North America/CALIFORNIA Flashcards
U.S. case production
4th in world, 350 million cases
CA produces _____% of U.S. wine
81%
Number of bonded wineries in the U.S.
16,000
European colonists produced wine from indigenous grapes in Florida, when?
1560’s
Where were Vinifera vines first successfully planted and vinified in the U.S.?
When?
Texas and New Mexico
1620’s
First Vinifera wines of CA?
1770’s
What brothers were responsible for consistent and reasonably priced wine after Prohibition?
Ernest and Julio Gallo
Hungarian immigrant who brought European vines to Sonoma?
What year
Agoston Haraszthy
1861
1st commercial winery of Napa Valley?
When?
Charles Krug
1861
1st commercial U.S. winery?
When?
Nicholas Longworth
1830’s, Ohio
Who made 1st American sparkling wine?
Nicholas Longworth
Wine journalist who promoted varietal labeling?
Frank Schoonmaker
CA winemaker who introduced modern techniques and mentored many successful winemakers
Andre Tchelistcheff
Creator of White Zinfandel?
Bob Trinchero, son of Mario Trinchero
Sutter Home
Significance of White Zin?
Saved Zinfandel from being uprooted or abandoned.
Name the 3 tiers of U.S. Wine Industry
- Producers/Suppliers- includes importers
- Distributors or Wholesalers
- Retailers
4 rules of 3 tier system
- Wineries can sell only to distributors
- Foreign wineries must sell their wine to U.S. based importer
- Distributors cannot have direct ownership of wineries or retail establishments and cannot sell directly to the public
- Retailers must remain independent of the other tiers
Producers can sell to……
- Distributor
- Importer
- In bulk to another winery
- Direct to consumers at the winery, if allowed by state and local laws
- Direct to consumers by shipping, if allowed by state and local laws
What are control states?
States where the government IS the distributor.
What is a franchise state
Favorable for distributors, who have leverage over producers
TTB place of origin may be defined by political boundaries like:
- U.S.
- State
- Multi state (3 maximum)
- County
- Multi county (3 maximum
As of 2021, how many AVA’s?
How many states
How many in CA
Parentheses = April 2023 count
260 (267)
30 (34)
142 (147)
What info must appear on a U.S. brand label
Brand Name
Class/type of wine
ABV
Which place names are disallowed on U.S. labels
Bordeaux & Rioja
Name some semi generic names?
When are they still allowed
Chablis, Burgundy, Chianti, Port, Madeira
Allowed as long as there is a geographic indication like “CA Madeira” and only if labels were approved prior to March 2006.
“They have been outside those regions so long that they have lost their explicit reference to the original wine zone”
For wines of 14% or less ABV, ________ can be used in exchange for an exact %
Table Wine
American wine may contain up to _____% foreign wine
25%
Min. sulfite requirement for “Contains Sulfites”
10ppm
If Vintage is stated, with AVA or foreign equivalent, it requires ______%
95%
If vintage is stated for county, state or nation, ______% is required
85%
What are the exceptions to varietal labeling requiring 75%?
Vitis Labrusca= 51%
Oregon PN, PG and CH= 90%
If a wine is a blend varietals can be named only if……
They are all named & the percentage of each is also named
Meritage inception date?
1988
Meritage requirements:
- Winery’s most expensive wine
2.Production cannot exceed 25,000 cases - Red= CS, CF, PV, Malbec, Merlot, St. Macaire, Gros Verdot, Carmenere
- Min 2 must be used, no grape can be more than 90% - White= SB, Muscadelle, Semillon
-min 2 must be used, no grape can be more than 90%
CA and Oregon designates require ____%
Washington designate requires ____%
100%
95%
Rules for “Estate”
- Must come from 1 or more vineyards owned or leased by the winery
- Must be within single AVA
- Winery must be located in that AVA
AVA labeling in Oregon requires _____%
95%
What county produces 20% of CA chardonnay
Monterey
Los Olivos District AVA approved in what year?
