Remaining California Flashcards
Central Valley
Entirely inland and covering a large area
Consists of two valleys: Sacramento Valley is northern half and 6,700ha and the San Joaquin Valley is southern half and 61,000ha.
High yielding vineyards on flat fertile areas with daytime temps 35C - 40C for very ripe grapes.
French Colombard, Chard, Muscat, Zin, Merlot.
Known for large scale production with E&J Gallo and Bronco Wine co as the largest producers.
Majority of wines labelled “California” come from San Joaquin Valley. Neither valley (Sacramento, San Joaquin, nor Central) are AVA’s.
Lodi AVA
Northern end of the central valley and 100 miles inland from SF bay. 45,000 ha
Hot Mediterranean climate moderated by cooling afternoon winds from SF Bay and the Sacremento - San Joaquin Delta.
Flat land with breaks between the North and South Coast Ranges means breezes of the Bay can travel far inland. Free draining sandy and clay loam soils.
Low rainfall means irrigation is widely used (from Mokelumne River). Windy conditions reduce risk of fungal disease and frost.
Cordon VSP as cane is too much labor. Oldest are bush vines.
Lots of varieties: Rhones, Bordeaux, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy. Particularly well known for Zin with some over 100 years old. Sandy soils means phylloxera not an issue in some parts. Medium to full body, med to med plus acid, ripe tannin, cherry, blueberry, blackberry.
Lodi grapes may be part of an inexpensive regional blend or from the AVA. Good to very good with some outstanding. inexpensive to prem. Most expensive are single vineyards of old dry farmed bush vines. Michael David and Ravenswood.
In 2006 divided into 7 sub AVA’s. Mokelumne River AVA contains the majority of wineries and old Zin vines. Must be labeled as Lodi and the sub AVA.
Lodi Rules, the first sustainability program in CA. Over 1,000 wineries certified globally and 1/5 of Lodi.
Clarksburg AVA
Southwest of Sacramento with similar climate as Lodi with hot days moderated by afternoon breezes.
Best known for Chenin and Petite Sirah as well as large plantings of Chard, Pinot Grigio, Sauv Blanc, Viognier.
Most grapes go into CA blends.
Sierra Foothills
Sierra Foothills AVA is 100 miles east of SF in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Vineyards originally planted in mid to late 1800’s during the Gold Rush. Many abandoned during prohibition and grew again from the 60’s.
Vast AVA covering 1 million ha and multiple counties. Majority of plantings in Amador County’s California Shenandoah Valley AVA and Fiddletown AVA and the El Dorado AVA in El Dorado County.
Daytime temps are hot at 35C - 40C but cool air descends from the mountains at night for a huge diurnal range. Planting at altitude also helps mange sugar. Up to 600m in Amador County and over 1,000m in El Dorado AVA.
Soil is sandy clay loam from decomposed granite that retains sufficient water for dry farming.
Most known for old vine Zin with some over 100. Range of Rhone (Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah); Italian (Barbera, Sangiovese, Pinot Grigio, Aglianico) and Spanish (Verdelho, Tempranillo) also.
South Coast
South Coast AVA extends from south of Los Angeles to the border with Mexico. Includes a number of sub-AVA’s.
Many are planted in areas exposed to breezes from Pacific though some rely on altitude for temp relief. The low latitude means some form of cooling is needed for successful grape growing.
Originally planted by Franciscan monks in the 1760’s and commercially in 1830’s. After prohibition land was taken up by food crops, housing and urban sprawl. Pierce’s disease spread through in the 1990’s. This has forced growers to rethink varieties, rootstocks, clones with quality over quantity.
Chard, Cab Sauv, Zin, Chenin Blanc, are most common.
