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Napa Valley is the best-known region of California wine country and is the most popular. There are plenty of internationally renowned wineries in this region. Napa Valley wines are excellent, the scenery is beautiful, and there are enough wineries in this part of California wine country to keep a wine taster happy for weeks. The Napa Valley is located north of San Francisco and its three hundred and sixty wineries make it the most densely concentrated wine region in the world.
World Renowned Napa Valley Wine
The Napa Valley is renowned for its huge range of appellations and wine styles. From creamy Chardonnays, spicy Zinfandels and fruity, ripe Pinot Noirs to intensely rich Cabernet Sauvignons and sweet dessert ones, Napa Valley offers a style of wine for everyone. Napa Valley produces almost a hundred and fifty grape varietals. Chardonnay is the most popular white grape and Cabernet Sauvignon is the most popular red.
Popular Napa Valley Wine Making Grapes
Red Charbono grapes were introduced to California by the French in 1869. Charbono wine is rich and spicy. It is full bodied with hints of coffee and berry. Charbono wine keeps its young, fresh flavor even after years of aging because of the tannins.
Semillon on its own can make a good white wine and Californian wineries such as the Clos du Val, produce Semillon only wines. Semillon is a Bordeaux wine grape and is often blended with the Sauvignon Blanc grapes, which are more pungent and floral.
Chenin Blanc grapes are used to make wines like Saumur, Anjou and Vouvray. Chenin Blanc was used in California to make jug wines and sparkling wines but, in Napa Valley, this grape is used to make delicate, fruity wines. The Napa Valley Chappellet winery was the first to make this style of wine.
History of Napa Valley Wine Making
The first settlers arrived in the Napa Valley in the 1830s; almost wiping out the Native American Indians with diseases such as smallpox, they had no immunity to. The start of the gold rush in 1848 found unsuccessful miners growing produce to sell to other miners. Ten years later, a silver rush attracted even more settlers. Anton Nichelini founded the oldest winery in Napa Valley in 1884.
Prohibition, falling wine prices and the phylloxera epidemic encouraged many former vintners to switch to olive, fig and walnut tree farming, rather than grape growing, but some wine growers outlasted the prohibition by making medicinal and sacramental wines.
The Paris Tasting of 1976 put the Napa Valley firmly on the map and taught people about the availability and quality of California wine. Before this competition, it was presumed that high quality wines could only be produced on French soil but this belief was shattered and Napa Valley wine and other California wines became increasingly popular.
Napa Valley Wineries
Schramsberg is one of the best sparkling wine wineries in the Napa Valley. Its history dates back to 1862. The Blanc de Blancs is a particularly good example of Schramsberg wine. It was first produced in 1965 and was the first commercially produced Chardonnay based sparkling wine in the United States. Blanc de Blancs is refreshing, crisp and has hints of vanilla, citrus, and pineapple flavors.
Clos Pegase is another one of many top quality Napa Valley wineries. This company produces excellent Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir amongst others. They also age the wines in natural stone caves.
Napa Valley is very popular with tourists and there are many places you can taste the wine but, for the best wine tasting experience, try to avoid the busy weekends, especially during the summer months.
Author: California Wine Guide Staff Writer
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