Right: Wine map of Washington

The 1960s saw the flowering of a new winemaking region in a very unexpected locale: Washington State, USA. Though near latitudes (46-47 degrees) that encompass two of the great French wine regions, Bordeaux (44.5 degrees) and Burgundy (47 degrees), Washington’s vineyards also experience cold and sometimes rainy falls and winters. Less than ideal conditions for grapes at the end of their ripening season.

But because of their far north latitude, those vineyards benefit from up to two more hours of sunlight per day (17.4 hours) during the growing season than does Northern California. And, fortunately, east of the Cascade mountains rainfall is modest, averaging less than 10 inches per year. Low precipitation and humidity help minimize mildew and diseases ruinous to vines and their fruit.

The climate in Washington’s wine-grape growing sub-regions varies substantially from the mild Puget Sound to the scorching Tri-Cities where summertime temperatures often hover above 100F (23.5C) The former, though, doesn’t enjoy the ‘rain shadow’ effect created by the Cascades and only 1% of the state’s output is achieved there.

The remaining 99% east of the Cascades grows in seven of the state’s eight official appellations, among which are Yakima, Walla Walla and the Columbia Gorge.

First planted in 1825 by French, German and Italian immigrants the region languished for over a century and a half. But commercial production ramped up in the mid-1980s to the point that its production is now second only to California’s, harvesting 116,760 tons on over 30,000 acres. Combined, Washington’s wineries produce 16.5 million gallons per year.

The growers here had to develop new techniques to support the fruit in the near-desert conditions of eastern Washington. And adapt they did, with eye-dropper irrigation which gives the vines just enough water to stay healthy, but not enough to pump up the grapes and dilute their flavor. Fortunately, the Snake, Columbia and Yakima rivers provide ample water through an extensive natural aqueduct system.

Some winters their efforts are challenged when the Columbia Valley’s cold sends vines dormant. The growers respond by planting vines on their own roots rather rootstock, which allows it to produce a crop the following year.

They benefit from nature as well, though. Thanks to geologic developments in the Pasco Basin, large deposits of silt and sandy loam help produce the drainage essential to proper wine grape growing.

All the traditional varietals grow here, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Sangiovese reds. Whites also cover the bases with Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc in abundance. The whites in the region yield 30% more tonnage per acre than reds, with Riesling leading the pack at 6.2.

The Merlot produced in the Columbia Valley stands out, thanks to the more 50 degree temperature swing from the 90-degree days to the 40-45 degree nights. Those hot days ensure that grapes ripen slowly without producing excessive sugar, while the cool nights help produce abundant acidity.

Thanks to their creativity and hard work, the industry is now a $2.4 billion powerhouse employing more than 11,000 people at more than 360 wineries, up from a bare 19 in 1981. And it shows no signs of slowing down.

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Right: Wine map of the U.S.

In a state that produces 90% of all US wine, the vineyards of Sonoma and Napa in Northern California are justly famous. But they have no monopoly on quality, the wines from the newer Southern California wineries are an equal match for any of their northern sisters.

Most Southern California wine is produced in one of two areas: the wineries near Santa Barbara or those near San Diego, 100 miles north and south of Los Angeles respectively.

Each area has participated actively in the growth of the California wine industry which now ships over 450 million gallons a year to the US and elsewhere.

SANTA BARBARA

The east-west orientation of the coastal mountains forms valleys that open directly onto the Pacific Ocean. This produces a flow of fog and breezes that produce the conditions for growing world class varietals and wines.

Home to several micro-climates near the Pacific Coast and the Pala Mesa Mountains, the area enjoys moderate temperatures throughout the growing season, with warm days and cool nights. The environment provides favorable conditions for producing grapes with optimal sugar and acid levels.

The fifty mile stretch from Point Conception to Rincon form the longest east-west arrow of shoreline from Alaska down to Cape Horn. Here lie vines that grow on everything from wind-swept hillsides to rolling valleys where summer temperatures often hover around 100F (38C).

The climate allows working the vineyards year round, with pruning and weeding in winter, new planting in springtime, canopy management in summer and harvest in the fall.

The area mirrors to a large extent the Rhône Valley area of France and vintners have responded accordingly. One hillside vineyard resides 1,000 feet above sea level with northern exposure, making it ideal for the Rhône varietals grown here.

There is Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Sangiovese and Syrah — a cornucopia of European grapes. The wide variety is made possible by the numerous micro-climates of the region with occasional snow on some of the mountains where cool-climate Chardonnay does well and the heat soaking Syrah in others.

