I
must confess that for a very long time, I avoided writing about AVAs or
American Viticultural Areas. I believe it was mostly out of respect, I felt
basically overwhelmed by California as a wine producing state and was not sure
where to begin. Yet recently, I changed my mind and decided it was time to
write about domestic wines, and what a better way to wet my feet than by
starting exploring the most important AVA in the US: Napa Valley. Only an hour drive from
San Francisco, or about 46 miles away, Napa Valley is a small
conclave that is only 30 miles long by 5 miles wide, and produces only 4% of
the total wine production in California. It was also the first declared
AVA in America, which happened in 1981. Later, it was divided into 16 different
subregions (see map below), and this was because as we may see, there is a huge
diversity of soils, topography and climate inside of Napa; it’s not
unusual to find two or more different terroirs within the same vineyard, which
will yield completely different wines even if made from the same grape variety.
There are 18,600 ha or 46,000 acres dedicated to
vineyards in Napa, featuring over 33 different varieties, which include
grapes that do well, not only in cool climates such as Chardonnay and Pinot
Noir, but also grapes that do well in moderate, warm to hot climates too, such
as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Zinfandel.
In rank of importance Cabernet
Sauvignon is the king of this AVA covering 55% of all vineyards, followed
by Chardonnay
with 14%, Merlot
with 10%, Sauvignon
Blanc and Pinot
Noir with 6% each and Zinfandel
with only 3%. This is only possible,
because of the different microclimates and soils allow producers to experiment.
It is important to clarify that an AVA only guarantees a geographic origin,
because here in California, as in other parts of the new world, viticulture and
vinification are not as regulated as they are in Europe.
The
overall climate of the valley is Mediterranean, that means super sunny
summers and a rain free growing season, this is going to be very important when
talking about vintages, specifically because this Mediterranean climate
guarantees consistency over the years, i.e. Napa doesn't usually have any
ripening problems, like in other parts of the world. Rains fall mostly in the
winter, and more so in the mountains than in the valley floor, in any case,
because this is the new world, irrigation is also allowed and used as needed.
Now, because this is California, I don’t want you to think it’s super hot all
day long, quite the contrary, though during the day, temperatures are high and
can reach up to 90º F, at night, they usually go down 20º or more degrees, easily
reaching between 50º-60º F. This will allow the vines to rest and promote a nice
sugar/acidity balance in the fruit.
Temperatures vary according to location inside the valley, they are cooler in the south and warmer as we
go north. There are three big factors that affect climate here: 1) the
proximity to the Pacific Ocean, which is located only 35 miles away. The
Pacific provides cool winds and fogs, this is particularly felt in the southern
subregions in Napa, such as Los Carneros, Coombsville and Oak
Knoll and in the northern part of Calistoga and in the Chalk Hill
gap, which is a little opening among the mountains that allow the cool breezes
to come in. The other two most important factors are the mountains chains
surrounding the valley: the Mayacama Mountains on the west, that serve
as a barrier to all the vineyards planted on its east side, and the Vaca
range, which will protect the valley from the torrid heat that comes from
the Central Valley of California where the biggest/ mass wine production takes
place. Now,
within the Valley, we find vineyards planted at different altitudes
and sun expositions, so ripening and therefore harvesting will happen at
different times. There are vineyards planted on the valley floor located
at sea level, there are vineyards planted at what is known as the benches or
foothills of the mountains, which may have altitudes of up to 1,000 feet and
finally, there are vineyards planted on the mountains at altitudes of 2000 +
feet.