2016
Alisos Canyon AVA approved in what year?
2020
Which of these AVA’s is not completely nested within the Santa Ynez Valley AVA:
Sta Rita Hills
Ballard Canyon
Los Olivos
Happy Canyon
Sta Rita Hills
what area is planted with 55% of CA’s grape acreage?
Central Valley
Which of CA’s largest AVA’s contains only 1% of CA grape acreage?
Sierra Foothills
Which county, according to EPA, has cleanest air quality in CA?
Lake
Name the 5 Super AVA’s
North Coast
Central Coast
South Coast
SF Bay
Sierra Foothills
Where is the “Goldilocks” zone for Rhone varietals?
Alisos Canyon
Not too hot, not too cold, just right.
What did Norse explorers in the 11th Century first name N. America?
Vinland
Colonists named Labrusca…..
Fox Grapes
Name 4 Native American hybrid grapes
Catawba
Delaware
Niagara
Concord
Scuppernong
Norton
Name 3 highly regarded Hybrid grapes
Seyval Blanc
Vidal Blanc
Chambourcin
What did George Gibbs do?
Long Island grape grower brought the Zinfandel variety to his nursery in the 1820’s.
Durif is a cross of?
Why is it called this
Peloursin x Syrah
AKA Petite Sirah
Off chance cross in a nursery owned by Francois Durif
How many approved grape varietals in U.S.
> 300 (47 pending)
U.S. approved pseudonym for Tempranillo
Valdepeñas
U.S. approved pseudonym for Riesling
White Riesling
Name 3 grape pseudonyms no longer permitted in the U.S.
Gamay Beaujolais
Johannisberg Riesling
Napa Gamay
Most concentrated area in Central Valley for grape growing
San Joaquin Valley
Napa county has ____ largest acreage planted of any county but accounts for only ____% of CA’s total production by volume
3rd
4%
How many AVA’s in Napa including Napa AVA
17
Calistoga cooling influence?
Chalk Hill Gap
Which AVA receives less fog/wind/heat retention due to narrowing of valley floor?
St. Helena
What Ava is the only appellation in Napa that is elevation specific?
what is that elevation
Howell. mountain
1400 foot minimum
Diamond Mountain elevation range
400-2200
Most planted variety of Sonoma?
Chardonnay
_____ of Sonoma wines are _____
2/3
red
Sonoma Coast AVA acreage?
500,000
What 2 (3, now) AVA’s are nested within Sonoma Coast AVA?
Petaluma Gap
Fort Ross Seaview
(West Sonoma Coast)
Chalk Hill is well known for
Robust Chardonnay and SB
Name the 4 nested AVA’s within Sonoma Valley
Bennett Valley
Sonoma MOuntain
Moon Mountain
Los Carneros
What AVA is just north of Sonoma Valley AVA
Fountaingrove District
Mendo ridge must be a min of ______ft above sea level
1200
what AVA is known as “islands in the sky”
Mendo Ridge
Cole Ranch named after
John Cole, who planted 1st vines here in 1970’s
Largest geothermal field in N. America
Lake County
Name the 7 AVA’s of Lake County
Benmore Valley
Clear Lake
High Valley
Red Hills
Big Valley
Kelsey Bench
Guenoc Valley
Most planted white of Lake County
SB
Bechthold Vineyard significance?
Some of oldest Cinsault vineyards in Lodi (1886)
San Diego de Alcala
1st of 9 missions by Junipero Serra
LA county was growing Bordeaux varieties starting in what yr?
Who brought them?
1833
Jean Louis Vignes
El Aliso?
Jean Louis Vignes’ estate, in honor of ancient sycamore on property
Don Luis del Aliso
Jean Louis Vignes
South Coast AVA has parts of which 5 counties
San Bernardino
San Diego
Orange
Riverside
LA
Temecula Valley AVA is in which county
Riverside
Cucamonga Valley is shared by which 2 counties
Riverside
San Bernardino
