Oak Knoll

It's another short trip as the crow flies, but a long drive by car. Perhaps 6 miles by direct route, there is just no easy way to drive from Mount Veeder to the heart of the Oak Knoll American Viticultural Area (AVA). And, in keeping with significant changes in scenery over the course of the drive as we head down the ridiculously steep hillsides of Mount Veeder to the valley floor of Oak Knoll, so are the wines quite different.

Oak Knoll was awarded AVA status in 2004. The winemaker sought AVA status for the area to recognize its unique terroir -- relatively cool climate thanks to the breezes from San Pablo Bay, long growing season, and the largest alluvial fan in Napa Valley created by the flow of water off the mountains to the west. The alluvial fan results in a particularly granular soil starved of water and nutrients near the surface and causing the grapevines to dig particularly deep below the surface for water and nutrients. The resultant grapes are thus quite small and have highly concentrated flavor.

This unique terroir gives growers in Oak Knoll the opportunity to grow a diverse variety of grapes, some not seen in much of Napa Valley. While we don't necessarily think of Oak Knoll as a Merlot haven, Merlot is generally the most planted grape in the AVA. And, where the exposure to sunlight is significant enough to warm the grapes sufficiently, father and son grapes Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grow well, but not in the massive fashion seen in the warmer parts of Napa Valley. 

But, the cool morning fog coming off of San Pablo Bay allows the vignerons to grow, particularly facing southeast and having the sun shielded by the fog, particularly restrained Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as well as Riesling. Notably, much of the Chardonnay from Oak Knoll even after going through full malolactic fermentation, deos not tend to have the oaky and buttery characteristics that have become commercially successful, but despised by critics.

For a point of comparison, the style of grapes and their wines from Oak Knoll are much more "Old World" than their brethren from the rest of Napa Valley.

Comments

Post a Comment

I'd like your feedback and questions.

Popular posts from this blog

Gruner Veltliner

With some time to kill and wanting to see the countryside, but obviously not able to drive ourselves, we hailed an Uber to go from northern Italy to Wachau, Austria right on the Danube (little did I know that I would need an additional credit card for this trip). We're going to drink wine from the most widely planted grape in the country, Gruner Veltliner. As we arrive on the east bank of the river, we see a number of bottles set out for us. But, something is odd. None of them are the traditional 750 ml bottle that we are used to. No, the wine sometimes affectionately known as Gru-V is bottled in chubby, almost cylindrical with their short necks, 1 liter bottles with crown (you need a bottle opener, not a corkscrew) caps. In Wachau, most Gru-V wine is grown on steep, terraced slopes that have almost no ability to retain soil. Winemakers believe that the stress from lack of soil enhances the flavor profile of Gru-V. Our wines are white with a slight very pale green tinge to them
Read more

Wineries and Wine Clubs

Wineries treat their wine club members well. At least most of them do. And, they should.  Think about it. A wine club member is an automatically repeating customer. And, in being automatically repeating, these are not just any wines, these are the sought after, usually higher priced, limited production wines.  Wineries have three kinds of direct-to-consumer customers: those who come by the winery or buy through the winery website and buy once, those who are fairly frequent customers, but on their own schedules, and those wine club members who get multiple bottles of wine at scheduled times during the year and frequently buy more.  Frankly, it's a symbiotic relationship. The winery gets a group of loyal customers. It gets predictable purchases from a dedicated group. The wine club member gets access to wines that other might want and some other special perks. Some give occasional gifts, some give free shipping, almost all give discounts, and if you visit the winery, you likely get t
Read more

Mount Veeder

Bordering Los Carneros and almost directly to the north, what a difference a few miles makes. Today, we are in the Mount Veeder American Viticultural Area (AVA). The ride here takes only 15 minutes and if there were a raod that would take us directly, it might be only 5, but the terrain. climate, soil, and virtually everything else about Mount Veeder makes it unique. Likely the single most unique thing about Mount Veeder AVA among the Napa Valley appelations is the slope of the hillsides. When we visit the other mountain AVAs within the broader Napa Valley AVA, we see some pretty steep slopes that grapes are growing on -- 10 degree grades, 15 degree grades. In the Mount Veeder AVA, that would be looked at as perfectly flat. And, that is what makes Mount Veeder different. The typical 30 degree grades make access difficult. When we think about what a 30 degree slope really means, consider what it is like to get mechanical equipment into the vineyards. For the most part, it's just not
Read more