When a wine drinker thinks of Sonoma County, they likely focus on Pinot Noir. The top grapes by acreage are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon, making up two-thirds of all the grapes grown in the county. There are smaller amounts of Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Syrah. The last ten percent is made up by over 50 other grape varieties. There's a move to diversify for several reasons.
No, not that White Claw stuff. Yuck. Cannabis-infused seltzer is on the market, but not in the market.
Last week was a look at the history of Petite Sirah in California, and specifically Sonoma County. Some of you don't know much, if anything, about PS so let's give enough info to make you want to go out and try one.
We've been through the history of Cab, Pinot, and Zinfandel in Sonoma County over the last few posts. Now we are onto a rare one, an oddball, an out-of-favor grape, or what ever you might want to call it. Just don't call it Syrah because they are not the same, though they are related.
Petite Sirah is a fun one, mostly because it's not trendy. You won't find people getting all snooty about PS like they do with Cabernet or the very trendy Pinot Noir. It's a grape used for blending until fairly recent times.
Let's dive into the history of the very purple Petite Sirah in Sonoma County, in California, and in other parts of the world.
Zinfandel has a unique history in America. People have written books about the grape so this is strictly a few of the highlights of Zinfandel's history worldwide and in Sonoma County.
You'll hear Zinfandel called America's grape, America's heritage grape, America's own grape, or California's grape. These are all partially correct, as the history of Zin was a mystery before DNA testing a few years ago.
Pinot Noir has a short history in Sonoma County, and the rest of the country for that matter, as it was only a minor player in American wine for a long time. Even in its native France, Burgundy was overshadowed by Bordeaux until into the last half of the 20th century.
Cabernet Sauvignon is important to California, and certainly to Sonoma's next door neighbor, Napa Valley. Napa is home to some of the most famous and most sought-after Cabernets in the world. There are 95,000 acres of Cab Sauv planted in the state. By county, the largest amounts are in Napa, San Luis Obispo (home to the Paso Robles appellation), then Sonoma County.
Ex race car driver Danica Patrick has one of those celebrity wine labels. She's opened a tasting room and wants to tell you about the interior decor, never mind the wine. I don't believe the Press Democrat's paywall will be an issue
Danica Patrick's Calistoga Tasting Room
We're #1, but not in a good way. A list of the drunkest cities in each state from 24/7 Tempo.
Wine shopping has never been easier for most of us (except for you, Utah). It's simple to buy online in most states. This works best if you already know the wine, the winery, or you have a trusted out-of-the-area retailer. Online is also best for larger purchases, as shipping on a bottle or two is cost prohibitive.
A Santa Rosa Press Democrat article in the Sunday paper is a wrap-up of the local harvest season. As it seems with most harvests, there is no perfect season. Actually, ask any farmer if they've had a perfect year because it never happens. The paper interviewed a few local winemakers and vineyard managers.
The article is here. In case of a paywall I will hit the highlights and throw in a few of my own notes below.
Per the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB, there are 269 Appellations, American Viticultural Areas/AVAs, official wine growing regions, or whatever you want to call them. About half are in California, where close to 90% of the country's wine comes from. How many AVAs are too many? 300? 400? 150?
You have to wonder who all of these small, mostly unknown growing areas are for? Sometimes I think they're more for the grape growers and winemakers who probably believe they can charge more for something that seems exclusive.
Concern about climate change is a real thing with grape growers and winemakers. Wine grape varieties are very susceptible to year-to-year weather changes. This means they will have problems with warmer growing seasons.
Growers and winemakers are looking at ways to lessen the impact of hotter weather. One way is with trellising of grape vines in the vineyards. Climate change problems can be mitigated with the grape clusters' sun exposure.
If you've never been to a winery for tasting, it might seem a little scary or intimidating, especially if you don't know much about wine. Relax. The winery's staff is used to seeing people with varying degrees of knowledge and experience.
Here are some helpful tips to make it go well, for your enjoyment and the enjoyment of others in the tasting room.
