VISITING WINERIES AND TASTING ROOMS

Whether you’re a serious wine collector making your annual pilgrimage to Northern California’s Wine Country or a newbie who doesn’t know the difference between Merlot and Mourvèdre but is eager to learn, you can have a great time touring Napa and Sonoma wineries. Your gateway to the wine world is the tasting room, where staff members—and occasionally even the winemaker—are almost always happy to chat with curious guests.

Tasting rooms range from the grand to the humble, offering everything from a few sips of wine to in-depth tours of the wine-making facilities and vineyards. First-time visitors frequently enjoy the history-oriented tours at Beaulieu, Beringer, Charles Krug, and Inglenook, or the ones at Mondavi and Korbel that highlight process as well. The environments at some wineries reflect their founders’ other interests: horses at Nickel & Nickel and Tamber Bey, moviemaking at Francis Ford Coppola and Frank Family, art and architecture at Artesa and Hall St. Helena, and medieval history at the Castello di Amorosa.

To prepare yourself for your winery visits, we’ve covered the fundamentals: tasting rooms and what to expect, how to save money on tasting fees, and the types of tours typically offered by wineries. A list of common tasting terms will help you interpret what your mouth is experiencing as you sip. We’ve also provided a description of the major grape varietals, as well as the specific techniques employed to craft white, red, sparkling, and rosé wines. Because great wines begin in the vineyard, we’ve included a section on soils, climates, and organic and biodynamic farming methods. A handy Wine-Lover’s Glossary of terms, from acidity to zymology, covers what you may come across in the tasting room or on a tour.

WINE TASTING 101

Don’t be intimidated by sommeliers who toss around esoteric adjectives as they swirl their glasses. At its core, wine tasting is simply about determining which wines you like best. However, knowing a few basic tasting steps and a few key quality guidelines can make your winery visit much more enjoyable and help you remember which wines you liked, and why, long after you return home. TIP → Above all, follow your instincts at the tasting bar: there is no right or wrong way to describe wine.

If you watch the pros, you’ll probably notice that they take time to inspect, swirl, and sniff the wine before they get around to sipping it. Follow their lead and take your time, going through each of the following steps for each wine. Starting with the pop of the cork and the splashing of wine into a glass, all of your senses play a part in wine tasting.

USE YOUR EYES

Before you taste it, take a good look at the wine in your glass. Holding the glass by the stem, raise it to the light. Whether it’s white, rosé, or red, your wine should be clear, without cloudiness or sediments, when you drink it. Some unfiltered wines may seem cloudy at first, but they will clear as the sediments settle.

In natural light, place the glass in front of a white background such as a blank sheet of paper or a tablecloth. Check the color. Is it right for the wine? A California white should be golden: straw, medium, or deep, depending on the type. Rich, sweet, dessert wine will have more intense color, but Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc will be paler. A rosé should be a clear pink, from pale to deep, without too much red or any orange. Reds may lean toward ruby or garnet coloring; some have a purple tinge. They shouldn’t be pale (the exception is Pinot Noir, which can be quite pale yet still have character). In any color of wine, a brownish tinge is a flaw that indicates the wine is too old, has been incorrectly stored, or has gone bad. If you see brown, try another bottle.

BREATHE DEEP

After you have looked at the wine’s color, sniff the wine once or twice to see if you can identify any aromas. Then gently move your glass in a circular motion to swirl the wine around. Aerating the wine this way releases more of its aromas. (It’s called “volatilizing the esters,” if you’re trying to impress someone.) Stick your nose into the glass and take another long sniff.

Wine should smell good to you. You might pick up the scent of apricots, peaches, ripe melon, honey, and wildflowers in a white wine; black pepper, cherry, violets, and cedar in a red. Rosés (which are made from red wine grapes) smell something like red wine, but in a scaled-back way, with hints of raspberry, strawberry, and sometimes a touch of rose petal. You might encounter surprising smells, such as tar—which some people actually appreciate in certain (generally expensive) red wines.

For the most part, a wine’s aroma should be clean and pleasing to you, not “off.” If you find a wine’s odor odd or unpleasant, there’s probably something wrong. A vinegar smell indicates that the wine has started to spoil. A rotten wood or soggy cardboard smell usually means that the cork has gone bad, ruining the wine. It’s extremely rare to find these faults in wines poured in the tasting rooms, however, because staffers usually taste each bottle before pouring from it.

WINE CLUBS

If several of a winery’s offerings appeal to you and you live in a state that allows you to order wines directly from wineries (most staffers have this information at the ready), consider joining its wine club. You’ll receive offers for members-only releases, invitations to winery events, and a discount on all of your purchases.

JUST A SIP

Once you’ve checked its appearance and aroma, take a sip—not a swig or a gulp—of the wine. As you sip a wine, gently swish it around in your mouth—this releases more aromas for your nose to explore. Do the aroma and the flavor complement each other, improve each other? While moving the wine around in your mouth, also think about the way it feels: silky or crisp? Does it coat your tongue or is it thinner? Does it seem to fill your mouth with flavor or is it weak? This combination of weight and intensity is referred to as body: a good wine may be light-, medium-, or full-bodied.

The more complex a wine, the more flavors you will detect in the course of tasting. You might experience different things when you first take a sip (up front), when you swish (in the middle or mid-palate), and just before you swallow (at the end or back-palate).

SPIT OR SWALLOW?

You may choose to spit out the wine (into the dump bucket or a plastic cup) or swallow it. The pros typically spit, because they want to preserve their palates (and sobriety!) for the wines to come, but you’ll find that swallowers far outnumber spitters in the winery tasting rooms. Either way, pay attention to what happens after the wine leaves your mouth—this is the finish, and it can be spectacular. What sensations stay behind or appear? Does the flavor fade away quickly or linger pleasantly? A long finish is a sign of quality; wine with no perceptible finish is inferior.

