Sonoma County's Moon Mountain Distict

Moon Mountain became its own American Viticultural Area in 2013. It's a sub-appellation of Sonoma Valley and the grapes from there were labeled as Sonoma Valley up until then. That was weird in that the Moon Mountain vineyards sit a few hundred to a couple thousand feet above the valley floor. The elevation changes the weather and the soil -- two things that affect a wine's flavor.

Location

At the southern end of Sonoma Valley, north of the town of Sonoma, on the west-facing side of the Mayacamas Mountain range separating Sonoma Valley from Napa Valley. 

Climate

Lots of sun. Lots of breezes off the ocean and the San Pablo Bay (part of the San Francisco Bay). The appellation is on the west side of the mountains so lots of afternoon sun.

Soil

Higher elevation soils tend to be thinner with erosion and have good drainage with runoff from slopes. The Mayacamas Mountains are generally sedimentary (former sea floor). Moon Mtn is mostly volcanic and high in iron meaning lots of red soils.

Vineyards

Moon Mountain AVA covers almost 18,000 acres (28 sq miles) with 1,500 planted to vineyards. The AVA's elevation runs from 400 to 2,200 feet.

The most well-known vineyard is Monte Rosso (Rosso means red for the red soil). It was first planted in the 1880s. The original owners sold to Louis Martini. Martini is now owned by Gallo. This 250 acre vineyards sits at about 1,000 ft. plus or minus.

Besides Gallo, Amapola, B Wise, Hanzell, Kamen, Kistler, Liquid Ridge, Lookout Petroni, Repris, and Ty Caton own vineyards. Others farm the grapes and sell to wineries. Numerous wineries buy from from Moon Mountain including the Monte Rosso Vineyard with Bedrock, Biale, and Sbragia the best known.

Monte Rosso Zinfandel planted in the 1880s

Wines

The sun and wind tend to give you thick-skinned grapes with intense color and flavor. Expect bright red fruit flavors often with the tannic structure to age many years. 

If Monte Rosso is the iconic vineyard of Moon Mountain then Zinfandel is the iconic grape. Some of the zin growing in Monte Rosso is over 130 years old. The oldest Cabernet Sauvignon is about 80 years old (believed to be the oldest Cab planting in California). Semillon is the only white grape grown on Monte Rosso with some of it over 100 years old. Also grown are Merlot, Malbec, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Sangiovese.

Hanzell Winery is at the southern end of the AVA (closer to the bay) and faces easterly so they are able to grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The wines from here are pretty special.

3D Map from Google Earth

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