The soils in Napa, could be the
topic of a complete/separate post, I strongly believe that except for Alsace,
no other place in the world has such a huge selection of soils. Napa
has 33 unique soil series and over 100 different types of soils, but to make
things easier, the Napa Valley
Vintners Association has divided them in 3 types: in the valley
floor we have mostly fluvial soils, rich in clay and silts. These are heavy and
nutrient soils, that yield fruit forward and lush wines. Better yet, are the
alluvial fans, found at the benches, (foothills of the mountains) these are
soils that rolled down from the hills to the valley floors, rich in gravel, and
with moderate fertility, ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon. Alluvial soils yield
fruit forward wines but with solid tannins. And then, we have the poorest of
all soils, which are the Mountain soils, very rocky and shallow, mostly of
volcanic origin, this is where we find the biggest/structured Cabernet
Sauvignons. All this geological diversity happened about 150 million years
ago, when the Farallon plate collided with the North American plate, forming
the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The pressure and rise of temperature, caused
plenty of volcanic action, which generated magma and tufa that spilled all over
Napa, this bedrock is known in geology as the Great Valley Sequence. If this
was not enough, as the volcanoes were erupting, another bedrock formation came
from the sea, this is known as the Franciscan formation, which is formed of
marine crust soils, i.e dead seashell rich soils that were pushed from the
ocean to the land covering parts of the valley too. Later, the Farallon plate
switched directions from west to east, to run from north to south creating what
is known as the St Andreas fault, and you guessed it! more volcanic action,
yielding a different soil formation known as the Napa volcanics. Finally,
all this seismic activity lifted and created the mountain chains that surround
Napa Valley today: the Mayacamas and Vaca ranges. 
Let’s
take a brief tour through some of the most important subregions in Napa. In
the south we find Los Carneros, here vineyards are planted low, from
0-700 feet, this AVA, is very much influenced by the Pacific cool breezes and
fogs coming from St Pablo’s Bay, which makes this spot ideal to grow Pinot Noir
and Chardonnay, both used to make sparkling and table wines. Continuing in
the southern part of the valley but going north, we have the AVAs of Coombsville
and Oak Knoll, also influenced by the fogs and cool breezes,
Cabernet Sauvignon from these AVAs are elegant with velvety tannins and herbal
notes. Coombsville soils are mostly volcanic (tufa) and have some
elevation, up to 1,000 feet.
Continuing north, we find Yountville, which
is a bit warmer but still very much influenced by the fogs. Soils here are
mostly clayey, heavy, deep, and damp and better for Sauvignon Blanc than
Cabernet. There are some producers that grow Cabernet Sauvignon here, but these
are planted on pockets of alluvial soils (gravel) better for this
variety. Then comes Stag’s Leap (home of the winery with
the same name), which has both alluvial fans and volcanic soils that will yield
beautiful Cabernet Sauvignons, with good acidity and smooth tannins, showing
red fruits and less herbal notes than in Coombsville. Continuing
to the mid valley, we find the classic AVAs of Oakville and Rutherford,
moderately warmer than the previous southern AVAs, we find alluvial fans
(gravel soils) in the vineyards on the west and volcanic soils in vineyards on
the east. The Cabernets here are fruit forward, fleshy, very much age worthy
but also drinkable upon release. There are some high-altitude vineyards in
these AVAs too, that will yield similar wines to those coming from the
Mountains (more intense and firm). Some of the most important and prestigious vineyards/wineries are located here (Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Staglin, Peju, St Supery, Caymus, Inglenook, etc).
Moving
up north to St Helena and Calistoga (which is the warmest part of
the valley) we find warm temperatures to grow powerful Cabernet Sauvignon,
Zinfandel and Petite Syrah. Some of the very hot sites in the
valley are located here, so harvest happens earlier than in the AVAs in the
south. Finally, we have the Mountain AVAs. If you want the biggest,
powerbomb reds, go to the Mountain vineyards! Mostly because grapes that
are exposed to the elements: cold, snow, wind, high altitude yield thicker
skins, small berries, and bunches, which translates to a higher skin to juice
ratio, producing more concentrated and extracted wines. We find very steep
slopes here and high elevations that are above the fogs, which means that these
vineyards see more sunshine than those located below on the valley floor.
Starting in the southwest we have Mount Veeder, which is cooler in
the south, with vineyards enjoying a long and slow ripening season and warmer
in the north. Moving up, we have the Spring Mountain, which is
probably the coolest of all, producing very elegant but also intense wines.