TASTING ROOMS AND WINERY TOURS

At most wineries, you’ll have to pay for the privilege of tasting. Fees range from $15 to $25 for a standard tasting of some or all of a winery’s current releases and from $20 to $50 (and up at high-end wineries) to taste reserve, estate, or library wines. To experience wine making at its highest level, consider splurging for a special tasting at one winery at least. In general, you’ll find the fees higher in Napa than in Sonoma, though there are exceptions to this rule.

In tasting rooms, tipping is very much the exception rather than the rule. Most frequent visitors to the Wine Country never tip those pouring the wines in the tasting rooms, though if a server has gone out of his or her way to be helpful—by pouring special wines not on the list, for example—leaving $5 or so would be a nice gesture.

Many wineries are open to the public, usually daily from around 10 or 11 am to 5 pm. They may close as early as 4 or 4:30, especially in winter, so it’s best to get a reasonably early start if you want to fit in more than a few spots. TIP → Most wineries stop serving new visitors from 15 to 30 minutes before the posted closing time, so don’t expect to skate in at the last moment.

IN THE TASTING ROOM

In most tasting rooms, a list of the wines available that day will be on the bar or offered by the server. The wines will be listed in a suggested tasting order, starting with the lightest-bodied whites and progressing to the most intense reds. Dessert wines will come at the end.

You’ll usually find an assortment of the winery’s current releases. There might also be a list of reserve (special in some way) or library (older) wines you can taste for a higher fee.

Don’t feel the need to try all the wines you’re offered. In fact, many wineries indicate at the bottom of the list that you’re limited to four or five.

The server will pour you an ounce or so of each wine you select. There might be a plate of crackers on the bar; nibble them when you want to clear your palate before tasting the next selection. If you don’t like a wine, or you’ve tasted enough, pour the rest into one of the dump buckets on the bar (if you don’t see one, just ask).

TAKING A TOUR

Even if you’re not a devoted wine drinker, seeing how grapes become wine can be fascinating. Tours tend to be most exciting (and most crowded) in September and October, when the harvest and crushing are under way. Depending on the size of the winery, tours range from a few people to large groups and typically last 30 minutes to an hour. TIP → Wear comfortable shoes, because you might be walking on wet floors or stepping over hoses or other equipment.

Some winery tours are free, in which case you usually pay a separate fee to taste the wine. If you’ve paid for the tour—often from $10 to $30—your wine tasting is usually included in the price.

At large wineries, introductory tours are typically offered several times daily. Less frequent are specialized tours and seminars focusing on such subjects as growing techniques, sensory evaluation, wine blending, and food and wine pairing. These events typically cost from $30 to $75.

TOP CALIFORNIA GRAPE VARIETALS

Several dozen grape varietals are grown in the Wine Country, from favorites like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon to less familiar types like Albariño and Tempranillo. You’ll likely come across many of the following varietals as you visit the wineries.

WHITE

Albariño. One of the most popular wine grapes in Spain (it’s also a staple of Portuguese wine making), this cool-climate grape creates light, citrusy wines, often with overtones of mango or kiwi.

Chardonnay. California Chardonnays spent many years chasing big, buttery flavor, but the current trend is toward more restrained wines that let the grapes shine through. Because of Napa and Sonoma’s warmer, longer growing seasons, Chardonnays from those regions will always be bolder than their counterparts in Burgundy.

Gewürztraminer. Cooler California climes such as the Russian River Valley are great for growing this German-Alsatian grape, which is turned into a boldly perfumed, fruity wine.

Marsanne. A white-wine grape of France’s northern Rhône Valley, Marsanne can produce a dry or sweet wine depending on how it is handled.

Pinot Gris. Known in Italy as Pinot Grigio, this varietal yields a more deeply colored wine in California. It’s not highly acidic and has a medium to full body.

Riesling. Also called White Riesling, this cool-climate German grape has a sweet reputation in America. When made in a dry style, though, it can be crisply refreshing, with lush aromas.

Roussanne. This grape from the Rhône Valley makes an especially fragrant wine that can achieve a balance of fruitiness and acidity.

Sauvignon Blanc. Hailing from Bordeaux and the Loire Valley, this white grape does very well almost anywhere in California. Wines made from this grape display a wide range of personalities, from herbaceous to tropical-fruity.

Viognier. Until the early 1990s, Viognier was rarely planted outside France’s Rhône Valley, but today it’s one of California’s hottest white-wine varietals. Usually made in a dry style, the best Viogniers have an intense fruity or floral bouquet.

RED

Barbera. Prevalent in California thanks to 19th-century Italian immigrants, Barbera yields easy-drinking, low-tannin wines with big fruit and high acid.

Cabernet Franc. Most often used in blends, often to add complexity to Cabernet Sauvignon, this French grape can produce aromatic, soft, and subtle wines. An often earthy, or even stinky, aroma repels some drinkers and makes avid fans of others.

Cabernet Sauvignon. The king of California reds, this Bordeaux grape is at home in well-drained soils. At its best, the California version is dark, bold, and tannic, with black currant notes. On its own it can require a long aging period, so it’s often softened with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and other red varieties for earlier drinking.

Grenache. This Spanish grape, which makes some of the southern Rhône Valley’s most distinguished wines, ripens best in hot, dry conditions. Done right, Grenache is dark and concentrated and improves with age.

Merlot. This blue-black Bordeaux varietal makes soft, full-bodied wine when grown in California. It’s often fruity, and can be complex even when young.

Mourvèdre. A native of France’s Rhône Valley, this grape makes wine that is deeply colored, very dense, and high in alcohol. When young it can seem harsh, but it mellows with aging.

