Napa Flashcards
What percentage of Calfornia’s annual wine revenue comes from Napa?
25%
Despite contributing only 4% of the volume
What was the first vinifera to be planted in California? When?
Mission around 1770, near San Diego
Who planted Napa’s first vineyard? What year?
George Yount
1838 or 1839
Mission grape
What was Napa’s first commercial winery? When was it founded?
Charles Krug
1861
Name 3 Napa wineries that were started in the 19th century
Charles Krug 1861
Schramsberg 1862
Beringer 1876
Inglenook 1880
What winery brought André Tchelistcheff to California?
Beaulieu Vineyard, to increase quality post-prohibition in 1938
When did Robert Monday winery start?
1966
Aside from Monday, name 3 more Napa wineries that opened in the late 1960s
Chappellet
Sterling
Diamond Creek
Spring Mountain Vineyard
What year was the Judgement of Paris?
1976
What wines won the Judgement of Paris?
1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay
1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon
When was Napa Valley AVA created?
1981
What year did Opus One start?
1979
What was the first Napa wine to retail for over $100 on release?
Diamond Creek Lake Vineyard 1978
What winery invested in Opus One?
Baron Philippe de Rothschild (Mouton)
What are the two main entry points for fog in Napa?
San Pablo Bay in the south (more influence)
Chalk Hill Gap in the North
Where in Napa is the diurnal swing the most dramatic? By how much?
Calistoga
By up to 40ºF between day and night
What is the elevation of the fog line in Napa?
~1,400 ft
What create Napa’s benches?
Alluvial Fans
transition point between rocky hillsides and fertile valley floors created by streams and rainwater moving rocks and gravel and sand etc
What is the steepest slope allowed for a vineyard site in Napa?
30 degrees
A few sites have been grandfathered in
When did CS become the dominant grape of Napa?
1992
What percentage of Napa is planted to CS?
~46%
When did Phylloxera hit Naps?
1986, the valley flooded, spreading it rapidly
Why was Chardonnay especially hard hit by phylloxera in Napa?
It had mostly been planted in the late 70s and early 80s, when AXR1 was popular, while the red vines were older and therefore planted on St. George.
What is the second most planted variety in Napa?
Chardonnay
Where is Konsgaard’s Judge Vineyard located?
Coombsville AVA
What AVA contains the majority of Napa’s Merlot?
Oak Knoll AVA
What industry invented the optical sorter?
the Blueberry industry! Charming!
What were the first two Napa nested AVAs to be established? What year?
Howell Mountain AVA
Carneros AVA
both in 1983
What is the most recently established Napa AVA? What year?
Coombsville AVA
2011
What counties share Wild Horse Valley AVA?
Napa and Solano
What are the two highways of Napa?
Highway 29
Silverado Trail
Name 2 important vineyards of Carneros AVA
Hudson Hyde Sangiacamo (Sonoma side) Poseidon Truchard
What is the minimum altitude of Howell Mountain AVA?
1,400 ft (426.7 m)
Thats where the fog line ends
What is the soil of Howell Mountain AVA?
Mostly volcanic
Some compressed ash/tuff
iron and clay in the north