old world wine maps sonoma napa county retail

#OLD WORLD WINE MAPS SONOMA NAPA COUNTY RETAIL PLUS#

White grapes simply produce more wine per acre, making them a better value. White grapes grow in bigger, thicker clusters than red grapes. 9 | There’s a simple reason white wines are less expensive. This is important because the quicker a wine is moved from vine to bottle, the better it should (theoretically) be. However, if a bottle reads “Estate Grown and Bottled at”, that means the whole process has taken place on the winery grounds.

This could be up the street or 20 miles down the road. It simply means the grapes were grown at a vineyard owned by the winery. 8 | Estate grown does not necessarily mean grown at the winery. Napa Valley), and 95% grown and harvested in a specific year to be labelled that vintage (i.e. Merlot), 85% grown in a specific region to be labelled by that appellation (i.e. This basic rule of wine states that a wine must contain at least 75% of a specific grape to be labelled that varietal (i.e. 7 | If you remember anything about wine, remember the 75-85-95 rule. So what do they do with all those grapes for the first 6-7 years? Well, they might be used for composting.

#OLD WORLD WINE MAPS SONOMA NAPA COUNTY RETAIL PLUS#

On the plus side, once mature, the vines are good for about 30 years before needing to be replanted. Talk about “good things come to those who wait”. 6 | It takes 6-7 years for a vine to produce good quality fruit. Other wineries followed suit, and today Napa Valley is California’s most visited tourist attraction. He set up the first ever winery tasting room, selling his fine wines directly to consumers at retail prices. 5 | Robert Mondavi was the first winemaker to create an on-site tasting room.īreaking away from his family’s business, Mondavi set out to redefine the way people enjoyed wine and create wines that could compete with the best in France.

Today, the average selling price is about $100,000/acre, with some speculating other pieces of land have sold for as much as $1,000,000/acre (though thanks to non-disclosure agreements, the highest “reported” sale price is around $300,000/acre). 4 | 50 years ago, an acre of land in Napa might sell for about $1000. Today, 99% of land is used for growing grapes. The other 1%? Olives. It wasn’t until the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 (where Napa wines were pitted against Bordeaux’s in a blind taste test, and won!) that Napa Valley really made it on the map as a premier wine destination. 3 | Before the wine industry took off, the biggest use of land in Napa was for growing plums and raising cattle. By the end of the 19th century, there were 140 wineries in Napa Valley, many of which are still in operation today. He hired Charles Krug as his winemaker, who went on to open Napa’s first winery in 1861. Not long after the California gold rush, a man by the name of John Patchett bought up land and planted the first commercial vineyard. I figure if we move to Napa and set up shop now, we might hit them all before the end of the year! 2 | The wine industry in Napa Valley started way back in 1858. 1 | There are 400+ wineries in Napa County alone.

Old world wine maps sonoma napa county retail