And never ones to take the easy path, growers even took on the notoriously difficult Pinot Noir to produce a wine luscious with strawberry and herbal tones.

Twenty-five years ago there were almost no vineyards in the area, but today wine is a $100 million business in the county, which include the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria valleys. These two areas alone grew to 8,000 acres under cultivation in just the twenty years between 1975 and 1995. In the five years following that 8,000 jumped to 18,000. Today there are over 21,000 acres of vineyards, over half of the grapes being shipped to winemakers outside the county.

TEMECULA

The friendly rivalry between Northern and Southern California is mirrored in the wine business. A young upstart, most of the southern vineyards didn’t exist twenty years ago. The first Temecula wines were produced in 1971.

The 1,400-foot Temecula plateau is nestled 22 miles from the Pacific Ocean between peaks of the Coastal Mountain range. The cool afternoon breeze helps keep the smog away and the unique micro-climate also enjoys a higher solar intensity than Napa Valley.

Temecula’s vineyards are irrigated from enormous underground aquifers that feed soils high in decomposed granite, which helps drainage and to keep it free of Phylloxera — an invasive insect that devastated entire European wine regions in centuries past and remains a concern today.

Not far away is the highest vineyard in California, Shadow Mountain, growing Cabernet Sauvignon in the mountains above San Diego at an elevation of 4,400 feet above sea level.

Everything grows here from Chardonnay and white Rhône to Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet and the Italian Nebbiolo harvested as late as November. The result is a wonderfully fresh fruit character without the woodiness common to other California regions.

The roots of Southern California winemaking go back almost 200 years when the padres of Mission San Juan Capistrano produced the first vintages. But today business is better than ever, with 1,800 acres in commercial vineyards, thanks to the partnership of sophisticated oenologists and passionate vintners.

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Right: Wine map of the U.S.

Among the AVA (American Viticultural Areas) in Oregon we count the Willamette Valley, Umpqua, Rogue and Illinois Valleys and parts of Walla Walla and the Columbia Gorge shared with Washington.

Making wine in Oregon continues to be a challenge, owing to it’s largely rainy climate, limited hours of sunshine, cooler temperatures and frequent frosts in the fall.

Owing to the large climate changes from year to year, vintage quality varies greatly. Some years produce a high-alcohol, below-average acidity fruit while others — owing to dry winters and wet springs — produce lower alcohol and varied flavor profiles. Still others see late season rain after intense summer heat, to produce concentrated flavors and smooth tannins.

The Oregon Pinot Noir stands out with its hard-earned, but well-deserved reputation. As far back as 1979 it has placed second or third in French Olympiad competition, against the powerhouse from Burgundy.

The Pinot Noir is fortunately an early-ripening grape, with the main production area being the Willamette Valley, just south of Portland.

For years known primarily for that Pinot Noir, Oregon’s wineries are branching out to new reds, while making better than ever whites. In good years the Pinot Noir makes smoky, earthy wines, but the Pinot Gris is quickly rising to compete favorably.

Others like the Cabernet Franc and Zinfandel grow only in the warmer Rogue Valley and Walla Walla, blessed with more sunshine.

Here also grows the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which are beginning to see the light thanks to the efforts of some of the risk-taking vintners who benefit from select warmer micro-climates.

In the southern areas, Zinfandel and Tempranillo are artfully managed. Even the vaunted Syrah is making a beginning, urged along by the region’s meticulous caretakers of the vine, who now have over 30 years of experience under their belts. From a small section on the south side of the Columbia River, has come the first major Syrah from the formerly unheralded area.

Experiments continue with Riesling and Gewürztraminer, with a bit of Sauvignon Blanc and even the little-known Muller-Thurgau. The Grenache, Lemberger, Sangiovese and even Nebbiolo are beginning to make an appearance.

With over 300 wineries and 500 vineyards covering over 13,000 acres the area has grown from its humble beginnings, when only 20 years ago there were only 47 wineries. It’s production is now fourth in the U.S., producing sales of over $200 million a year. Look for great things in the future.

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Right: Wine map of the U.S.

The terrain and climate of the wine areas of Northern California remind the visitor of nothing so much as rural France. But the scale is vastly smaller — Napa Valley is only 35 miles long and 5 miles wide, while Sonoma County covers 1,600 square miles along 60 miles of coastline — with only a few hundred wineries sited there. Farthest north is Mendocino County with 30 wineries of its own, whose 3,500 square miles of cool climate helps create Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Those wineries have had a hard struggle over the last two hundred years. Since Russian colonists planted vines in 1812, through the founding of the wine industry by Spanish Franciscans in 1823, up through Prohibition to today, vintners have made heroic efforts to produce wines that rival the best of France and Italy.