Petite Sirah. Unrelated to the Rhône grape Syrah, Petite Sirah produces a hearty wine that is often used in blends.

Pinot Noir. The darling of grape growers in cooler parts of Napa and Sonoma, including the Carneros region and the Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir is also called the “heartbreak grape” because it’s hard to cultivate. At its best it has a subtle but addictive earthy quality.

Sangiovese. Dominant in the Chianti region and much of central Italy, Sangiovese can, depending on how it’s grown and vinified, be made into vibrant, light- to medium-bodied wines or complex reds.

Syrah. Another big California red, this grape originated in the Rhône Valley. With good tannins it can become a full-bodied, almost smoky beauty.

Tempranillo. The major varietal in Spain’s Rioja region, sturdy Tempranillo makes inky purple wines with a beautifully rich texture. Wines made from this grape are great on their own but excel when paired with red-meat and game dishes.

Zinfandel. Celebrated as California’s own (though it has distant old-world origins), Zinfandel is rich and spicy. Its tannins can make it complex and well suited for aging. When grown to extreme ripeness, the grape can produce wines with high alcohol levels.

HOW WINE IS MADE

THE CRUSH

The process of turning grapes into wine generally starts at the crush pad, where the grapes are brought in from the vineyards. Good winemakers carefully monitor their grapes throughout the year, but their presence is critical at harvest, when ripeness determines the proper day for picking. Once that day arrives, the crush begins.

Wineries pick their grapes by machine or by hand, depending on the terrain and on the type of grape. Some varietals are harvested at night with the help of powerful floodlights. Why at night? In addition to it being easier on the workers (daytime temperatures often reach 90°F [32°C] or more in September), the fruit-acid content in the pulp and juice of the grapes peaks in the cool night air. The acids—an essential component during fermentation and aging, and an important part of wine’s flavor—plummet in the heat of the day.

Grapes arrive at the crush pad in large containers called gondolas. Unless the winemaker intends to ferment the entire clusters, which is generally done only for red wines, they are dropped gently onto a conveyor belt that deposits them into a stemmer-crusher, which gently separates the grapes from their stems. Then the sorting process begins. At most wineries this is done by hand at sorting tables, where workers remove remaining stems and leaves and reject any obviously damaged berries. Because anything not sorted out will wind up in the fermenting tank, some wineries double or even triple sort to achieve higher quality. Stems, for instance, can add unwanted tannins to a finished wine. On the other hand, winemakers sometimes desire those tannins and allow some stems through. A few high-end wineries use electronic optical grape sorters that scan and assess the fruit. Berries deemed too small or otherwise defective are whisked away, along with any extraneous vegetal matter.

No matter the process used, the sorted grapes are then ready for transfer to a press or vat.

After this step, the production process goes one of four ways, depending on whether a white, red, rosé, or sparkling wine is being made.

WHITE WINES

The juice of white-wine grapes first goes to settling tanks, where the skins and solids sink to the bottom, separating from the free-run juice on top. The material in the settling tanks still contains a lot of juice, so after the free-run juice is pumped off, the rest goes into a press. A modern press consists of a perforated drum containing a Teflon-coated bag. As this bag is inflated like a balloon, it slowly pushes the grapes against the outside wall and the liquids are gently squeezed from the solids. Like the free-run juice, the press juice is pumped into a stainless-steel fermenter.

During fermentation, yeast feeds on the sugar in grape juice and converts it to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Wine yeast dies and fermentation naturally stops in two to four weeks, when the alcohol level reaches 15% (or sometimes more).

To prevent oxidation that damages wine’s color and flavor and kills wild yeast and bacteria that produce off flavors, winemakers almost always add sulfur dioxide, in the form of sulfites, before fermenting. A winemaker may also encourage malolactic fermentation (or simply malo) to soften a wine’s acidity or deepen its flavor and complexity. This is done either by inoculating the wine with lactic bacteria soon after fermentation begins or right after it ends, or by transferring the new wine to wooden vats that harbor the bacteria.

For richer results, free-run juice from Chardonnay grapes, as well as some from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, might be fermented in oak barrels. In many cases the barrels used to make white wines, especially Sauvignon Blanc, are older, “neutral” barrels previously used to make other wines. These neutral barrels can add a fullness to a wine without adding any wood flavors. In recent years, wineries have begun using “concrete eggs” (egg-shape fermenting tanks made out of concrete), mostly to make white wines. Bigger than a barrel but smaller than most stainless tanks, the eggs, like barrels, are porous enough to “breathe,” but unlike wood don’t impart flavors or tannins to wines. The notion of fermenting wines in concrete receptacles may sound newfangled, but their use dates back to the 19th century (and some say even further).

When the wine has finished fermenting, whether in a tank or a barrel, it is generally racked—moved into a clean tank or barrel to separate it from any remaining grape solids. Sometimes Chardonnay and special batches of Sauvignon Blanc are left “on the lees”—atop the spent yeast, grape solids, and other matter that were in the fermenting tank—for extended periods of time before being racked to pick up extra complexity. Wine may be racked several times as the sediment continues to settle out.

After the first racking, the wine may be filtered to take out solid particles that can cloud the wine and any stray yeast or bacteria that can spoil it. This is especially common for whites, which may be filtered several times before bottling. Most commercial producers filter their wines, but many fine-wine makers don’t, as they believe it leads to less complex wines that don’t age as well.

White wine may also be fined by mixing in a fine clay called bentonite or albumen from egg whites. As they settle out, they absorb undesirable substances that can cloud the wine. As with filtering, the process is more common with ordinary table wines than with fine wines.

Winemakers typically blend several batches of wine together to balance flavor. Careful blending gives them an extra chance to create a perfect single-varietal wine or to combine several varietals that complement each other in a blend. Premium vintners also make unblended wines that highlight the attributes of grapes from a single vineyard.

