North America Flashcards
What percentage of US wine is made in CA?
85%
What was the first US bonded winery?
Pleasant Valley Wine Company in 1860 near Hammondsport in the Finger Lakes
Who is dubbed the father of California wine?
“Count” Agoston Haraszthy; founded Buena Vista winery around 1849
How many varieties did Agoston Haraszthy bring to California?
Over 300; collected vine cuttings during his European travels
What is the oldest winery in Napa Valley?
Charles Krug in 1861
What is the oldest continuously operating winery?
Beringer - established 1876
What is the name of the American rootstock that was grafted to vitis vinifera vines to help with phylloxera?
Vitis riparia and its hybrids
Who was Andre Tchelistcheff?
Russian winemaker trained in France hired by Georges de Latour. Brought about a new benchmark for quality wine; updating standards including temp-controlled ferments and controlled malolactic fermentation.
Mentored many young talents - Mondavi, Martini, Heitz, Grgich
Who coined the term Fume Blanc?
Robert Mondavi - in 1968 he labeled Sauvignon Blanc Fume Blanc and aged it in oak
What is Monterey’s oldest vineyard?
Chalone Vineyard (1960)
When was the first vineyard planted in Sta. Rita Hills?
1970 by Richard Sanford
Who was the winemaker that took over production of Monte Bello at Ridge in 1969?
Paul Draper in 1969
Who established Mount Eden?
Paul Masson in 1878, produced its first vintage under its new name in 1972
What happened at the 1976 Judgement of Paris?
The 1976 Judgment of Paris, a blind tasting organized by a young Steven Spurrier, surprised the globe, as two Napa Valley wines—Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and Chateau Montelena Chardonnay—placed first in a blind tasting against a sampling of first and second growth Bordeaux, and premier cru and grand cru Burgundy, respectively.
What happened in the 1980s in California?
Phylloxera recurred. In Napa over half the vineyards had to be torn out and replanted allowing opportunity for growers to hone in on clonal selections
What was wine style like in CA during the 1990s?
Stylistic shift in CA with ripeness, body and higher alcohol levels were renowned by influential critics
What was the first AVA approved?
Augusta, Missouri in late 1980
When did Napa gain AVA status?
1981
What percentage of grapes are required for labeling by country, state or county?
75%
*Wines labeled as CA or OR are required to be made soley from grapes grown within the state. WA must contain at least 95%.
What percentage of grapes are required for labeling by AVA?
85%
What percentage of grapes are required for labeling by a single vineyard?
95%
What percentage of grapes must come from the stated vintage when labeled as an AVA?
95%
What percentage of grapes must come from the stated vintage when labeled as a state or county?
85%
What percentage of grapes must come from the stated varietal on the label?
75%
*Vitis labrusca grapes, like Concord, are an exception, and need only comprise a minimum 51% of a varietal wine
What do wines have to do to be called estate bottled?
100% of a wine must come from grapes grown on land owned or controlled by the winery. In addition, the winery and all vineyards used in the production of an estate-bottled wine must be located within the same AVA
What are the major winegrowing regions in California? (Five large AVA’s)
North Coast, Central Coast, South Coast, San Francisco Bay, Sierra Foothills
What is a Meritage?
A term trademarked by the Meritage Alliance, is used by producers to indicate a premium blend in which no grape accounts for more than 90% of the wine. Meritage wines may be red or white, but must be produced from Bordeaux varieties.
What counties are included in the North Coast AVA?
Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Solano, and Marin
What percentage of vineyard acreage does the Napa Valley AVA make in CA?
4%
What are the mountain appellations in Napa?
West - Mount Veeder, Diamond Mountain District, Spring Mountain District
East - Atlas Peak and Howell Mountain
What is the wettest and coolest mountain appellation in Napa Valley?
Howell Mountain
What was the first sub-appellation within Napa Valley to receive its own AVA?
Howell Mountain
What is a concern for Napa’s hillside growers?
Erosion - heavy winter rains can literally wash away a vineyard’s entire topsoil. Leaves nothing but hard bedrock behind.
What are the Valley appellations of Napa Valley?
Yountville, Oakville, Stags Leap District, Calistoga, St. Helena, and Rutherford
What percentage of wine production is made in Sonoma County?
6%
What is the most planted varietal in Sonoma County?
Chardonnay
What are the 19 AVA’s of Sonoma County?
Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Rockpile, Bennett Valley, Knights Valley, Chalk Hill, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Valley, Moon Mountain District Sonoma County, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, Sonoma Mountain, Sonoma Coast, West Sonoma Coast, Northern Sonoma, Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak, Fort Ross-Seaview, Fountaingrove District, Petaluma Gap, and most of the Carneros AVA
What type of soil is the Russian River Valley known for?
Goldrige sandy loam
When was the West Sonoma Coast AVA approved?
2022
What is the Green Valley AVA known for?
Cool temperatures, Goldrige soil and morning fog layer
What is the warmest AVA in Sonoma County?
Knights Valley
What is the difference between Alexander Valley CS and Napa Valley CS?
Alex. Valley tends to show more herbaceous character and less body than Napa
What is the Rockpile AVA known for?
Ripe, powerful styles of Zinfandel, aged in American or French oak
What is Taittinger’s American sparkling wine estate in Carneros?
Domaine Carneros
What is the Cava producer Codorníu’s sparkling wine estate in Carneros?
Aresta
What did the Petaluma Gap become an AVA?
2017
In Mendocino, what are the two rivers that the winegrowing regions are centered around?
Russian and Navarro Rivers
What are the AVA’s of Mendocino?
Anderson Valley, Comptche, Potter Valley, Redwood Valley, McDowell Valley, Yorkville Highlands, Cole Ranch, and a portion of Mendocino Ridge.
Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak, which extends north of the Sonoma County border into Mendocino, is not included within it. Nor are two small, secluded AVAs in the northern sector of the county, Dos Rios and Covelo.
What is the smallest AVA in America?
Cole Ranch - a monopole AVA of McDowell Valley Vineyards
How many AVA’s does Lake County have?
Nine - most prominent is Clear Lake
What are the boundaries of the Central Coast AVA?
Spans the entirety of California’s coastline from SF Bay to Santa Barbara County
What AVAs are within the San Francisco Bay AVA?
Lamorinda, Livermore Valley, Pacheco Pass, San Ysidro District and Santa Clara Valley
What AVA would you think would be in the Central Coast but is not?
Santa Cruz Mountains
What percentage of plantings come from Chardonnay in Monterey?
40%
Where is Mount Harlan AVA?
In San Benito County. In the Gabilan mountain range. Calera produces wines from here
Where is Chalone AVA?
Monterey
What AVA was established in 2022 that encompasses Mount Harlan and Chalone AVAs?
Gabilan Mountains AVA
How many AVA’s are in Paso Robles AVA?
11, established in 2014
What are other AVAs in San Luis Obispo County besides Paso Robles?
York Mountain, Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo Coast, and Edna Valley
What are the mountains in Santa Barbara County?
San Rafael and Santa Ynez
Which AVAs can be found within the Santa Ynez AVA?
Sta. Rita Hills, Happy Canyon, Ballard Canyon, Los Olivos District
What is the standalone AVA between the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria valleys?
Alisos Canyon
What county has the longest growing season in CA?
Santa Barbara
What AVA is home to over 20% of CA’s total wine production?
Lodi
What are the seven sub-appellations of Lodi?
Alta Mesa, Borden Ranch, Mokelumne River, Cosumnes River, Jahant, Sloughhouse, and Clements Hills
What are other AVAs besides Lodi within the Central Valley?
Dunnigan Hills, Clarksburg, Capay Valley, and Merritt Island
What are the AVAs within the Sierra Foothills AVA?
Fair Play, El Dorado, Fiddletown, North Yuba, and California Shenandoah Valley
After California, which state is the next largest producer of premium wines?
Washington (approx. 5% of total production)
What is the climate like in Eastern Washington?
- Rainfall 6-12 inches/year
- Hot summers and cold winters: frost and winter freezes are concerns for growers
- Vineyards receive additional summer sunshine hours due to northern latitude
What are the soils like in Eastern Washington?
Generally, the bedrock east of the Cascades is basalt, overlaid by sediments deposited by the Missoula Floods, a catastrophic cycle of massive floods that occurred repeatedly at the end of the last ice age, some 12,000 to 18,000 years ago.
Vineyards in eastern Washington are thus typically planted on sandy or silty loam soils derived from the flood-borne sediments.
What is the largest AVA in WA?
Columbia Valley - covering 11 million acres (1/4 of WA’s landmass)
What was the first approved AVA in WA?
