Valley AVA?
McDowell Valley Winery
What is the climate of Anderson Valley like?
One of the coolest in CA due to fog that trails to path of the Navarro river with hills on either side.
Where does Louis Roederer makes sparkling wine in California?
Anderson Valley
In addition to sparkling wine varieties, what else preforms well in Anderson Valley?
Riesling and Gewurztraminer
What is the restriction of labeling your wine with the Mendocino Ridge AVA?
Must come from fruit grown above 1,200 feet.
What red grape thrives in Mendocino above the fog line?
Zinfandel
What is the smallest wine producing county in the North Coast?
Lake County
What kind of climate does Lake county have?
Warm.
What is the most prominent sub-AVA of Lake County?
Clear Lake
What is the climate like for inland Mendocino?
Warmer than the coast.
