If you drink a glass of American wine, there’s a good chance it came from California. The state makes more than 80 percent of all the wine in the United States. Its vineyards run all the way from the cool, foggy hills north of San Francisco down to sunny Southern California, and there’s always something new happening there.
How it all started
The story begins with Spanish missionaries, who were religious men sent to set up churches. In the late 1600s they planted grapevines in Baja California, which is now part of Mexico. From 1769 they carried vines further north into what is now the state of California, and the grape they grew became known as the Mission grape.
In 1848 gold was found in California, and thousands of people rushed there hoping to get rich. Many of them planted new vineyards with grapes from Europe. One of these was Zinfandel, which is now one of California’s best-known grapes, even though its family tree goes back to Croatia.
Northern California
Napa Valley is about 50 miles north-east of San Francisco, and it’s California’s most famous wine region. It’s best known for a red wine grape called Cabernet Sauvignon. Napa and its neighbour Sonoma get a lot of attention, but there are plenty of smaller places nearby making very good wine too.
Wine regions in the US are called AVAs, which stands for American Viticultural Areas. The North Coast AVA covers parts of six counties north of San Francisco: Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma. Inside it are smaller areas, each known for different wines:
- Anderson Valley in Mendocino County makes Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and sparkling wine.
- Russian River Valley in Sonoma is known for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel from very old vines.
- Lake County is becoming known for Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.
- Los Carneros sits across the bottom of both Napa and Sonoma, near the bay, and makes Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and sparkling wine.
Southern California
Southern California is more famous for beaches and surfing than for wine, but it has more and more wineries. One of the main areas is Temecula Valley in Riverside County, and the region makes sparkling, white and red wines.
About this column
I have worked with wine for twenty years, from the vineyard to the shop, and I hold the WSET Diploma, a top wine qualification. In this column I’ll follow what’s going on in California wine, from each new harvest to the business news that changes what ends up in the bottle. Knowing where a wine comes from makes it much more interesting, and a little news helps you understand what you’re buying.
Archive note: First published in March 2021 as the introduction to my California wine column on NewsBreak.
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