New wine is stored in stainless-steel, oak, or concrete containers to rest and develop before bottling. This stage, called maturation or aging, may last anywhere from a few months to more than a year. Barrel rooms are kept dark to protect the wine from both light and heat, either of which can be damaging. Some wineries keep their wines in air-conditioned rooms or warehouses; others use long, tunnel-like caves bored into hillsides, where the wine remains at a constant temperature.

If wine is aged for any length of time before bottling, it will be racked and perhaps filtered several times. Once it is bottled, the wine is stored for bottle aging. This is done in a cool, dark space to prevent the corks from drying out; a shrunken cork allows oxygen to enter the bottle and spoil the wine. In a few months, most white wines will be ready for release.

RED WINES

Red-wine production differs slightly from that of white wine. Red-wine grapes are crushed in the same way, but the juice is not separated from the grape skins and pulp before fermentation. This is what gives red wine its color. After crushing, the red-wine must—the thick slurry of juice, pulp, and skins—is fermented in vats. The juice is “left on the skins” for varying amounts of time, from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the type of grape and on how much color and flavor the winemaker wants to extract.

Fermentation also extracts chemical compounds such as tannins from the skins and seeds, making red wines more robust than whites. In a red designed for drinking soon after bottling, tannin levels are kept down; they should have a greater presence in wine meant for aging. In a young red not ready for drinking, tannins feel dry or coarse in your mouth, but they soften over time. A wine with well-balanced tannin will maintain its fruitiness and backbone as its flavor develops. Without adequate tannins, a wine will not age well.

Creating the oak barrels that age the wine is a craft in its own right. At Demptos Napa Cooperage, a French-owned company that employs French barrel-making techniques, the process involves several elaborate production phases. The staves of oak are formed into the shape of a barrel using metal bands, and then the rough edges of the bound planks are smoothed. Finally, the barrels are literally toasted to give the oak its characteristic flavor, which will in turn be imparted to the wine.

At the end of fermentation, the free-run wine is drained off. The grape skins and pulp are sent to a press, where the remaining liquid is extracted. As with white wines, the winemaker may blend a little of the press wine into the free-run wine to add complexity. Otherwise, the press juice goes into bulk wine—the lower-quality, less expensive stuff.

Next up is oak-barrel aging, which takes from a half year to a year or longer. Oak, like grapes, contains natural tannins, and the wine extracts these tannins from the barrels. The wood also has countless tiny pores through which water slowly evaporates, making the wine more concentrated. To make sure the aging wine does not oxidize, the barrels have to be regularly topped off with wine from the same vintage.

New, or virgin, oak barrels impart the most tannins to a wine. With each successive use the tannins are diminished, until the barrel is said to be “neutral.” Depending on the varietal, winemakers might blend juice aged in virgin oak barrels with juice aged in neutral barrels. In the tasting room you may hear, for instance, that a Pinot Noir was aged in 30% new oak and 70% two-year-old oak, meaning that the bulk of the wine was aged in oak used for two previous agings.

SPARKLING WINES

Despite the mystique surrounding them, sparkling wines are nothing more or less than wines in which carbon dioxide is suspended, making them bubbly. Good sparkling wine will always be fairly expensive because a great deal of work goes into making it.

White sparkling wines can be made from either white or black grapes. In France, Champagne is traditionally made from Pinot Noir or Chardonnay grapes, whereas in California sparkling wine might be made with Pinot Blanc, Riesling, or sometimes other white grapes.

The freshly pressed juice and pulp, or must, is fermented with special yeasts that preserve the characteristic fruit flavor of the grape variety used. Before bottling, this finished “still” wine (without bubbles) is mixed with a liqueur de tirage, a blend of wine, sugar, and yeast. This mixture causes the wine to ferment again—in the bottle, where it stays for up to 12 weeks. Carbon dioxide, a by-product of fermentation, is produced and trapped in the bottle, where it dissolves into the wine (instead of escaping into the air, as happens during fermentation in barrel, vat, or tank). This captive carbon dioxide transforms a still wine into a sparkler.

New bottles of sparkling wine are stored on their sides in deep cellars. The wine now ages sur lie, or “on the lees” (the dead yeast cells and other deposits trapped in the bottle). This aging process enriches the wine’s texture and increases the complexity of its bouquet. The amount of time spent sur lie has a direct relation to its quality: the longer the aging, the more complex the wine.

The lees must be removed from the bottle before a sparkling wine can be enjoyed. This is achieved in a process whose first step is called riddling. In the past, each bottle, head tilted slightly downward, was placed in a riddling rack, an A-frame with many holes of bottleneck size. Riddlers gave each bottle a slight shake and a downward turn—every day, if possible. This continued for six weeks, until each bottle rested upside down in the hole and the sediment had collected in the neck, next to the cork. Today most sparkling wines are riddled in ingeniously designed machines called gyro palettes, which can handle 500 or more bottles at a time, though at a few wineries, such as Schramsberg, the work is still done by hand.

After riddling, the bottles are disgorged. The upside-down bottles are placed in a very cold solution, which freezes the sediments in a block that attaches itself to the crown cap that seals the bottle. The cap and frozen plug are removed, and the bottle is topped off with a wine-and-sugar mixture called dosage and recorked with the traditional Champagne cork. The dosage ultimately determines the sparkler’s sweetness.

Most sparkling wines are not vintage dated but are assembled (the term sparkling-wine makers use instead of blended) to create a cuvée, a mix of different wines and sometimes different vintages consistent with the house style. However, sparkling wines may be vintage dated in particularly great years.