The holidays are coming, get ready!
Sparkling wine is the generic term for still wines with added carbonation via a second fermentation. In France there is Champagne and Cremant, in Spain Cava, and in Italy Prosecco and Spumante, plus other regional names. There are wineries in California that specialize in sparkling wine and quite a few others that may make one or two. Often those that just "dabble" in bubbles use their own grapes, but the extra steps to make a sparkling wine are done by someone that specializes in this, such as Rack & Riddle in Sonoma County.
Roundup (glyphosate) has been in the news for many years. The World Health Organization called it a probable carcinogen in 2015. How much is too much? Any? The 700 ppb the EPA says is fine? A quick Internet search shows various U.S. nonprofit and government groups saying the limit is anywhere from 160 ppb to 1,000 ppb. It seems nobody really understands the long-term effects, or maybe they don't want to disrupt farming by outlawing it.
Glyphosate has been found in your drinking water. Heck, it's been found in rainwater.
Oh yeah, alcohol is also a known carcinogen.
Visitation is down in the California wine regions. Napa being the "star" means the focus is on them and what happens in Napa often spills over to other wine regions, especially next door in Sonoma. Some still think the low visitor count is a temporary issue with the post-Pandemic economic reset. Others are making unrealistic assumptions of how they are going to pull out of the downturn.
Artificial Intelligence/AI is the current buzzword in the tech field. It can be used for good, it can be used for bad, according to the people writing about AI. How might this fit in with the wine consumer's biggest problem -- finding a bottle of wine on the retail store shelf.
Wine consumption is down, as is winery visitation here in California. Lots of people are trying to figure out why and what to do about it. People are drinking less craft beer, too, and the Brewers Association thinks they know why. What they say closely mirrors what the wine industry is saying.
Zinfandel has its ancestral home in southern Italy as Primitivo and before than in Croatia as Crljenak Kaštelanski (good luck pronouncing that one). Still, Zinfandel is called California's grape. It doesn't have the cachet of Cabernet, Pinot, or Chardonnay, but it's a favorite for many of us.
Lodi's fame for Zinfandel and its dependence on the grape is causing problems.
The current state of the American wine industry has its roots in the early 1970s in Napa and Sonoma Counties. At this time, the first modern era boom time for the wine business has its roots. The first growth spurt was in the mid-to late 19th Century before phylloxera, Prohibition, the Great Depression and WWII stifled growth.
Oh no, fires, smoke! Some people say they won't buy a 2020 California wine because of wildfires and smoke damage to wine grapes that year.
Yes, grapes can get smoke taint that you can actually taste in the wine. No, not all of California caught on fire in 2020, or any other wildfire season. Not even all of Sonoma and Napa County grapes got smoke taint that year! I know, many think differently.
Article from Wine Enthusiast on the 2020 vintage in Sonoma and Napa.
Many Pinot Noir fans consider the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County to be one of the best for the grape. I suspect a lot of people only think of Pinot when they reflect on the Russian River region. It's a vast growing area and there are many other grape varieties as the microclimates and soils vary widely.
It seems that there's a small, family-owned winery getting gobbled up by a corporation every month. Some even just close their doors. Current economic issues, the loss of income during the pandemic, and a slowdown in the number of visitors is likely to close more operations.
Silicon Valley Bank surveys wineries throughout the country. They send requests out to many, some respond, some don't. You might recall SVB crashed and burned a few months ago and is now part of First Citizens Bank.
The annual Big Wine Event for Sonoma County wineries has been judged and results released. All wines entered must be from Sonoma County grapes. About 960 wines were entered from 126 labels (a winery can have more than one label). Almost one-fourth of the wines entered receive a good medal, much higher than the average for wine judgings.
The public tasting of gold medal winners will be Saturday, October 14th, at the county fair grounds. I'll be there pouring wine; maybe sneaking in a taste or three.
