California accounts for over 90% of all the wine produced in the United States and well over half of what is consumed here, so I am sure that most of our wine-loving readers have tasted more than the occasional Californian wine. What is your impression of California wine? Do you gravitate from it — or away from it?
Despite their reign, 'California' wines are too often criticized as overly alcoholic, too expensive, not very food-friendly, excessively extracted, too much of a fruit-bomb, overly jammy and over-ripe! While I have certainly come across individual wines that fit these descriptions, I have tasted many more that strongly defy these dangerous generalizations, instead showing elegance, purity, freshness and above all balance and a sense of place. So why are there such divergent viewpoints?
California = Diversity
Extending well over half a million acres and over 600 miles from north to south, California wine cannot possibly be so homogenous as the criticisms outlined above. California wine country can broadly be broken down into the large warm, inland area of the Central Valley, which produces over 70% of California wine, and the moderately cooler north and central coasts, which are home to the well-known premium regions of Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.
Why Some California Wines Live Up to their Negative Stereotyping
The Central Valley, has long been the engine room of California wine production. Here, most of the vineyards are located on the hot, fertile, flat valley floor. Under these conditions, grape sugars can rise quickly, flavors become baked and yields are high, resulting in hot, jammy, simple wines. Many of the high volume wine brands labeled simply as "California" are made from Central Valley fruit. While some can be quite good, many do succumb to the unfortunate stereotyping cited above.
That said, the Central Valley is not the only culprit responsible for the negative press on California wine. Many of the premium more coastal designated viticultural areas have fallen prey to the influence of certain wine critics who believe that bigger is always better, awarding the highest scores to the most powerful, most extracted, most bullish and boldest tasting wines. Wines that may create palate impact but are difficult to really drink or enjoy. I call these 'knife and fork wines'!
Generalizations Are Dangerous
It is all too easy, but a pity, to believe in generalizations. California is not just a diverse in terms of soils, climates, topography and grape varieties grown, it is also diverse in terms of its winemakers, wine production scale, winemaking philosophies and ideas. This is a very good thing, as it means that wines are produced to meet a wide range of consumer budgets, tastes and occasions.
California Wines that Rocked Mary's World
Over the Past Weeks
To finish off I would like to especially mention three recently enjoyed California wines under $40 that for me personify the purity, freshness and above all balance that one should and can expect from a California wine.
2008 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, $35 - What struck me most about this wine was its brightness, liveliness and vibrancy of fruit, yet it wasn't a fruit bomb - the fruit was elegant, measured and persistent. Very true both to its Cabernet varietal characteristics, as well as its Napa valley origin. My only disappointment was that this was the only bottle I had, as I would like to cellar some and taste another bottle in a few years from now.2006 Ridge Three Valleys, Sonoma County, $22 - The current vintage on the market is the 2009, but I pulled his out of my wine stash a week ago. It is a blend of predominantly zinfandel with small amounts of Petite Sirah, Carignan and Grenache. It was delicious, showing some lovely mature flavors of earth and leather. The Three Valley's is the least expensive Ridge offering and is a wonderful way to get a sense of why the wines are so sought after and age-worthy. Not bold, but captivating, not a blockbuster but lithe, nimble and layered.
2007 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant, Santa Cruz (Central Coast), California, $35 - I have mentioned this wine several times before. It is a firm favorite and fixture in our house for special occasions. We enjoyed it with friends again last week. What I particularly love about this wine (and indeed about so many of the Bonny Doon wines) is how they combine new world bright fruit flavor and old world savoriness and minerality. Vibrant, layered, gently unfolds with each sip.
Some other favorite California producers to check out are Corison, Viader and Cain in Napa, Goldeneye and Migration in Anderson Valley, Cobb, Patz & Hall, Hirsch, C. Donatiello and La Follette in Russian River Valley or Sonoma Coast.
Until next week, enjoy the many faces of California wine!
Mary Gorman-McAdams, MW (Master of Wine), is a New York based wine educator, freelance writer and consultant.
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You are missing the entire fact that many winemakers PRODUCE A TYPE OF WINE THEY WANT TO DRINK. It's not always about the market or audience. Just go to their tasting rooms and ask.