Sparkling wine may also be made by time- and cost-saving bulk methods. In the Charmat process, invented by Eugene Charmat early in the 20th century, the secondary fermentation takes place in large tanks rather than individual bottles. Basically, each tank is treated as one huge bottle. This comes at a price: although the sparkling wine may be ready in as little as a month, it has neither the complexity nor the bubble quality of traditional sparklers.

IT’S ALL ON THE LABEL

A wine’s label will tell you a lot about what’s inside. To decode the details, look for the following information:

■ Alcohol content: In most cases, U.S. law requires bottles to list the alcohol content, which typically hovers around 13% or 14%, but big red wines from California, especially Zinfandel, can soar to 16% or more.

■ Appellation: At least 85% of the grapes must have come from the AVA (American Viticultural Area) listed on the bottle. A bottle that says “Mt. Veeder,” for example, contains mostly grapes that are grown in the compact Mt. Veeder appellation, but if the label says “California,” the grapes could be from anywhere in the state.

■ Estate or Estate Grown: Wines with this label must be made entirely of grapes grown on land owned or farmed by the winery.

■ Reserve: An inexact term meaning “special” (and therefore usually costing more), reserve can refer to how or where the grapes were grown, how the wine was made, or even how long it was aged.

■ Varietal: If a type of grape is listed on the label, it means that at least 75% of the grapes in this wine are of that varietal. If there’s none listed, it’s almost certainly a blend of various types of grapes.

■ Vineyard name: If the label lists a vineyard, then at least 95% of the grapes used must have been harvested there. A vineyard name is more commonly, though not exclusively, found on higher-end bottles.

■ Vintage: If a year appears on the label, it means that at least 95% of the grapes were harvested in that year (85% if the wine is not designated with an AVA). If no vintage is listed, the grapes may come from more than one year’s harvest.

ROSÉ WINES

Rosé or blush wines are made from red-wine grapes, but the juicy pulp is left on the skins for a matter of hours—typically from 12 to 36—rather than days. When the winemaker decides that the juice has reached the desired color, it is drained off and filtered. Yeast is added, and the juice is left to ferment. Because the must stays on the skins for a shorter time, fewer tannins are leached from the skins, and the resulting wine is not as full flavored as a red. You might say that rosé is a lighter, fruitier version of red wine, not a pink version of white.

The range of tastes and textures is remarkable. Depending on how it’s made, rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon, for instance, can have a velvety and almost savory taste, while rosé of Pinot Noir or Syrah might have a crisp and mineral taste.

 

GRAPE GROWING: THE BASICS

Most kinds of wine grapes are touchy. If the weather is too hot, they can produce too much sugar and not enough acid, resulting in overly alcoholic wines. Too cool and they won’t ripen properly, and some will develop an unpleasant vegetal taste. And rain at the wrong time of year can wreak havoc on vineyards, causing grapes to rot on the vine. These and many other conditions must be just right to coax the best out of persnickety wine grapes, and Napa and Sonoma have that magical combination of sun, rain, fog, slope, and soil that allows many varieties of wine grape to thrive.

APPELLATIONS: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

California growers and winemakers generally agree that no matter what high-tech wine-making techniques might be used after the grapes are picked, in fact the wine is really made in the vineyard. This emphasis on terroir (a French term that encompasses a region’s soil, microclimate, and overall growing conditions) reflects a belief that the quality of a wine is determined by what happens before the grapes are crushed.

In the United States, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) designates appellations of origin based on political boundaries or unique soil, climate, or other characteristics. California, for instance, is an appellation, as are Napa and Sonoma counties. More significantly to wine lovers, the TTB can designate a unique grape-growing region as an American Viticultural Area (AVA), more commonly called an appellation. Whether the appellation of origin is based on politics or terroir, it refers to the source of a wine’s grapes, not to where it was made.

Different appellations—there are more than 100 AVAs in California, with 16 in the county of Napa alone—are renowned for different wines. The Napa Valley is known for Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, the Russian River Valley for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the Dry Creek Valley for Zinfandel. Wineries can indicate the appellation on a bottle’s label only if 85% of the grapes were grown in that appellation.

What makes things a little confusing is that appellations often overlap, allowing for increased levels of specificity. The Napa Valley AVA is, of course, part of the California appellation, but the Napa Valley AVA is itself divided into even smaller subappellations, the Oakville and Rutherford AVAs being among the most famous of these. There are even subappellations within subappellations. Over in Sonoma County, the Russian River Valley AVA contains the smaller Green Valley of the Russian River Valley AVA, which earned status as a separate viticultural area by virtue of its soils and a climate cooler and foggier than much of the rest of the Russian River Valley.

GEOLOGY 101

Wherever grapes are grown, geology matters. Grapevines are among the few plants that give their best fruit when grown in poor, rocky soil. On the other hand, grapes just don’t like wet feet: the ideal vineyard soil is easily permeable by water for good drainage. Geologists do a brisk business advising growers.

Different grape varieties thrive in different types of soil. For instance, Cabernet Sauvignon does best in well-drained, gravelly soil. If it’s too wet or contains too much heavy clay or organic matter, the soil will give the wine an obnoxious vegetative quality. Merlot, however, can grow in soil with more clay and still be made into a delicious, rich wine. Chardonnay likes well-drained vineyards but will also take heavy soil.

The soils below Napa Valley’s crags and in the valleys of Sonoma County are dizzyingly diverse, which helps account for the unusually wide variety of grapes grown in such a small area. Some of the soils are composed of dense, heavy, sedimentary clays washed from the mountains; others are very rocky clays, loams, or silts of alluvial fans. These fertile, well-drained soils cover much of the valleys’ floors. Other areas have soil based on serpentine, a rock that rarely appears aboveground. In all, there are about 60 soil types in the Napa and Sonoma valleys.