A quick look at some of the wine, and other beverage, stocks. A few of the big ones and a couple smaller stocks compared to the overall market over the past six months. Performance graphs from Yahoo Finance as of 27 Sep 23.
Glass wine bottles are heavy, making them expensive to ship and subject to breakage. They are a big part of a winery's carbon footprint. Only about 30% of glass gets recycled in the U.S.
In March, I had a post wondering if aluminum might be the answer to replace glass wine bottles. This time we'll look at paper wine bottles.
Your engine goes out while approaching the Sonoma County Airport. You can't make it to the nearby golf course, so what do you do? How about we take out an estimated 100 vines from the El Diablo Vineyard that produces $100-ish Chardonnay for several wineries? The grower's insurance company is going to love this one.
The pilot was fine; the Cessna had minor damage. Getting the plane out of there will probably be expensive.
 |
| image from winespectator.com courtesy Sonoma County Sheriff |
In the past, I've made suggestions of food to have with Sangiovese or wines to have with your grilled burgers, for example. I once attempted a more all-inclusive post on wine and food pairing guidelines. I said "attempted" because it got so confusing that I gave up and it was never published. It doesn't help that I'm not an expert on the subject. This time I'll try to get the basics right.
The Airbnb website and app have a Vineyard category to go along with Lakefront, Tiny Homes, Tree Houses, and all the rest. There are vineyards and wineries that offer guest housing, so this makes sense they've made this a separate search.
Amador County (pop. 41,000) in the Sierra Foothills is about 40 miles east of Sacramento, a metro area of 2.4 million people. The county is a mish mash of elevations and soil types, both things that make for interesting grape growing.
Vineyards have been in Amador County since the mid-19th century, right when the nearby Gold Rush started. Zinfandel has been the star, but diversity has come to Amador in this century. Even with the history and great vineyards, not much attention was paid to the area. Economic reasons are now changing that. Old is meeting new in Amador County.
Ol' Hugh is a wine executive. He's held upper-level corporate jobs with Constellation Brands, Kendall Jackson, and Foley Wines. Ten years ago he started Krasilsa Pacific Farms LLC, apparently out of his home near Windsor, CA and listing himself as the only employee. Then he repeated what other rich guy landowners have done. He raped the land.
After 27 years of gains, the wine market is in a multi-year decline in sales volume. Is it post-pandemic settling out or are we in a years-long trend?
As a wise man once said ...
Besides wine tasting, another activity you can do is travel some of the scenic roads. With several small mountain ranges, rivers, and an ocean, there are numerous spectacular car cruises in the area. These listed below are all two-lane roads, so you may have to be patient with the tourists. :)
There are lots of interesting and even cutesy small towns in Sonoma County. Many people know about the two biggest tourist destinations, Healdsburg and Sonoma, but there's more. The biggest city and county seat, Santa Rosa (pop 185,000) will be skipped. Too big to be cute. :)
Silver Oak Cellars has been around for over 50 years, that's pretty long by California standards. It's not just that the winery has been here for a half century, but the effect they've had on California wine drinkers. They make a Napa Valley Cab and an Alexander Valley (Sonoma County) Cab and neither has changed much in those 50 years.
Below is a description of the major appellations / American Viticultural Areas / AVAs you are likely to see on a bottle of Sonoma County wine. You may not understand what these AVAs imply, so below is an overview and a generalization -- meaning just because I don't mention Sauvignon Blanc in a particular growing area doesn't mean it's not grown there. Small microclimate zones can spring up almost anywhere. Because of the soil and climate diversity, Sonoma County can grow pretty much any wine grape somewhere.
Regenerative farming is the use of methods to conserve and rehab the soil using biodiversity, an improved water cycle to improve the ecosystem, and even help solve some of the climate change issues. This is fairly new to agriculture and is a step beyond organic or biodynamic.
The vineyards of Medlock Ames Winery in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County has been sustainable and organically farmed for quite a while. They are now the first in the county to be certified as Regenerative Organic.