I never have gravitated to California wines, but enjoy them just fine. I almost always prefer the taste of old world wines. I think the fact that everyone and their mother seems to be making generic Cali wines for cheap with cheap looking labels and brand names (there are, of course, exceptions, but if you go to your local store you'll be hit with way more tacky Cali wines than good ones it seems!) that it gets a bad rap.
And just another note- these bottles are 25-35 dollar bottles, so most likely yes, they're good. But as with most posts about wines on here, most readers seem to stick to the about 10 buck a bottle price for average wine drinking from what I gather. Might want to do more realistic representations of this region's wines for readers.
I tend to avoid Chardonnay produced in California because I find that the oak flavor (in general) is more predominant than I prefer. And I tend to choose Pinot Noir wines from Oregon because I've been wine tasting in the Willamette Valley and I loved the wine there. But in general, I'm open to California wines. I'd love to visit Napa and discover some favorites for myself. :)
I learned from experience in my wine classes that every wine region produces at least *some* good wines, so I don't discriminate- I'll try anything from anywhere!
I'll try a wine from anywhere, but for everyday, I don't spend much per bottle and I don't see lots of California bargains. Lately I've been drinking wines from South Africa (white) and Portugal (red). Since Fresh Direct paired up with Union Square Wines, I tend to try their picks and bargains as an affordable way to try a lot of different wines.
I love California wines. They can be very affordable, especially those from lesser popular areas. Amador county, Lodi, and Paso Robles make some great affordable contenders.
One of favorite wines of all time is Robert Mondavi's Woodbridge it is a jewel! As this, there are several other Californian wines that are pleasant surprises.
I prefer Washington and Oregon wines. They're under the radar and maybe as a result more balanced and affordable.
I'm not picky, and my tastes would probably be considered "pedestrian" by true wine connoisseurs, but I try to go for local booze. We like hard apple cider, and an amazing, award-winning NY wine called Cranberry Bog and made by Montezuma Bay winery. Fruity but not sweet, and very smooth, not sharp or vinegary or oaky at all. Delicious.
That being said, over Christmas my aunt served Barefoot Moscato (Barefoot winery is located in Modesto, CA) and it was AMAZING. A little summery for Christmas, but it literally tasted like peaches. Real peaches, not fake ones. And it was definitely sweet, but not overpoweringly so.
I'm not unduly biased against California, but I'm not a fan of the giant ubiquity of the wall of cheaper wines (Yellowtail, Robert Mondavi, Woodbridge, Turning Leaf, etc.) that often line the walls at liquor stores. I don't think a winery should make every kind of wine there is. They might be good at a few, but they are bound to be bad or mediocre at the rest. I just prefer smaller wineries in general. And more obscure styles of wine.
My problem is that too many people compare wines from other areas to Califronia wines as if they are the benchmark.
Hmm... Yellowtail is actually from Australia, not California.
I don't drink wine very often, but I gravitate toward Californian and North American west coast wines in general, because that's where I am, and where the food I eat comes from.
And then taking into account the carbon footprint of shipping weighty glass bottles, even just from Long Island, makes an impact. I'd rather have something that didn't travel halfway across the world. I'd rather travel halfway across the world and enjoy it there ;)
I love California wine and living in the hot, arid Central Valley (Sacramento to be precise), I can understand and appreciate just what Mary spoke of when she mentioned many of the characteristics of the generic California label. And she is right that many of them are alcoholic fruit bombs; but just as many are not so prefer to keep an open mind. If given the choice, my preference is to choose specific California appelations over a generic California one.
Cali wines are overpriced in my opinion. As someone stated earlier, I tend to gravitate towards Washington State and any NY Finger Lake Region wines I can find - in addition to wines from Chile/Argentina/S. Africa/anywhere but Cali.
While I don't drink a lot of wine (I'm more of a whiskey man), I agree with the last poster. I live in Washington State and prefer to drink more local wines. I have found that CA wine is good, but overpriced and does not live up to the hype. The WA wines are more affordable and more flavorful. Plus you can find some quality "cheap" (8-15 dollars) up to high quality several hundred dollar bottles. Plus I know it is going to support local economies.