America is widely hailed as the world’s largest market for international wines. That accurate fact doesn’t take away from its own potential to make remarkable wines – a fact borne out both by the terroir of California, Oregon and Washington and a certain historic blind tasting in Paris that changed the wine industry forever. A large part of America’s vinous success is inarguably concentrated in California where vast stretches of vineyards, cooled by the Pacific and gifted with copious sunshine yield ripe and high quality fruit.
Napa Valley holds sway as the state’s if not the country’s best wine region for good reason. Its Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay have stunned critics and outpriced even some French wines. Oregon has enjoyed success with a series of good Pinot Noir vintages while further north, the cool climate of Washington state has been ideal for elegant Chardonnays and Rieslings.
key regions
California – Think American wine, think California. That is the way and has been for as long as anyone can remember. California is America’s largest and most significant. California accounts for 90 percent of the country’s wine production with a focus on international varieties Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Zinfandel.
The vintage Californian style is unmistakably shaped by its weather – the windswept coastal vineyards are planted with the likes of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir while the warmer interiors lend themselves to making ripe and elegant reds.
Napa Valley – American wine is synonymous with California, and California is synonymous with Napa Valley. This region emerged as America’s most significant and perhaps one of the leaders of the new world itself. What makes Napa Valley’s success and eminence particularly remarkable that it’s been earned largely on the back of a single grape.
The ‘Napa Cab’ style is worshipped and consumed, at time at absurd prices for its barrel aged opulent and palate of dark fruit, vanilla and chocolate. While Cabernet predominates most of its vineyards, Napa also grows Pinot Noir, Chardonnay , Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot. Zinfandel notably is also extensively planted, thriving in the region’s dry and warm climate.
Washington State – Washington State is a relatively wine region that has grown and learnt quickly identifying its best vineyard parcels and grapes that would best suit them. Most of the state’s vineyards are planted in its east where dry and sunny climate along with austere soils make fabulous red wine from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Few patches of vineyard in Washington’s northwest make a popular style of sweet Rieslings that Washington has become quite popular for.
Oregon – Sandwiched between California and Washington State, Oregon complete the triumvirate of America’s winemaking west coast. As young as just 60 years, Oregon is a cool and hip hub for making high quality wines from a modest acreage of vineyards. To put it in perspective, California has ten times more vineyard than Oregon. Less is clearly more for Oregon as it has taken international honours for its deep and intense Pinot Noir especially from the now world renowned Willamette Valley. Interestingly, Pinot Gris which the Italians famously renamed Pinot Grigio is Oregon’s second most planted grape that makes a perfumed wine rich in stone fruit.
key grapes
Americans love Chardonnay so much, at one point they’d had enough of it, coining the term ABC (anything but chardonnay). Too much oak and too much vigor called for pause and reinvention leading to two distinct styles – brightly acidic and fruit driven as well as richly oak aged and balanced. Californian Chardonnay is still king of the hill, consistently impressive across the vintages.
Pinot Noir is a challenge that America vignerons embraced across California and Oregon to rich success, coaxing out a richer degree of fruit and still retaining the elegance that defines Pinot.
Cabernet Sauvignon is indivisible from Napa Valley’s humungous success as a wine phenomenon. This grape is Bordeaux’s most significant but in Napa Valley has found its most supreme single varietal expression, achieving near perfect ripe fruit and phenolic expression that is the stuff of poetry.
Riesling is Washington State’s most proud calling card, charming the palate with authentic sweetness and rush of aromatic fruit. This classic cool climate Riesling goes toe to toe with the Germanic style which says a lot.
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