Read all about it in the Press Democrat
There are wine marketing channels that maybe aren't typical for other products. There are ways these channels are used that definitely aren't typical. Why is this? It's alcohol, so there are some restrictions. Wine is different from most consumer goods because many rely on points given by writers or medals by judges. A lot of wine is considered a luxury good because of the price. Unless you buy directly from a winery, the product is sold through a third party, the wholesale system that began life as the Mob.
Thinking about visiting?
Many people can't decide between these two premier Wine Country locations. I've got a little help for you, and I'll try not to be biased. Too much. :)
Quality Price Ratio, a wine nerd term. :)
With wine, this is the best bang for the buck. A quick definition follows on this sometimes misunderstood term, plus how to look for QPR wine.
If ever there was a job situation that looked great from afar, it's working in an idyllic setting of a winery surrounded by vineyards. Let's take a look at how you might get there.
Many of these jobs will be in wineries, though there are plenty of other wine sales, wine retail, and wine importers jobs that will be located somewhere else.
See winejobs.com for current job listings.
It's summer and you're probably grilling hamburgers. Some people might go for a beer with the burger, but I'll suggest you have a beer while grilling, then switch to a red wine for dinner. Since we're having an inexpensive dinner, let's not go with any $50 wines.
Visiting wineries is for sampling alcohol. Quite a few people think of it as a family adventure. While there's nothing inherently wrong with kids in wineries, it can create problems.
In the U.S. we had Prohibition. At the end of that failed experiment, the states were given control over alcohol. That led to some really diverse laws. About the only thing that's consistent is that you must be 21 to purchase alcohol, and you can't drink and drive. Even those rules weren't always the same in all states.
There are state-by-state exceptions to consumption with the 21 age for purchase, usually it's for religious reasons, medical reasons, or if you are in a class where part of the curriculum is tasting alcohol, such as an oenology or brewing class. In Alaska parents can give their kids a drink.
There are plenty of articles telling you what wineries to visit because somehow their list is what's best for you. Okay, I admit that I've made suggestions, too. Anyway, this one from the Wine Enthusiast is actually pretty good.
Best Napa Wineries to Visit, from the Wine Enthusiast
Yep, it's Mega Purple. YouTube Video from Keenan Winery of Napa Valley and their take on this fakery in winemaking.
AI is the current tech buzzword. Either you see endless possibilities or you see Skynet from the Terminator movies. It's coming to the farm field and vineyard soon.
Since the Pandemic, almost all wineries went to a reservation system for crowd control. Most have kept that system. In Napa Valley, many wineries required a reservation before, and almost everybody does now, but there are a few exceptions. Those allowing walk-ins will always be based on availability. Note that larger groups will need to make a reservation. Check the winery's website when in doubt.
Wine nerds (okay, aficionados) think of Zinfandel when they hear Dry Creek Valley. And DCV is Zinfandel central, for sure. However, it's about more than Zin, a lot more.
Maybe you've heard, Napa Valley has gotten expensive, really expensive if you aren't careful with your bookings. It is the most expensive wine region in the country to visit. Here are some ideas on how to keep things in check for those of us that aren't part of the one percent. This piece inspired by a Northbay Business Journal article on Napa's "approachable luxury." Yeah, I love that term, too.
An overview of what's grown in the Western States, where about 92% of America's wines come from.
The way you buy wine has probably changed over the years. At one time, you likely relied on the opinions of knowledgeable friends or a sales person at a wine shop. Now it's more likely to be "internet people."
Most people look on Sauv Blanc as a relatively inexpensive alternative to Chardonnay. It has a different flavor profile, for sure, being bright/acidic, grassy, grapefruit. New Zealand is famous for their $10 Sauvignon Blanc, California for their $20+/- SB.
Did you know there are luxury Sauvignon Blancs out there that cost over $100?