Yakima Valley in 1983, contains over 1/3 of the state’s vineyards
What are the AVAs within Yakima Valley?
Snipes Mountain, Rattlesnake Hills, Red Mountain, Candy Mountain, and Goose Gap
What is the warmest growing region in WA?
Red Mountain (also the most densely planted)
Which AVA straddles the states of OR and WA?
Walla Walla
What type of soils do they have in Walla Walla?
Basalt bedrock and thin alluvial topsoil deposited by Missoula Floods. Loess is everywhere
Which varieties is Walla Walla known for?
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah (80% of plantings)
Whites - Chardonnay and Riesling
How many wineries are in WA?
Over 1,000
Which AVA offers higher elevation vineyards?
Rattlesnake Hills - 850 to over 3000 ft along ridges and terraces
What are WA’s significant AVAs?
Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley, Walla Walla Valley, and Horse Heaven Hills
What are the four AVAs in Oregon that are along the northern boundary with Washington?
Columbia Gorge, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley, and The Rocks of Milton-Freewater
How did The Rocks of Milton-Freewater get it’s name?
Named for a topsoil of basalt cobblestones that draws comparisons to the galets of CdP
What is Idaho’s arid AVA?
Snake River Valley AVA
What are the eleven smaller AVAs within the Willamette Valley?
Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, Ribbon Ridge, McMinnville, Yamhill-Carlton District, Chehalem Mountains, Van Duzer Corridor, Laurelwood District, Tualatin Hills, Lower Long Tom and Mount Pisgah Polk County Oregon
Which five AVAs were most recently created in the Willamette Valley?
Van Duzer Corridor, Laurelwood District, Tualatin Hills, Lower Long Tom and Mount Pisgah Polk County Oregon
Which AVA are you more likely to find Jory soils?
Dundee Hills aka the “red hills”
What are Jory soils?
Well-drained soil series of volcanic origin
What are Willakenzie soils?
Marine sedimentary soils
Where are Willakenzie soils more prominent?
On the valley’s westernmost slopes - like Ribbon Ridge
What are the tasting differences between Willakenzie and Jory soils?
Willakenzie - denser, darker fruit
Jory - elegance
Which areas in the Willamette Valley get impacted from the Pacific winds?
McMinnville and Eola-Amity Hills
Generates more tannic styles of PN
Which AVA in the Willamette Valley is known for some of the coolest sites?
Chehalem Mountains
What AVAs are within the Southern Oregon AVA?
Umpqua Valley, Elkton Oregon, Rogue Valley, Applegate Valley, and Red Hill Douglas County
What AVA is the warmest and driest west of the Cascades?
Applegate Valley
What is the minimum percentage for stated variety in Oregon?
90% instead of 75%
What is the percentage of wine labeled by an AVA within Oregon?
95% grown in the appellation vs. 85%
What state has the third largest vineyard area and is the third largest producing state by volume?
New York
What is New York’s most planted variety?
Concord grape - 19,000 of 33,000 vines.
1/3 of it goes to wine production, the rest is sold to large jam and juice companies
Why are hybrid varieties popular in New York?
Vinifera struggles during the winters. Native species have naturally adapted to the climate - now breed French-American hybrids that are my hardy.
Who was key in the development of New York’s wine industry?
Dr. Konstantin Frank
Which AVA bottles 90% of the state’s wines?
Finger Lakes AVA
What are the deepest Finger Lakes?
Seneca Lake and Cayuga (have their own AVAs)
What is the Finger Lake’s flagship grape?
Riesling
What varieties are grown on the Long Island AVA?
Warmer climate - Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Merlot, Chard, Gewurz, Riesling
Where are the top vineyards concentrated in Long Island?
Eastern Half of the island
What are the two AVA’s within Long Island?
The North Fork of Long Island and the Hamptons, Long Island
Describe the Hudson River Region AVA
Region follows southern course of the Hudson River form Columbia to Westchester counties (above NYC). Very cool climate is often inhospitable to vinifera, so many hybrids are planted
What is the US’s oldest continually operating winery?
Brotherhood Winery - 1839
What are other AVA’s within New York?
Upper Hudson, Champlain (near Vermont border), Niagra Escarpment (moderated by Lake Ontario, ice wines), Lake Erie.
Is wine produced in all 50 US states?
Yes
How many AVA’s are in Texas?
