California Wine – Sunshine in Your Glass

The state of California – a winemaking gem of the New World. If you are one of those who does not refuse a glass of good wine and have to date overlooked the ones originating from the Golden State – you have missed a lot.

American wines can easily compete with those bottled in other famous wine regions. In fact, the United States is now the fourth largest wine producer in the world. And around 90% of the country’s wine stems from the West Coast – namely California.

How Did It All Start?

The story of California winemaking began as early as the 18th century when the first vines were planted there by missionaries from Spain. Back then, however, wine was produced solely for religious purposes. New wine varieties and practices were brought to the West Coast with the arrival of European settlers around the 1830s, who instantly recognized the potential for vineyards on the promising new land.

How is California Wine Special?

California enjoys year-long sunshine as well as enough warmth and rain to allow the grapes to ripen. This gives California wine a distinguishingly vivid fruit taste and aroma. The diversity of American terroir facilitates a wide variety of wine grapes with surprising flavor variation.

Apart from the climate, the environment surrounding vineyards can benefit the flavor of the wine. The adoption of sustainable environmental practices by wineries across California make sure the land and the industry are preserved for future generations.

And one more distinction of wine from the Golden State is its legacy. California winemakers are for the most part the immigrants from different parts of the world who have brought their vines and skills with them since the 1700s. Time-proven secrets of vinification have been passed from generation to generation, enriching California wine with its unique and diverse features.

California Winemaking Regions

There are four main wine-producing regions that can be identified in the state: the North Coast, Central Coast, Sierra Foothills and Southern California.

The US government has also adopted a system of almost 110 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), including the well-known Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley AVAs.

Wines labeled as “California” must contain only fruit grown in the Golden State and must also be produced in California under state law. If a wine carries an AVA name on the label, 85% of the grapes must come from the stated region.

Meet the Grapes

The diverse terroir in California means that the region enables the growth of nearly every kind of grape. There are more than 100 varieties across the state, offering numerous choices in the style of wines to taste. Let’s have a closer look at the most popular ones.

Chardonnay

Today, Chardonnay is the most popular grape planted in California. This wine is often compared with European Sauvignon Blanc. California Chardonnay is soft and refreshing, with a pleasant fruity-floral aftertaste.

Cabernet Sauvignon

The noble Cabernet Sauvignon is the second-ranked wine produced in California, following Chardonnay. Dry, full-flavored red wines are made from this grape variety. Their complex flavor is commonly associated with gentle notes of berries, bell pepper and toasty oak.

Sauvignon Blanc

California Sauvignon Blanc is famous for its herbal and light smoky taste. Usually, Sauvignon Blanc tends toward drier versions. However, sweeter samples are also available.

Zinfandel

Aside from the classics, the Golden State has something of its own to offer. California Zinfandel – a grape variety indigenous to this region and the true pride of local wine-makers. The red Zinfandel is considered rich and fruit-forward, but can also become the base component for a sweet Rosé wine known as White Zinfandel.

Pinot Noir

This variety of red wine has nearly caught up with Cabernet Sauvignon in popularity. California Pinot Noir captivates with its freshness and its cherry tones in the bouquet. Pinot Noir can also become a game-changer in your meat or poultry culinary experiments. For a start, we offer you an easy, but impossibly delicious, roast duck recipe to try on our website.

At this point you are probably picturing the marvelous West Coast landscapes and feeling the California sunshine embracing your shoulders…The winemakers from the Golden State have found a way to bottle it for delivery to any part of the world, straight to your glasses. With California’s perfectly-suited climate and soil they can do nothing less. Local wines have long earned their international recognition and deserve to become an integral part of your family dinners, taking you back to its origin with every sip.