Yountville

George Yount is reputed to have planted the first grapes in Napa Valley way back in 1836, before the Gold Rush, before cinnabar and silver were discovered in Napa Valley, and frankly before what is now California had a whole lot of people. My, how things have changed.

The Yountville American Viticultural Area (AVA) while not the same thing as the town is centered on the town of Yountville. The small downtown is renowned as a great shopping and dining area and has been in the news quite a bit lately as lobbyists and politicians dine at legendary restauranteur Thomas Keller's French Laundry. I understand it's worth it for foodies, but I wouldn't know. Personally, we have preferred the much lesser costs at the nearby sister restaurant and bakery, Bouchon, where you can get some amazing foie gras and bread to serve with it.

But, we're not here to talk about food, unless of course, it is to accompany wine. What exactly hath George Yount wrought?

Sitting close enough to San Pablo Bay to get the effects of the cool breezes and isolated from the mountains pretty much on all sides, there are just no warming effects on Yountville. Not as cool as Wild Horse Valley or Los Carneros though, it is still one of the coolest AVAs in Napa Valley. What this means is that the growing season can be extended giving extra hang time because the brix, or sugar content which of course translates into alcohol potential does not increase as quickly. The result is typically Cabernet with plentiful dense tannins that has the ability to age in the bottle for long periods of time before going past its prime.

What happened to George Yount's orginal vineyards you might ask? Well, it turns our he had pretty good judgment as to where to plant as those original vineyards now represent a good portion of the properties of Dominus Estate.

So, we've made it through all 16 AVAs of Napa Valley, one day at a time. We've seen how you can't just see Napa on a bottle and know what you are getting. And, perhaps we've understood more specifically where wine we might like could come from.

Tomorrow, we have to figure out someplace else to go ... or not.

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

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

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