If you pay much attention to Sonoma County wine you might know about the Russian River Valley, Sonoma Valley, Alexander Valley, Sonoma Coast, and possibly one or two other growing areas (appellations or AVAs). There are some lesser known ones that might deserve your attention. The issue with smaller growing areas is these wines are not as likely to show up on your local wine shelves.
Where architecture and egos meet in Napa and Sonoma.
You could argue the fancy destination winery buildings were started in the '70s by Mondavi though there are several older fancy wineries like Beringer and Inglenook. Mondavi's style actually looks pretty tame today. Also, Jordan, Chateau Montelena, or Domaine Carneros have somewhat fancy chateaus, but are nothing compared to those below.
Poor, poor, pitiful Merlot. It had more than a decade long love affair with the American wine consumer from the time of The French Paradox until Sideways.
The following data is from the California 2022 Grape Crush Report published by the USDA. The trends show where we've been in the last few years during a boom economy, forest fires, and a pandemic. This data is for the entire state. Note that the majority of the grapes come from the vast San Joaquin Valley and go primarily into inexpensive wines. Also note that, in some instances, the report also shows table grapes.
First off, I'm not a winemaker other than a bit of homemade stuff. Actually, if I was a winemaker, I wouldn't be telling you many of the things done to your wine. Second, nothing mentioned here will hurt you. Everything done in the cellar is to make the wine better, or sometimes to save time or money, in the opinion of the people making the wine. Sometimes it's for taste, sometimes for looks. The U.S. gov't, the TTB, controls what can legally be added.
There are two groupings of wine manipulations, things added and processes done to the juice or wine.
Depending on your point-of-view, there is a secret ingredient to help many wines look better or there is fakery and dishonest business practices by many wineries.
Mega Purple is concentrated grape juice added to wine. It's made from a hybrid grape called Rubired (sometimes called Tenturier).
Whether you are going for a day or a week, here are a few wine tasting tips to make things go well. As you'll see, there's a bit of prep work.
What's hot in alcohol sales in the country? This is looking at growth over the past few years, not total sales. Info from Market Watch Mag.
The past few posts have covered individual elements that you taste in a wine: acidity, tannins, sweetness, alcohol, and body. If you remember, tannin isn't really sensed by taste, but actually by touch. This post will get a little nerdy with a bit of science (sorry).
The term body is the weight, texture and richness of a wine. Weight is viscosity, or how thick and heavy it feels. Texture would be terms like silky, smooth, sharp, firm. Richness is full, round, sweet tasting, or not.
What? There's alcohol? Yep, because otherwise you have grape juice. In the olden days, let's say three decades ago or longer, the only thought given to alcohol was whether a European wine had enough because some years the fruit just didn't fully ripen.
In the premium wine world, dessert wines and fortified wines are expected to be sweet. A few others, like Riesling and sparkling, can have various amounts of sweetness. The vast majority of table wines are meant to be dry with no discernible sweetness, but that's not always the case.
Black teas have lots of tannins, and you feel it drying out your mouth when you drink it. Other foods, like all other teas, coffee, and nuts have tannins, though not the mouth-drying sensation of black tea. So our perception of tannins is a sensation and a feel, not a smell or taste.
The easiest way to show acidity is to bite into a lemon. There's acidity! It's bright, it's refreshing, it's tart, it makes your mouth water and sometimes even your eyes. Ever try to make lemonade without sugar? Whoa, that will make you pucker. You want to get just the right amount of sweetness in your lemonade to balance the effects of the acid, but to not drown it out. Hmm, might some wines do the same thing? Some of the higher acid white wines, like Riesling, do this.
Suffer from acid reflux? Maybe keep to the lower acid wines.
 | |
| Top-selling French premium wine in U.S. |
In 1784 Thomas Jefferson, a Madeira and Port drinker, went to France. He came home a fan of Bordeaux and Burgundy. Part of this was probably political, as he switched from what the British drank to a buyer of wines from America's new ally.