Further north, we find Diamond Mountain , which is a bit warmer,
similar to north St Helena or south Calistoga but the wines will
have more tannin and power here. On the east of the Valley and
north, we have Howell Mountain that has cooler sites with some warm
pockets, volcanic soils, lakes and some of the highest elevations vineyards in
Napa. Continuing south and east, comes Chiles Valley, which
is a bit warmer, with fruit ripening earlier and less steep vineyards that make farming
easier. And finally, the last mountain AVA is Atlas
Peak, it’s cooler and one of the last places to ripen, influenced again
by the cooling breezes and fogs from the Pacific.
As
you may see depending on the location, you will find different styles of
Cabernet Sauvignons, featuring unique textures, acidity, tannin, and character
profiles that may go from red fruits to black and purple fruits. In general,
fruit from the valley floors will yield affordable and more approachable wines,
soft with round tannins, while fruit from the benches and especially the
mountains will have strong tannins and extracted structures that require cellar
time, plus some of these can be pricey as you may see below.
The
wine industry in Napa is relatively new, with wine production starting less
than 200 years ago, and like it happened in Chile, Argentina, and Mexico, the
first wines were made from Mission grapes brought by Mexican priests.
Now, vitis vinifera production happened later with the immigration of European
pioneers such as: Hamilton Crabb, Joseph Beringer, Charles Krug and Gustave
Niebaum. By 1889, there were 140 wineries in Napa but then came a series of
fatal events, in 1890 phylloxera, the deadly louse that ended the
vineyards in Europe, arrived to Napa, decimating most vineyards, in 1906 the
San Francisco earthquake affected the area, followed by World War 1 in 1917 and
the worst of all, in 1919, the Volstead Act which brought alcohol
prohibition to the US and with this the disappearance of most wineries in Napa,
since only a few survived by making wine for sacramental purposes.
However,
Napa Valley Vintners were resilient and organized themselves in 1944 creating
the Napa Valley Vintners Association. Another important milestone that
paved the way for Napa to become the first American AVA, happened
in 1976, when the Judgment of Paris took place, this was a blind
tasting competition organized by the recently deceased, Wine Critic Steve
Spurrier (UK), who had the great idea of comparing California with French wines, and
of course, for those that don’t know this, two Napa valley wines won the
competition, Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon 1973 defeated the most
famous Grand Crus in Bordeaux and Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 1973 defeated
the best Burgundies. This story was published by the Times, and the reputation
of Napa as a quality wine appellation was born! For the first time two
new world producers proved they could make wines greater than the
French! Nowadays, about 465 wineries continue to produce wine in Napa
Valley, 95 % of all wineries are family owned and run, showing how much
care and excellent quality there is in this appellation.
Here are some of my favorite Napa wines, chosen from the selection I received during the last edition of Hopwines.
Barnett Vineyards Spring Mountain Merlot 2018, $70
Barnett Vineyards Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, $80
Barnett Vineyards Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, $190
Darioush Winery Signature Shiraz 2017, $78
Darioush Winery Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, $112
Darioush Winery Darius II Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, $285
Louis Martini Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2017, $45
Marston Family Albion Blanc 2017, $60
Marston Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, $175
Raymond Reserve Chardonnay 2019, $30
Raymond Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, $45
Rombauer Sauvignon Blanc 2020, $25
Rombauer Los Carneros Chardonnay 2019, $38
Rombauer Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, $68
Signorello Estate Chardonnay Hope's Cuvee 2018, $40
Signorello Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Padrone 2016, $175
St Supery Sauvignon Blanc 2019,$24
St Supery Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, $48
Staglin Salus Chardonnay 2019, $50
Staglin Salus Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, $115
Staglin Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, $285
Of course I could include many more, but I'm running out of space! Instead I will invite you to continue tasting and exploring this incredible appellation. Thank you to all the wineries that provided samples for me and to the Napa Valley Vintners Association for the use of maps and photography.
Happy Independence Day America! We should definitely celebrate this 4th of July by opening a bottle of Napa wine. Cheers! Silvina.
#thoughtsoflawina #napavalleywines #WineWednesday
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