Wine regions can be confusing. What do they mean, and what do they really tell you about a wine? Well, the answer is complicated, and largely depends on where a wine is from. In most of the old world, the appelation system is very complex, and can actually tell you quite a bit about wines. For instance, only wines from certain grapes can be produced in and labeled as being from certain regions. An introduction to, for example, French or Italian wine regions, would be anything but brief or basic.
On the other hand, in most of the New World, appelations are really only about place. That is, in the US, the AVA (American Viticultural Area) literally only tells you where the grapes were grown. That being said, there are some general categories of wine which each area is known for.
First, a word on what an AVA is, and how they're structured. An AVA is a legally protected growing area for grapes. They work much like stacking dolls, although in some areas, they get even more complex. What that means is that California, yes, the entire state, is actually an AVA. A producer whose grapes all come from California can label their wine a "California" wine. Within that, there are several fairly large AVAs (North Coast, Central Coast, Sierra Foothills, South Coast,). Within each of these there are some moderate sized AVAs (Napa, Sonoma, Mendocina, Santa Barbara County, Temecula, etc.), and within these are yet smaller AVAs. Rutherford, for example, is within Napa, which is within the North Coast, which is within California. So in theory, the same wine could be labeled one of several ways. Generally speaking, the winemaker will choose the most specific AVA, although this might vary if, for instance, they are making a Pinot Noir in an area primarily known for Cabernet Suavignon, or if where they source their grapes or juice from varies from bottling to bottling.
Next, a word on California geography. If you folded a map of the world over the Atlantic Ocean, you'd notice that the state of California would land on, and stretch from, basically the Southern tip of Italy, through France, Spain, and Portugal, and about halfway up Germany. If you know just a bit about Old World wines, you'll know that this is basically the wine growing latitudes of Europe. California also has a tremendous amount of coastline, a lot of mountains, a lot of forests, lakes, rivers, valleys, and dessert. This creates a wide variety of climates, and can lead to some climates which don't necessarily directly correspond to their North-South equivalents in Europe, or areas which, because of coastal winds, valleys running perpendicular to or parallel to the coast line, etc. can be vastly different even though they are geographically very close. These areas have what are referred to as micro-climates. Microclimates are why it's useful to have so many AVAs within each other in California.
Now, let's get into some specific California wine regions, starting in the North, and talk about them and what wines they are known for. This does not mean a particular area can't produce other wines, or even other good or great wines, it only speaks to what they're best known for.
Mendocino County is one of the furthest North wine regions in California. Its climate is similar to Burgundy, and it is, likewise, known for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley are also fairly far North. They are also two of California's (in fact, the New World's) most established and oldest commercial wine regions. They are also known for their Pinots and Chardonnays. They are also (Napa in particular) known for their Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Sauv blends. Napa and Sonoma Chardonnays and Cabs tend to be heavily oaked, giving the Chardonnays a big, buttery flavor which separates them immediately from their Burgundy counterparts, and a the Cabs a huge body and a notable astringency, again, separating them from their European counterparts. Napa is also known for producing Bordeaux-style blends featuring Cabernet and Merlot, which stand up to their French counterparts in both taste and performance in competition. Many, although not all, of these blends are known as Meritage wines, a trademarked term meant to indicate a Bordeaux-style blend made outside of Bordeaux.
Within Sonoma County there is an AVA called Dry Creek which is known for producing amazing Zinfandel in warm years. This is a perfect example of a microclimate in one AVA setting it apart from its wider region.
Similarly, within Napa, there are AVAs which excel at certain types of wine, including some which make lovely Sauvignon Blancs.
Generally speaking, the Napa and Sonoma wine regions, and their wineries, are pretty well established. They tend to do a few things (Bordeaux blends, fruity pinot, oaked cabs and chardonnay) very well. They are known for those, and can charge a decent price for them. The risk of giving up a steady income to try something new doesn't seem worth it for a lot of producers, and most of the good wine from these regions fits into those categories.
The Central Coast is a great region, which, although close in latitude to the Rhone, Spain, and Italy, also features many valleys, running in different directions, and mountains and hills both along the coast and inland. This creates several micro-climates. Generally speaking, San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles are known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which thrive despite the Southern latitudes because the microclimate creates a reasonable amount of cloud cover, as well as very cool nights, and Santa Barbara County is known for the same varieties, as well as Syrah, both on its own and in Rhone-style blends.
That being said, the Central Coast is, as mentioned, full of micro-climates. Its wineries are also somewhat less established than their North Coast counterparts, and are thus willing to experiment a lot more. Literally, almost every variety of wine grape is grown in the Central Coast. Wines are blended in ways that mirror almost every major region in France, Italy, and Spain, as well as in some unique ones (using, for instance, a mix of Rhone and Spanish or Italian grapes). Central Coast wines tend to be somewhat more reasonably priced than their European and North Coast counterparts, are often just as great, and are usually more interesting wines. The Central Coast is also home to some of the newest AVAs in the country, regions which either just started producing wine, or just started producing wine that is both good enough and unique enough to merit their own recognized region.
Finally of note is that Central Coast wineries often are less tied to the "traditional" California methods. This to me is most obvious with their Chardonnay. While most North Coast Chardonnay will be heavily oaked, and very buttery, Central Coast Chardonnay shows a much wider variety. Some is oaked and buttery, some is 100% stainless, and very bright and fruity, and some falls somewhere in between.
The South Coast (most notably Temecula) is known primarily for its Syrah.
There are over 100 AVAs in California. If you're looking at a California wine on a shelf somewhere, and wondering where a particular AVA is, or if it fits in one of the major regions listed above, I recommend googling the specific AVA on the label, or checking this list from Wikipedia.
What's your favorite California AVA? Is there a particular region you'd like to know more about? Let me know in the comments!
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