France's largest exports in value are aerospace products. Number two is wine exports that were over $18b in 2022. This was up substantially from the two previous years, driven by inflation. More than one-forth of French wine and spirits exports are to the U.S.
The American market is huge. The French were the top wine consumers "forever" until about ten years ago, when the U.S. forged ahead as the largest wine consuming nation. France is still in the lead on the amount consumed per person. Wine consumption in France has been dropping for a number of years.
 |
| French exports in 2021 -- from Statista Click on image to enlarge |
At one time, only a handful of Sonoma County wineries required reservations for tasting. With the pandemic, almost everyone in Sonoma and Napa went to reservations as a means of crowd control and safety. Many have stayed that way.
This is an annual judging of wines entered from the North Coast grape growing area of California. This included the counties of Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Lake, Marin, and Solano. Yes, some of these are better known than others, but all are making premium commercial wines.
Will the heavy rains and floods that went on from Christmas well into March harm the 2023 wine grape crop? Nope.
Meanwhile, in Carneros near the town of Napa...
 |
| image from Napa Register |
Yep, Napa has a cruise ship! For six grand and up you can visit San Francisco, Napa, plus exciting stops like Stockton!
Article from the Napa Register.
Update 7/29/23
Oops, just like that, it's gone!
You know a little about wine, you've done wine shopping, but still get confused and overwhelmed when trying to choose something. If you find a wine sales person to assist, you'll still want to help them nail down what you want. It's better if there's something to go on besides, "I want a red under $25 to take to mom's."
Following are some ways to help you choose quicker and choose wisely. This is aimed at picking out a dry red dinner wine, but will kind of work for whites. The methods go from less knowledge required to having a bit more experience with buying wine.
Pick the method that works best.
Most consumers likely think of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon when they think of California wines. Many probably believe Napa = Cab and Sonoma = Pinot. Well, I'm here to tell yah there are other grapes grown that can be purdy good and less expensive than the likes of Pinot and Cab.
This article will focus on what you might call second tier wines. Second tier doesn't mean second class. Some of these wines have been in California since the beginning of wine production, others are relatively new to the state.
Take me out to the ballgame, take me out with the crowd. Buy me some
sauv blanc and Cracker Jacks, I don't care if I never get back.
It's finally baseball season again. I suppose it's always wine season. What do baseball and wine have in common that's giving both businesses headaches?
All sorts of beverages and other products come in aluminum containers. Aluminum is lightweight, stackable, and theoretically infinitely recyclable. An aluminum container will chill quicker than a glass bottle and retain its chill longer.
Craft beer certainly made a quick move from glass to aluminum cans.
Wine, however, is a lot more traditional with heavy glass bottles, corks, and foils. Not too long ago there was lead in your wine bottle foil that extended right over the opening of the bottle!
Premium wine sales are down in the U.S. Premium generally meaning any wine over $20/bottle; luxury wines are over $50. Sales are down across most age groups except those over 60, and are really down for the youngest drinkers.
Sales boomed from the time of the French Paradox in the '90s until the Great Recession of '08-'09. With the recovery, sales increased, but not as rapidly as before. Early Covid saw a short uptick, then a dropoff more recently. Is it a temporary adjustment or a sign of things to come?
It's been quite the couple of weeks! News from Clos Pegase Winery, Heitz Cellars, and Gundlach Bundschu Winery. The big shocker is the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.
Sangiovese (san-jo-vay-zee, or thereabouts) is the most-planted and the most well-known grapes from Italy. Chianti is at least 75% Sangiovese.
You'll also find Sangiovese from Australia, France, Argentina, and the U.S. It grows best in warm, dry climates. This might be a reason it's become more popular in California, as it grows well in heat and low water conditions.
There are many family-owned and operated wineries in the county. Most are pretty small. I will not be able to find and list all of them; these I am familiar with.