Eight - largest is Texas Hill Country spanning nine-million acres
When did Canada’s winemaking start?
Early 19th century, but vitis vinifera vines were not planted on a commercial scale until the 1970s
What is Inniskillin?
A Canadian winery in Niagra-on-the-Lake where they created an international reputation for Canadian icewine.
What is the VQA in Canada?
Vintners Quality Alliance - establish standards in 1990s
What are the most important wine regions in Canada?
Ontario and British Columbia
What are province varietal standards from the VQA?
VQA wines from Ontario or British Columbia must be made from 100% of grapes grown in the respective province.
If labeled with a more precise appellation, British Columbia VQA wines must contain a minimum 95% of grapes grown in the stated appellation, whereas Ontario VQA wines require 85% for appellations and regional appellations, and 100% for sub-appellations (in Niagara Peninsula)
For single vineyards, what percentage of grapes need to come from the stated vineyard?
100%
In Ontario and BC, VQA wines must be labeled with a vintage date and contain a minimum of what percentage of grapes harvested that year? What is the varietal percentage?
85%/85%
What does the VQA set standards for?
Set limits on chaptalization (it is not authorized for the production of late-harvest wines or icewine), acidification, must weights, and other technical aspects of winemaking.
What province is Canada’s largest producer?
Ontario with 15,000 acres
What are the Designated Vinicultural Areas (DVAs) in Ontario?
Niagara Peninsula (subdivided into two regional appellations Niagara Escarpment and Niagara-on-the-Lake), Lake Erie North Shore, Prince Edward County
What helps mitigate the cool continental climate in Ontario?
The lake effect of the Great Lakes
When do producers harvest grapes for icewine in Ontario?
- Declare their intent to produce to VQA in November.
- Harvest frozen grapes at night, when temps reach at least -8C
What percentage of production does icewine represent?
Less than 5%
Describe winemaking in Prince Edward County
- Separated from the mainland by water
- Vineyards occupy a fractured landmass of well-drained soils
-Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are key grapes
What are the nine DVAs of British Columbia?
Fraser Valley, Gulf Islands, Kootenays, Lillooet, Okanagan Valley, Shuswap, Simikameen Valley, Thomson Valley, and Vancouver Island
Which valley is one of the world’s most northerly wine regions?
Okanagan Valley - reaches northward of the 49th parallel
Which DVA in BC supplies 84% of the province’s wine?
Okanagan Valley
What are the main grapes in the Okanagan Valley?
Pinot Noir. Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Merlot, Pinot Blanc
When did winemaking start in Mexico?
16th century with the arrival of the Spanish. In 1521, Hernán Cortés defeated the Aztec Empire, claiming it for Spain. One of his early orders from the King of Spain was to plant 1,000 vines for each native slave in the new territory.
What country was the first to make wine in the Americas?
Mexico
Where did winemaking start in Mexico?
Either Veracruz or Puebla
What is the Mission grape called in Mexico?
Listán Prieto
What was a big hiccup in Mexico’s wine industry in the 1600s?
Charles II of Spain prohibited winemaking in New Spain as the wine industry in New Spain (Mexico) was so successful, they began exporting wine to Spain.
He ordered most vines in the territory to be destroyed, with only a few surviving to produce wine for religious purposes. His law remained in effect until Mexican Independence in 1821.
How did the Baja (Guadalupe Valley) wine industry get started?
In 1904, during the Porfiriato the government gave a group of Russians immigrants escaping Tsar Nicolas II 100 acres in Baja California’s Guadalupe Valley.
They began to grow vines for personal winemaking and encouraged others to do the same, contributing to the region’s growing reputation as an area for quality winemaking.
How many hectares are planted in Mexico?
25,000 with 8/32 states producing wine
Does Mexico have government regulations on their wines?
No
What region makes the most wine in Mexico?
Guadalupe Valley, producing 85% of the wine
Over 140 wineries
What is the climate in the Guadalupe Valley?
Mediterranean - has a strong oceanic influence from the Pacific
What are the soils like in the Guadalupe Valley?
Valley floor - sandy
Hillsides - blend of granite and poor clay
What are some of the valleys/other sites within the Guadalupe Valley?
Ojos Negros Valley (more southern) - highest altitude and coldest valley 800m above sea level
Santo Tomas Valley - further south
San Vicente - southernmost valley
What are Baja’s other wine production areas?
Valle de la Grulla and Tecate