In Wine Country you’ll hear a lot about limestone, a nutrient-rich rock in which grapevines thrive. Some California winemakers claim to be growing in limestone when they are not. In fact, only small patches of California’s Wine Country have significant amounts of limestone. The term is often used to describe the streak of light-color, almost white soil that runs across the Napa Valley from the Palisades to St. Helena and through Sonoma County from the western flanks of the Mayacamas Mountains to Windsor. The band is actually made of volcanic material that has no limestone content.

DOWN ON THE FARM

Much like a fruit or nut orchard, a vineyard can produce excellent grapes for decades—even a century—if it’s given the proper attention. The growing cycle starts in winter, when the vines are bare and dormant. While the plants rest, the grower works to enrich the soil and repair the trellising system (if there is one) that holds up the vines. This is when pruning takes place to regulate the vine’s growth and the upcoming season’s crop size.

In spring, the soil is aerated by plowing, and new vines go in. The grower trains established vines so they grow, with or without trellising, in the shape most beneficial for the grapes. Bud break occurs when the first bits of green emerge from the vines, and a pale green veil appears over the winter’s gray-black vineyards. A late frost can be devastating at this time of year. Summer brings the flowering of the vines, when clusters of tiny green blossoms appear, and fruit set, when the grapes form from the blossoms. As the vineyards turn luxuriant and leafy, more pruning, along with leaf pulling, keeps foliage in check so the vine directs nutrients to the grapes, and so the sun can reach the fruit. As summer advances, the grower will thin the fruit, cutting off (or “dropping”) some bunches so the remaining grapes intensify in flavor.

Fall is the busiest season in the vineyard. Growers and winemakers carefully monitor the ripeness of the grapes, sometimes with equipment that tests sugar and acid levels and sometimes simply by tasting them. As soon as the grapes are ripe, harvest begins amid the lush foliage. In California this generally happens in September and October, but sometimes a bit earlier or later, depending on the type of grape and the climatic conditions. Picking must be done as quickly as possible, within just a day or two, to keep the grapes from passing their peak. Most California grapes are harvested mechanically, but some are picked by hand. After harvest, the vines start to regenerate for the next year.

Many winemakers purchase at least some of their grapes. Some have negotiated long-term contracts with top growers, buying grapes from the same supplier year after year. This way, the winemaker can control the consistency and quality of the fruit, just as if it came from the winery’s own vineyard. Other wineries buy from several growers, and many growers sell to more than one winery.

ORGANIC AND BIODYNAMIC

If, as many grape growers insist, a wine is only as good as the vineyard it comes from, those who have adopted organic and biodynamic agricultural methods may be on to something. But when using terms like organic and biodynamic, what do vintners mean? Although organic viticulture is governmentally recognized and regulated, it is vaguely defined and its value is hotly debated—just like the rest of organic farming. It boils down to a rejection of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides. Biodynamic farmers also reject these artificial agents, and their vineyard maintenance involves metaphysical principles as well.

Even rarer than wines produced from organically grown grapes are completely organic wines. For a wine to be certified as organic, not only do the grapes have to come from organic vineyards, but the processing must use a minimum of chemical additives. Some winemakers argue that it is impossible to make truly fine wine without using additives like sulfur dioxide, an antioxidant that protects the wine’s color, aroma, flavor, and longevity.

Very few producers make completely organic wine. To be called organic, a wine must contain certified organic grapes and have no added sulfites. (Remember that some wines made from certified organic grapes still contain naturally occurring sulfites.)

Biodynamic farmers view the land as a living, self-sustaining organism requiring a healthy, unified ecosystem to thrive. To nurture the soil, for instance, vineyard workers spray specially formulated herbal “teas” (the ingredients include yarrow, dandelion, valerian, and stinging nettle flowers) onto compost spread in the fields. Grazing animals such as sheep or goats maintain the ground cover between the vines (the animals’ manure provides natural fertilizer), and natural predators, among them insect-eating bats, control pests that might damage the crop. Steiner and his successors believed that the movements of the sun and the moon influence plant development, so astronomical calendars play a role in the timing of many vineyard activities.

At its most elevated level, the biodynamic philosophy recognizes a farm as a metaphysical entity that requires its human inhabitants not merely to tend it but to form a spiritual bond with it, a notion that other organic farmers share in theory even if their methods sometimes diverge. Among wineries whose practices have been certified organic are Hall in the Napa Valley, and Preston of Dry Creek in Northern Sonoma County. The Napa Valley’s Robert Sinskey Vineyards is certified both organic and biodynamic, as is the Sonoma Valley’s Benziger Family Winery.

WINE-LOVER’S GLOSSARY

Wine making and tasting require specialized vocabularies. Some words are merely show-off jargon, but many are specific and helpful.

Acidity. The tartness of a wine, derived from the fruit acids of the grape. Acids stabilize a wine (i.e., preserve its character), balance its sweetness, and bring out its flavors. Tartaric acid is the major acid in wine, but malic, lactic, and citric acids also occur.

Aging. The process by which some wines improve over time, becoming smoother and more complex. Wine is often aged in oak vats or barrels, slowly interacting with the air through the pores in the wood. Sometimes wine is cellared for bottle aging. Age can diminish a wine’s fruitiness and also dull its color: whites turn brownish, rosés orange, reds brown.

Alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is a colorless, volatile, pungent spirit that not only gives wine its stimulating effect and some of its flavor but also acts as a preservative, stabilizing the wine and allowing it to age. A wine’s alcohol content must be stated on the label, expressed as a percentage of volume, except when a wine is designated table wine.

American Viticultural Area (AVA). More commonly termed an appellation. A region with unique soil, climate, and other conditions can be designated an AVA by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. When a label lists an AVA—Napa Valley or Mt. Veeder, for example—at least 85% of the grapes used to make the wine must come from that AVA.

