The Finest Wines of California: A Regional Guide to the Best Producers and Their WinesUnconstrained by tradition or viticultural regulation, California winemakers enjoy a freedom that has resulted in a remarkable range of world-class wines. Beautifully illustrated with original photographs and detailed color maps, this guide introduces California wine by exploring the best that the state has to offer —from lush Sonoma Chardonnay to spicy Santa Barbara Syrah to heady Amador Zinfandel. At the heart of the book, award-winning wine writer Stephen Brook offers 90 intimate profiles of top producers—from Napa and Sonoma to the North and Central coasts, the Sierra foothills, and beyond. Brook also includes general information on California wine history, wine culture, grape varieties, and more. Throughout, he searches for the characteristics that make California wine distinctive despite its tremendous diversity—and finds the answer in the state’s unusual climate, especially the shifting interplay between fog and sun, as well as a lively and constant questioning of received ideas about viticulture, vine age, terroir, and winemaking techniques, all of which have helped winemakers to create complexity,individuality, and nuance in their wines. |
Contents
004005 ForewordPreface NB4 SP | 4 |
006051 17 Intro NB4 SP | 6 |
052061 8 Mendocino NB4 SP | 52 |
062173 9 Napa NB6CX3 SP | 62 |
174237 10 Sonoma NB4 SP | 174 |
238243 11 Sierra Foothills NB4 SP | 238 |
244253 12 Santa Cruz NB4 SP | 244 |
254261 13 Monterey NB4 SP | 254 |
262281 14 San Luis Obispo NB4 SP | 262 |
282303 15 Santa Barbara NB4 SP | 282 |
304307 16 Others SUBUS SP | 304 |
308315 17 Vintages NB4 SP | 308 |
316319 18 Top100 US NB4 SP | 316 |
320 Acknowledgments NB4 SP | 320 |
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The Finest Wines of California: A Regional Guide to the Best Producers and ... Stephen Brook No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
acidity acres aged alcohol Alexander Valley Anderson Valley Area under vine aromas Average production balanced barrels barriques Benziger Bien Nacido biodynamic black-currant nose black-fruit bottles bought Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon California Carneros Cellars Chardonnay Chardonnay and Pinot cherry nose clones complex concentrated cool County Cuvée Dense Dry Creek elegant estate wines farming FINEST WINES Tasted finish flavors French oak fresh fruit full-bodied grapes Grenache growers harvest Howell Mountain intense juicy label length lush malolactic fermentation Mayacamas Medium-bodied Mendocino Merlot Mondavi Mourvèdre Napa Valley Oakville oaky nose opulent palate Paso Robles Petite Sirah Pinot Noir planted produce Ranch range red-fruit replanted Rhône varieties Rich Ridge Riesling ripe ripening Roussanne Russian River Valley Rutherford Sangiovese Sauvignon Blanc soils Sonoma Coast spicy Stags Leap style stylish Suave supple sweet Syrah tannins tasting room texture toasty Vineyards Area vintage Viognier viticulture winemaker winery WINES Tasted 2009 yeasts Zinfandel