Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Contents
Introduction 1
PART 1 - Searching for the New California
The New Winemakers 8
Lodi 135
Sonoma 108
Ventucopa 164
Chardonnay 192
Cabernet 204
Maps 274
List of Producers 288
Acknowledgments 291
Index 292
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vi
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Introduction
I hear you hate California wine.
The spokeswoman for one of the states most
powerful wine personalities was on the phone. I
wasnt in the mood.
If I hated California wine, I replied, would I
be doing what I do?
I knew, when I moved to California in 2006, that
I was facing long odds. I had come to a place that
believed, above all, in the superiority of its wines.
Anyone who didnt embrace that belief was viewed
as a threat. And in the past I had dared to voice my
dissatisfaction with a California wine culture that
I saw as often self-satisfied and underwhelming.
Worse, I was from the East Coast, an outsider. My
years spent in New York, where I learned from my
father about European wines from Vouvray to Valpolicella, were a liability instead of an asset.
Six years earlier I had moved to Seattle, and
while there I came to love West Coast winesin
particular the pioneering wines of Washington
State. I began my wine-writing career there. Clearly,
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approximated those of Burgundyand paid a critical price over the years for stubbornly refusing to
give in to the whims of fashion.
Slowly, I encountered other winemakers with
similar beliefs. I found people who remained committed to restrained, compelling wines that spoke
clearly of their originsand who shared my frustration with Californias modern style.
Some, like Draper and Jensen, had been toiling for decades; others were upstarts with the same
energy and ambition as the pioneers from previous
generations. Eventually, the brushstrokes began to
turn into something recognizable: the seeds of a new
movement, a new California wine in the making.
Introduction
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New Californias winemakers share similar sensibilities: an enthusiasm for lessons learned from the
Old World, but not the desire to replicate its wines;
a mandate to seek out new grape varieties and
regions; and, perhaps most important, an ardent
the belief that place matters. They are true believers
in terroir. This is crucial because Californias future
ultimately depends upon wines that show nuance,
restraint, and a deep evocation of place.
But California is also somewhat obsessed with
size. Although there are hundreds of small family wineries throughout the state, the industry is
dominated by its Big Three: Gallo, Constellation
Wines, and the Wine Group. In 2011, according to
industry investor David Freed, the Big Three were
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Introduction
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Maps
Vineyard Key
Red grapes
White grapes
Both red and white grapes
List of Varieties
Pinot Noir
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot
Syrah
Zinfandel, Carignane, and field blends
Other Rhne-style reds
Gamay Noir, Trousseau, Italian- and Spanish-style
reds, and other reds
Crescent City
5
Mt. Shasta
Eureka
Redding
101
Mendocino
Mendocino and
Anderson Valley,
page 278
Sonoma,
pages 276277
Napa, page 275
Ukiah
80
Oakland
San Mateo
99
Merced
5
152
Santa Cruz
Monterey
Chardonnay
Sauvignon Blanc and Smillon
Italian-style whites
Spanish-style whites
Rhne-style whites
Grner Veltiner, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, and
other whites
SACRAMENTO
Contra Costa County,
Lodi, and the Delta,
Stockton pages 286287
San Jose
Sierra Foothills,
page 279
50
Healdsburg
Calistoga
Santa Rosa
80
Napa
Sonoma
Vallejo
Berkeley
San Francisco
Fresno
Salinas
101
99
Paso Robles
Bakersfield
15
Santa Maria
Barstow
58
Santa Ynez
Santa Barbara
5
101
Ventura
Pasadena
Camarillo
Long Beach
San Bernardino
10
Los Angeles
Riverside
San Diego
100 mi
Palm Springs
10
Irvine
Oceanside
Needles
40
15
14
15
100 km
274
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T
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