Ampelography. The science of identifying varietals by their leaves, grapevines, and, more recently, DNA.

Appellation. See American Viticultural Area.

Aroma. The scent of young wine derived from the fresh fruit. It diminishes with fermentation and is replaced by a more complex bouquet as the wine ages. The term may also describe special fruity odors in a wine, such as black cherry, green olive, ripe raspberry, or apple.

Astringency. The puckery sensation produced in the mouth by the tannins in wine.

Balance. A quality of wine in which all desirable elements (fruit, acid, tannin) are present in the proper proportion. Well-balanced wine has a pleasing nose, flavor, and mouthfeel.

Barrel fermenting. The fermenting of wine in small oak barrels instead of large tanks or vats. This method keeps grape lots separate before blending the wine. The cost of oak barrels makes this method expensive.

Biodynamic. An approach to agriculture that focuses on regarding the land as a living thing; it generally incorporates organic farming techniques and the use of the astronomical calendar in hopes of cultivating a healthy balance in the vineyard ecosystem.

Blanc de blancs. Sparkling or still white wine made solely from white grapes.

Blanc de noirs. White wine made with red grapes by removing the skins during crush. Some sparkling whites, for example, are made with red Pinot Noir grapes.

Blending. The mixing of several wines to create one of greater complexity or appeal, as when a heavy wine is blended with a lighter one to make a more approachable medium-bodied wine.

Body. The wine’s heft or density as experienced by the palate. See also Mouthfeel.

Bordeaux blend. A red wine blended from varietals native to France’s Bordeaux region, the primary ones are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot.

Bouquet. The odors a mature wine gives off when opened. They should be pleasantly complex and should give an indication of the wine’s grape variety, origin, age, and quality.

Brix. A method of telling whether grapes are ready for picking by measuring their sugars. Multiplying a grape’s Brix number by .55 approximates the potential alcohol content of the wine.

Brut. French term for the driest category of sparkling wine. See also Demi-sec, Sec.

Case. A carton of 12 bottles of wine (750 mL each). A magnum case contains six 1.5 L bottles. Most wineries will offer a discount if you purchase wine by the case (or sometimes a half case).

Cask. A synonym for barrel. More generally, any size or shape wine container made from wood staves.

Cellaring. Storage of wine in bottles for aging. The bottles are laid on their sides to keep the corks moist and prevent air leakage that would spoil the wine.

Champagne. The northernmost wine district of France, where the world’s only genuine Champagne is made. The term is often used loosely in America to denote sparkling wines.

Cloudiness. The presence of particles that do not settle out of a wine, causing it to look and taste dusty or muddy. If settling and decanting do not correct cloudiness, the wine was badly made or is spoiled.

Complexity. The qualities of good wine that provide a multilayered sensory experience to the drinker. Balanced flavors, harmonious aromas or bouquet, and a long finish are components of complexity.

Corked. Describes wine that is flawed by the musty, wet-cardboard flavor imparted by cork mold, technically known as TCA, or 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole.

Crush. American term for the harvest season. Also refers to the year’s crop of grapes crushed for wine.

Cuvée. Generally a sparkling wine, but sometimes a still wine, that is a blend of different wines and sometimes different vintages. Most sparkling wines are cuvées.

Decant. To pour a wine from its bottle into another container either to expose it to air or to eliminate sediment. Decanting for sediment pours out the clear wine and leaves the residue behind in the original bottle.

Demi-sec. French term that translates as “half-dry.” It is applied to sweet wines that contain 3.5%–5% sugar.

Dessert wines. Sweet wines that are big in flavor and aroma. Some are quite low in alcohol; others, such as port-style wines, are fortified with brandy or another spirit and may be 17%–21% alcohol.

Dry. Having very little sweetness or residual sugar. Most wines are dry, although some whites, such as Rieslings, are made to be “off-dry,” meaning “on the sweet side.”

Estate bottled. A wine entirely made by one winery at a single facility. In general the grapes must come from the vineyards the winery owns or farms within the same appellation (which must be printed on the label).

Fermentation. The biochemical process by which grape juice becomes wine. Enzymes generated by yeast cells convert grape sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Fermentation stops when either the sugar is depleted and the yeast starves or when high alcohol levels kill the yeast.

Fermenter. Any vessel (such as a barrel, tank, or vat) in which wine is fermented.

Filtering, Filtration. A purification process in which wine is pumped through filters to rid it of suspended particles.

Fining. A method of clarifying wine by adding egg whites, bentonite (a type of clay), or other natural substances to a barrel. As these solids settle to the bottom, they take various dissolved compounds with them. Most wine meant for everyday drinking is fined; however, better wines are fined less often.

Finish. Also known as aftertaste. The flavors that remain in the mouth after swallowing wine. A good wine has a long finish with complex flavor and aroma.

Flight. A few wines—usually from three to five—specially selected for tasting together.

Fortification. A process by which brandy or another spirit is added to a wine to stop fermentation and to increase its level of alcohol, as in the case of port-style dessert wines.

Fruity. Having aromatic nuances of fresh fruit, such as fig, raspberry, or apple. Fruitiness, a sign of quality in young wines, is replaced by bouquet in aged wines.

Fumé Blanc. A wine made with Sauvignon Blanc. Robert Mondavi coined the term to describe his oak-aged Sauvignon Blanc.

Green. Said of a wine made from unripe grapes, with a pronounced leafy flavor and a raw edge.

Horizontal tasting. A tasting of several different wines of the same vintage.

Late harvest. Wine made from grapes harvested later in the fall than the main lot, and thus higher in sugar levels. Many dessert wines are late harvest.