Why should you and I support family owned and operated wineries? They will tend to care more about the land, what goes in a bottle that might have their name on it, about the local families that make a living from the wine business, and, of course, the money goes to a family trying to make a living rather than a string of corporate managers that don't know how to spell m̶e̶l̶l̶o̶ m̶a̶l̶o̶l̶a̶k̶ malolactic. :)
There are large companies that own multiple wineries calling themselves family-run, and they're not lying, but it's not the same as a ma and pa operation. There are ones that continue to have the word family in their name even though they've sold the business to a company and no longer run it. There are millionaire or billionaire owners, usually absentee, that also don't count, because you don't see many of them on a tractor.
It seems I'm reading about an old family winery going under every few weeks. How bad is it really?
Here are some facts found at jordanwiwnery.com, a Sonoma County family-run winery.
You've most likely never heard of ACORN Winery, they're small, under 2,000 cases annually, and has been run by the same couple the whole time. They grow over 100 grape varieties on a certified historic vineyards of 32 acres, Alegria Vineyards. Wife Betsy says Bill never met a grape variety he didn't like. A few other lucky wineries occasionally get fruit from the Alegria Vyd. If you see a wine on a store shelf using Alegria grapes, buy it!
This place is not trendy. It's strictly old school.
There can be a lot of info on a wine's label. Some has to be there, some is marketing related. There's nothing wrong with a winery touting their product. You just have to be able to separate the facts from the selling. Looking at American wine labels, here are things you may want to just ignore when shopping for a bottle or two.
This is a follow-up to the previous post on Wine Label Red Flags.
The labels on a bottle of wine can contain some good information. Some of it can be a warning, especially if you're shopping in the premium wine category. These are potential red flags, meaning you might want to gather more info on that wine or just pass it up for another. Most of this relates to American wine. Other countries have different rules.
It can be a guessing game when buying a bottle of wine off the store shelf. One way to help you make a good selection is to understand that certain regions of Sonoma County specialize in certain varietals. Remember that any of these regions will grow multiple varieties of grapes, but they are known for certain ones because they do really well in that area.
Wine can be kind of snooty and mysterious, so if you're told or read that you should never do something, you may be likely to believe these so-called experts. Some wine rules you can break.
Napa and Sonoma are synonymous with California Wine Country. Before either of these was a twinkle in a winemaker's eye there were vineyards at the California Missions and then there was the Los Angeles wine country. The what?
On January 19th I published Types of Wines on the different farming and processing practices -- organic, biodynamic, natural, etc. Well, here's a new one (to me), and sounds like maybe the best of all.
I first heard about regenerative agriculture from a recent article in the Wine Spectator (possible paywall).
Napa, and next door in Sonoma, are two big destinations for out-of-state visitors coming to experience the California wine country. Most people have probably heard about summer crowds and summer prices.
If you'd like to avoid these issues, an off-season visit might be for you. Off-season is considered November through April.
As with the food industry, there are a lot of choices and confusion with wine types relating to health. Remember when the dairy aisle in the supermarket carried three milks only -- whole, skim, and non-fat? Now there's organic, almond, ultra-filtered, A2, lactose free, oat, etc. Having these choices isn't a bad thing, of course, but it can be a bit bewildering.
The same sort of thing is going on with wine, and it's quite confusing.
Some of these are wine stories, some not. Some seem to come right out of the Wild West. Most appeared in the local paper, so are likely to be true. :)
If temperatures rise over the coming decades, some worry about wine grape production in California. Will famous places like Napa Valley get too hot for Cabernet? If you think just moving vineyards north is the answer, well, maybe it's not that simple.
The Wonderful Company is a privately held $5 billion enterprise. Stewart and wife Lynda Resnick's best known product is Fiji Water, then maybe POM pomegranate products. If you check their website or look for information, you'll find them to be quite socially and environmentally responsible. If only that were true.
They own Justin Winery in Paso Robles and Landmark in Sonoma County. They are in the news again because of their recent purchase of Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Napa.
Not just for wine, but why do people shop online vs. in stores. Some of the reasons are obvious if you're an online shopper.
