Los Carneros (AVA)
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Los Carneros AVA (also known as Carneros AVA) is an
American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...
which includes parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
U.S.A. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
It is located north of
San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water ch ...
. The proximity to the cool fog and breezes from the bay makes the climate in Los Carneros cooler and more moderate than the wine regions farther north in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley. The cooler climate has made Los Carneros attractive for the cultivation of cooler climate varietals like
Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...
and
Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
. Many of the grapes grown in Los Carneros are used for sparkling wine production. Receiving its AVA status in 1983, the Carneros area was the first wine region in California to be defined by its climate characteristics rather than political boundaries.


History

In the year 1942, wine producer
Louis M. Martini Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also

Derived or associated te ...
purchased the old Stanly Ranch and began a replanting effort. By the 1970s, the Carneros region had more than of vineyards. By this time the Carneros region was starting to develop a reputation for the quality of the Chardonnays and Pinot noirs that came from this cool-climate region. This reputation caught the eyes of sparkling wine producers from Champagne and elsewhere. In the 1970s and continuing to this day, Francis Mahoney o
Mahoney Vineyards
an
Fleur de California
in conjunction with
UC-Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
have conducted an ongoing series of clonal trials to determine the best Pinot noir grapes for the Carneros region. The 1980s saw a wave of investment and development in Los Carneros by producers such as
Domaine Chandon Domaine Chandon is a winery located in Napa Valley in the town of Yountville, California, United States. Established in 1973 by Moët et Chandon, businessman, John Wright, was the first French-owned sparkling wine producer in Napa Valley. The R ...
, Domaine Carneros,
Gloria Ferrer Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards is a winery in Sonoma County, California that specializes in sparkling wines, as well as Pinot noir and Chardonnay wine. It was the first sparkling wine producer in Los Carneros AVA, Carneros. It was also the first ...
,
Mumm Napa G. H. Mumm & Cie is a List of Champagne houses, Champagne house founded in 1827 and based in Reims, Reims, France. G.H. Mumm is one of the largest Champagne houses and is currently ranked 4th globally based on number of bottles sold. The company ...
and Codorníu Napa that made Carneros one of the centers of California
sparkling wine production Sparkling wine production is the method of winemaking used to produce sparkling wine. The oldest known production of sparkling wine took place in 1531 with the ''ancestral method''. Pressure and terminology In popular parlance and also in the ...
. In the late 1980s,
phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...
returned to the Carneros region prompting extensive replanting efforts. In addition to taking advantage of better phylloxera-resistant rootstock, many Carneros producers also took the opportunity to plant some of the new French clones of Pinot noir and Chardonnay. The surging popularity of Chardonnay in the 1980s further stimulated plantings in the Carneros region. By the early 1990s, the region had over planted.


Geography and climate

The Carneros region covers located along the low-lying hills of the
Mayacamas range The Mayacamas Mountains are located in northwestern California in the United States. The mountain range is part of the Northern Inner Coast Ranges, of the California Coast Ranges System. Geography The Mayacamas Mountains are located south of the ...
as it descends underneath
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
. Elevations of most vineyards range from in the foothills to near
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
closer to the bay. The official boundaries of the AVA fall into both Napa and Sonoma counties with the largest portion being in Sonoma and entitled to use the Sonoma Valley AVA designation as well. The Napa portion of Los Carneros is similarly entitled to use the
Napa Valley AVA Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...
designation. The region is moderately cool and windy with marked influences from nearby
San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water ch ...
, making it the coolest and windiest AVA in both Napa & Sonoma. Early morning fog is a persistent feature.


Viticulture

The soils of the Carneros region are predominantly clay and very thin and shallow (approximately 3 feet/1 meter deep), providing poor drainage and fertility. The fierce and persistent winds coming off the bay encourages the grapevines to struggle and retain moisture. While this aids in keeping crop yields small, it can also delay the grapes from ripening sufficiently. In
vintages Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...
with a long, drawn out growing season that allow the grapes to ripen, intense and vivid flavors can develop.


Grape varieties and wine

Los Carneros is primarily associated with the cool-climate wines such as Chardonnay and Pinot noir, as well as the sparkling wines made from those grapes. Many wineries in Napa & Sonoma use Carneros grapes as a cool-climate blending component. In recent years there has been interest in
Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...
and
Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...
coming from the warmer areas of the region. In 1996, the first possible plantings of Albarino in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
were planted in the Carneros region. Carneros Chardonnay is marked by its high acidity that can bring balance to the fatter, rounder Chardonnays produced in the warmer climate areas of Sonoma and Napa. While in the past, chardonnay was usually put through malolactic fermentation and was given significant oak treatment to soften some of the acidity, the current winemaking style in California emphasizes the fruit. The style now favors stainless steel and neutral French Oak, while rarely using more than a portion of the wine undergoing malolactic fermentation. Pinot noir from the Carneros is known for its crisp acidity and tight structure and frequently exhibits spicy berry fruit. The Carneros region was one of the early pioneers of cool-climate Pinot noirs in California-long before it became a significant planting in the Russian River,
Anderson Valley Anderson Valley is a sparsely populated region in western Mendocino County in Northern California. Located approximately north of San Francisco, the name "Anderson Valley" applies broadly to several rural, unincorporated communities in or near ...
,
Santa Rita Hills The Sta. Rita Hills AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Santa Barbara County, California. From its creation in 2001 through 2006, the wine appellation was officially named Santa Rita Hills AVA. The formal name change was the result ...
and Santa Lucia Highlands AVAs. In recent years there has been a focus by Carneros Pinot noir producers on the changing style of the region's Pinot due, in part, on emerging modern philosophies in winemaking and on
clonal selections Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, ...
. The older clones found in Carneros include the Martini and Swan clones which produce wines that are lighter, more elegant with some earthy complexity. They are also noted for their distinctive aromas of green
herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
,
beets The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...
and
mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAES g ...
. The newer French clones being planted, (such as the Dijon 115, 667 and 777) produce more alcoholic and concentrated wines with black fruit notes.


Light brown apple moth sightings

In August 2008, two
light brown apple moth The light brown apple moth (''Epiphyas postvittana'') (often abbreviated to LBAM) is a leafroller moth belonging to the lepidopteran family Tortricidae. Identification Adult moths Light brown apple moth adults are variable in colour and may be ...
s were discovered in the Carneros region close to the Napa County line. The pests lay eggs on grape leaves and the resulting
larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...
e feed on the leaves and fruit clusters, leaving them prone to rot. Thus, their discovery caused concern that parts of the Carneros region may be
quarantined A quarantine is a restriction on the Freedom of movement, movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or Pest (organism), pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing th ...
just before the busy harvest season. Proposals on how to deal with the vineyard pest have been met with
controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
in the past.


References


External links


Carneros Wine Alliance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carneros, Los American Viticultural Areas of the San Francisco Bay Area Geography of Napa County, California Geography of Sonoma County, California American Viticultural Areas 1983 establishments in California