California is the largest and most important wine region in the United States. It represents the southern two-thirds (850 miles or 1,370 kilometers) of the country's west coast. (Oregon and Washington make up the rest. ) The state also spans nearly 10 degrees of latitude.
With its mountains, valleys, plains and plateaus, California's topography is as Complex as its Climate, offering winemakers a bewildering array of terroirs. California wines have only gained worldwide recognition in recent decades (especially after the 1976 Paris ruling). However, the state's wine history goes back more than 200 years. European vines were first planted in the 18th century, when settlers and missionaries moved up and down the West Coast.
Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly, but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet Sauvignon, which means that it is planted as far north as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.
red wines from the region of California go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, veal or game (deer, venison) such as recipes of thai beef skewers, chicken supreme with morels or gigolette of rabbit.
For many, the appeal of modern-day Napa Cabernet is found in its unabashed excess. The Napa Valley, after all, is epitomised today by bold, fruity wines with an over-the-top ripeness, alcohol and muscularity. However, a recent retrospective tasting spanning 50 years of production from Bella Oaks Vineyard was a thrilling reminder that historically, a very different style of Napa Cab existed. And while climates have changed and winemaking styles may shift, beneath the excess, Napa is still a place ...
In the produce aisle of most US supermarkets, choices are clear: the organic section is to the right, or at the very least, organic items are identified on packaging or shelf-talkers. Shoppers willing to pay a few cents more per pound for broccoli grown without synthetic chemicals know where to reach. In the wine aisle? Not so much. There’s more than a bit of confusion, to date at least, with little-understood labels announcing wines are certified sustainable or made from organic grapes. Scroll ...
Having left the ranks of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) in 2008, Ukraine has again joined the leading intergovernmental institution. This brings the total number of member countries up to 49. The renewed membership is effective from 30 October and was formalised on Friday 4 November at the OIV’s General Assembly in Baja California, Mexico. The plenary session, which closed the institution’s 43rd annual congress, had its most symbolic and heartfelt moment when the Ukrainian ...