In the 1920s there were 256 wineries, but Prohibition reduced that to under 50. Fortunately, the region has recovered over the decades and is now thriving. In Sonoma County, roughly 150,000 tons of grapes are produced by 200 wineries, over half fewer than 20 years old, on a mere 49,000 acres.

The temperate climate, with moderate winters and warm to hot summers is perfect for growing a wide variety of native and imported wine grape species. The most common varieties are Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, with a healthy sprinkling of Merlot and Zinfandel.

From those grapes California wineries produced over 500 million gallons of wine in 2004 at a retail value of $15 billion, with the majority of that coming from Northern California. The total US production was 668 million gallons. The overall impact of the California wine industry on the state’s economy has been estimated as high as $45 billion.

Second only to Disneyland as a tourist attraction the Northern California wineries form part of a trade that attracts almost 15 million visitors per year.

No wonder when the area hosts the majority of California’s 96,500 acres of Chardonnay and almost 75 thousand acres of Cabernet Sauvignon to regularly produce award winning wines.

Whether one’s taste runs to the lower tannin, dark red Merlot with characteristics of black currant, or the spicy Syrah with characteristics of sweet blackberry and plum or the cherry and violet Pinot Noir, a lover of red will find something to suit from among California’s many offerings.

But those fond of white needn’t feel left out where the buttery Chardonnay or the delicate Riesling with hints of peaches and apricots compete favorably with those of France and Germany. And the California Pinot Grigio, light and dry, or the sweet, fruity Chenin Blanc is as crisp as those from Italy or France.

So for those looking for a European experience in a California setting, the Northern California wineries await with their sure to please offerings.

Enjoy!

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Right: Wine map of the U.S.

In the US, California is justly famous for its wines. So famous, in fact, that it comes as a surprise to some to find out that New York has long been a serious competitor in terms of quality.

Winemaking in the New York region goes back centuries. Ten thousand years ago Ice Age glaciers carved out an ideal region for growing wine grapes. Then, when the glaciers melted, the waters’ effect on the air combined with the cliffs to funnel maritime breezes through the region to create the perfect climate.

Dutch settlers took advantage of this 350 years ago and planted vines on a small island later called Manhattan. The Dutch were the first to plant vinifera (the common European species that forms the basis of almost all French wine), but found it wouldn’t survive in this colder region. Eventually growers learned that vinifera could be grafted onto native rootstock and production began in earnest.

HUDSON VALLEY

Further north in the Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes areas the first commercial wineries planted vinifera in the 1860s and began an industry that thrives today. Twenty-five years ago there were 19 wineries, now over 150.

As one example, here on 500 acres 28 wineries grow 1,280 tons of Seyval, Chardonnay and on another 10,000 acres during a 200 day growing season come 61,500 tons Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and others from 58 wineries.

Among these is the famous Benmarl, America’s oldest winery which produces Seyval Blanc and Baco Noir.

LAKE ERIE

Arctic air masses flow toward the Lake Erie region, but get water conditioned by the Great Lakes and trapped by the Allegheny Plateau to buffer the vines from extreme temperatures.

The largest area outside California (if the Pennsylvania acreage is included), with 20,000 acres under cultivation the grape production is a whopping 121,697 tons. From the Labrusca varieties of Concord and Niagara are produced grape juice, Seyval and Riesling.

Although 90% of the region’s Concord grapes are used for grape juice, there are seven wineries that grow European varieties for vinification.

LONG ISLAND

Known as New York’s ‘Bordeaux’ region, Long Island is the newest and fastest growing wine area. About 160km (100 mi) east of New York City the island separates into the North Fork and the South Fork separated by the Great Peconic Bay. The Bay and the Atlantic Ocean moderate the temperature, creating favorable conditions for Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Though small at only 1,600 acres and 4,800 tons of grape production, the 24 wineries located here are producing award winning vintages.

NEW YORK STATE

In 2004, considered a light year, over $400 million of New York wine was sold, with an economic impact on New York State of $3.3 billion. The total area under cultivation is second only to California and produces not only Labrusca, but Baco, Aurora, Riesling, Chardonnay.

And now that regulations have changed to permit shipping of New York wine out of state to be sold by direct mail, that number will undoubtedly grow significantly. And thanks, not only to changing laws, but to the continual improvements made by New York’s dedicated vintners.

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