Lees. The spent yeast, grape solids, and tartrates that drop to the bottom of the barrel or tank as wine ages. Wine, particularly white wine, gains complexity when it is left on the lees for a time.

Library wine. An older vintage that the winery has put aside to sell at a later date.

Malolactic fermentation. A secondary fermentation that changes harsh malic acid into softer lactic acid and carbon dioxide. Wine is sometimes inoculated with lactic bacteria or placed in wooden containers that harbor the bacteria to enhance this process. Often referred to as ML or malo. Too much malo can make a wine heavy.

Meritage. A trademarked name for American (mostly California) Bordeaux blends that meet certain wine-making and marketing requirements and are made by member wineries of the Meritage Association.

Méthode champenoise. The traditional, time-consuming method of making sparkling wines by fermenting them in individual bottles. By agreement with the European Union, sparkling wines made in California this way are labeled méthode traditionelle.

Mouthfeel. Literally, the way wine feels in the mouth.

Must. The slushy mix of crushed grapes—juice, pulp, skin, seeds, and bits of stem—produced by the stemmer-crusher at the beginning of the wine-making process.

Neutral oak. The wood of older barrels or vats that no longer pass much flavor or tannin to the wine stored within.

New oak. The wood of a fresh barrel or vat that has not previously been used to ferment or age wine. It can impart desirable flavors and enhance a wine’s complexity, but if used to excess it can overpower a wine’s true character.

Nonvintage. A blend of wines from different years. Nonvintage wines have no date on their label.

Nose. The overall fragrance (aroma or bouquet) given off by a wine.

Oaky. A vanilla-woody flavor that develops when wine is aged in oak barrels. Leave a wine too long in a new oak barrel and that oaky taste overpowers the other flavors.

Organic viticulture. The technique of growing grapes without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or fungicides.

Oxidation. Undesirable flavor and color changes to juice or wine caused by too much contact with the air, either during processing or because of a leaky barrel or cork.

pH. Technical term for a measure of acidity. It is a reverse measure: the lower the pH level, the higher the acidity. Most wines range in pH from 2.9 to 4.2, with the most desirable level between 3.2 and 3.5.

Phylloxera. A disease caused by the root louse Phylloxera vastatrix, which attacks and ultimately destroys the roots. The pest is native to the United States; it traveled to France with American grapevines in the 19th century and devastated nonresistant vineyards.

Pomace. Spent grape skins and solids left over after the juice has been pressed, commonly returned to the fields as fertilizer.

Racking. Moving wine from one tank or barrel to another to leave unwanted deposits behind; the wine may or may not be fined or filtered in the process.

Residual sugar. The natural sugar left in a wine after fermentation, which converts sugar into alcohol. If the fermentation was interrupted or if the must has very high sugar levels, some residual sugar will remain, making a sweeter wine.

Rhône blend. A wine made from grapes hailing from France’s Rhône Valley, such as Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, or Viognier.

Rosé. Pink wine, usually made from red-wine grapes (of any variety). The juice is left on the skins only long enough to give it a tinge of color.

Rounded. Said of a well-balanced wine in which fruity flavor is nicely offset by acidity.

Sec. French for “dry.” The term is generally applied within the sparkling or sweet categories, indicating the wine has 1.7%–3.5% residual sugar. Sec is drier than demi-sec but not as dry as brut.

Sediment. Dissolved or suspended solids that drop out of most red wines as they age in the bottle, thus clarifying their appearance, flavors, and aromas. Sediment is not a defect in an old wine or in a new wine that has been bottled unfiltered.

Sparkling wines. Wines in which carbon dioxide is dissolved, making them bubbly. Examples are French Champagne, Italian prosecco, and Spanish cava.

Sugar. Source of grapes’ natural sweetness. When yeast feeds on sugar, it produces alcohol and carbon dioxide. The higher the sugar content of the grape, the higher the potential alcohol level or sweetness of the wine.

Sulfites. Compounds of sulfur dioxide almost always added before fermentation to prevent oxidation and to kill bacteria and wild yeasts that can cause off flavors.

Sustainable viticulture. A viticultural method that aims to bring the vineyard into harmony with the environment. Organic and other techniques are used to minimize agricultural impact and to promote biodiversity.

Table wine. Any wine that has at least 7% but not more than 14% alcohol by volume. The term doesn’t necessarily imply anything about the wine’s quality or price—both super-premium and jug wines can be labeled as table wine.

Tannins. You can tell when they’re there, but their origins are still a mystery. These natural grape compounds produce a sensation of drying or astringency in the mouth and throat. Tannins settle out as wine ages; they’re a big player in many red wines.

Tartaric acid, Tartrates. The principal acid of wine. Crystalline tartrates form on the insides of vats or barrels and sometimes in the bottle or on the cork. They look like tiny shards of glass but are not harmful.

Terroir. French for “soil.” Typically used to describe the soil and climate conditions that influence the quality and characteristics of grapes and wine.

Varietal. A wine that takes its name from the grape variety from which it is predominantly made. According to U.S. law, at least 75% of a wine must come from a particular grape to be labeled with its variety name.

Veraison. The time during the ripening process when grapes change their color from green to red or yellow and sugar levels rise.

Vertical tasting. A tasting of several vintages of the same wine.

Vinification. The process by which grapes are made into wine.

Vintage. A given year’s grape harvest. A vintage date on a label indicates the year the wine’s grapes were harvested rather than the year the wine was bottled.

Viticulture. The cultivation of grapes.

Woody. A negative term describing excessively musty wood aromas and flavors picked up by wine stored in a wood barrel or cask for too long.

Yeast. A minute, single-celled fungus that germinates and multiplies rapidly as it feeds on sugar with the help of enzymes, creating alcohol and releasing carbon dioxide in the process of fermentation.

Zymology. The science of fermentation.