Sonoma County Flashcards
The Gloria Ferrer family is related to which European wine house?
Gloria Ferrer Caves Vineyards is a winery in the Carneros AVA, The Ferrer family owns the Spanish Freixenet Cava business.
*Name the 4 counties which surround Sonoma County
Mendocino, Lake, Napa, Marin [all the North Coast AVA counties except Solano County]
*Name the most widely planted WHITE grapes of Sonoma County.
Chardonnay (27%), Sauvignon Blanc (4%)
*Name the most widely planted RED grapes of Sonoma County.
Pinot Noir (20%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Merlot (9%) and Zinfandel (9%)
*Name the only Sonoma County AVA that overlaps into Napa.
Carneros
*Name the newest sub-AVA of Sonoma Coast.
Fort Ross-Seaview AVA
*Name the largest AVA in Sonoma County.
Sonoma Coast, established 1987. [largest in total area, not vineyard acres]
*Name Sonoma AVA with the highest average summer temperature.
Knights Valley AVA [Hot Nights!]
*Name 2 Sonoma County AVAs well-known for Zinfandel.
Dry Creek AVA and Rockpile AVA [adjacent AVA’s; note that Dry Creek AVA also grows substantial amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon]
*Name 3 Sonoma County AVAs well-known for Cabernet Sauvignon.
Alexander Valley AVA, Knight’s Valley AVA, Sonoma Mountain AVA
*Name 2 Sonoma County AVAs well-known for sparkling wine.
Carneros AVA and Green Valley of Russian River AVA
*Name the geographical feature that cools Carneros.
San Pablo Bay (northern SF Bay) where cool air enters from the Petulma Gap and the SF Bay
*Name the breaks in the coastal range that allows fog and cool breezes into the Russian River Valley.
Petaluma Gap and channel cut by Russian River
*State the name native Americans had for Sonoma Valley, also used by Jack London.
Valley of the Moon; however the etymology of the word Sonoma is not clear.
*Translate the Spanish word carneros into English.
rams (this area was an ancient home for shepherds)
*Name the 6 AVAs nested within the Northern Sonoma AVA.
Alexander Valley AVA, Chalk Hill AVA, Dry Creek AVA, Knights Valley AVA, Russian River Valley AVA as well as most of Green Valley of Russian River Valley AVA. [not the southern AVA’s Carneros AVA or Sonoma Valley AVA]
Compare the size of vineyard land in Sonoma County vs. Napa Valley.
Sonoma County is about 50% larger Napa County 64,000 vs 43,000 acres .
How many bonded wineries are in Sonoma County vs. Napa Valley.
685 wineries in Sonoma vs. 400 in Napa