Off to Napa

Let's go to Napa today. Why not? And, while we're there, let's learn about why Americans in particular like wine from Napa. But, first we have to get there.

From the bulk of the ountry, we have a choice of three commercial airports to fly through. The most common is San Francisco, but San Francisco International Airport is down on the south of the city and Napa is up to the north. When there is traffic, this drive is not easy. We can fly into Oakland. It's closer. But, I am not a fan of the trip out of Oakland. When I am headed for a pleasure trip, if I have a choice, I like nice eye-catching, in a good way, sights on my way to my destination. 

Our third and final choice is Sacramento International Airport. Off mostly to the east far to the east of the bay and at least in terms of mileage leaves us the longest trip to Napa. But, traffic is usually light and as we're going to see, the ride in, especially as we approach wine country, is quite scenic. We have a choice of routes, but my favorite is to come in on California Highway 128 passing the bright blue waters of Lake Berryessa on our right as we head into "the valley." But, as we get close, we are a bit confused. 

Napa Valley is straight ahead, it's off to the right, it's off to the left. It's everywhere. But, I like Napa wines. How, exactly, do I know where to go?

We see a local and stop to ask questions. Where do we go? 

What we learn is that within Napa Valley, there are 16 separate American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) and despite our previous certainty that in Napa, they make Cabernet Sauvignon, we learn that not all of the AVAs are right for Cabernet. Many in Napa are, but even then, they might not be even be similar to each other.

Finally, we make it into a more commercial part of the valley and find a restaurant with a small bar. Surely, one of the bartenders can explain all of this to us.

Part of what we learn is that each AVA has its own character and even within each AVA, or sometime within a particular winery or even a single vineyard in an AVA, the wines might have a personality all their own. 

Why, for example, do Cabernets from Rutherford AVA tend to have this particular character referred to as Rutherford Dust? Why does the Cabernet from a little vineyard known as George III seemingly always have eucalyptus notes? Why is the Cabernet from Howell Mountain and Diamond Mountain and Mount Veeder almost always monumentally big and bold and usually really ageworthy, but except in the hands of talented winemaker often not approachable when young?

We're going to spend some time in Napa Valley over the next likely two weeks at least exploring the answers to these questions and more. It's time not just to find out what makes Napa Valley wine what it is, but to go deeper than that.

It starts tomorrow, now that we are here.

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