californian wines

[banu]

We're going to visit CA for the first time..We'll be 2 weeks in different cities and be out for lunch&dinner
Any wine suggestions(red and white)typycal Californian?

Thanks,

Banu

[Paul H]

There are more than 1,000 wineries in California. Please be a little more specific in your request.

For instance, what cities will you be visiting? Are you interested in regional wines? What is your price range. Do you want to visit wineries? Will you be shopping for wine, or just ordering in restaurants? Are you interested in specific grape types? Are you coming from, or are you familiar with some other wine-producing region? And, so on and so forth....

[banu]

Paul;

We aren't visiting wine regions but We'll be in SF,Montrey/Carmel,S.Barbara,LA,S.Monica,S.Diego..
We would like to take home some bottles and also would like to taste in restaurants/bars.If they bring us a menu and we could order through your suggestions it will be easy and without a doubt.I print out replies from Steve and kc girl and will take with me.
Thanks for your helps

Banu

[e.d.]

Actually Monterey County is the third largest grower of wine grapes in California, and Santa Barbara County produces some of California's best Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. From around Santa Barbara, I would also recommend Fess Parker's Viognier--in fact most California Viogniers are (in my humble but jaded opinion) more interesting than the chards. The most distinctive, truly Californian wines are red Zinfandels. The grape produces great wines in California and little of interest anywhere else. It is hard to go wrong with a mid-priced red zin from Sonoma or Amador Counties, and they also produce nice ones around Paso Robles/Templeton. If you have time in the Monterey area, you can start in Carmel, taste wines around Carmel Valley Village and go up Carmel Valley road into the Salinas valley. The road terminates in the Greenfields area, which produces some of Monterey county's finest. There is also tasting around Santa Barbara. While in the Monterey area, be sure to eat at Passionfish in Pacific Grove, a restaurant with a wide and interesting wine list and incredibly good food to go with it.

[SLRossi]

I'd try to focus on some of the "smaller" producers, who not only make great wine, but that will be hard to find back home and envied by all your enophile friends (or fiends). I'm largely bored by CA chardonnay, and have a hard time shelling out the big bucks for well known cabs, while they are delicious. Biases now known, here ya go:

($ = Retail guesstimates)

Scherrer Winery
- Old and Mature Vines Zin 25
- Shale Terrace Zin 25
- Either cab, but the Scherrer Vineyard is my choice.45

David Cofarro
- This guy is a master "blender", and makes interesting wines like you've never had. Any will be delicous and most are only 20

Bonny Doon
- Le Cigare Volant 25
- Old Telegram 40

The Sierra Foothills is an excellent wine region that tourist generally miss. They are more affordable than many others too. Try zin, barbera, and syrah from the likes of Terre Rouge 15 - 40, Young's 25, and Renwood 15 - 35.

Alban
- Syrah (Reva and Lorraine vineyard for a mindblowing experience) 45
- Rousanne - The chardonnay antedote 35
- Viogner 25

These are the types of wines that I would take as a gift to a friend from another state. I could spout for days on other producers, especially the big boys. If you'd like to pinpoint further what you're looking for, I'd be glad to help.

[banu]

Thanks for this great information..

[fifelakepat]

I didn't post this original message, but I have been watching it with great interest. We also will be visiting CA this spring, first couple of days in Paso Robles next in Napa. I am much more interested in wineries tractors and barns than I am in their art work. If you wouldn't mind more specific suggestions please post them or email me.

[Nanaimo Bar]

In the Paso Robles region, I would recommend Castoro Cellars, Wild Horse and Peachy Canyon. Eberle is welcoming too, but for some reason (perhaps that they came last), I wasn't as impressed by their offerings. I procured quite a bit from the others.

As for Napa, there's so much to choose from. Schramsberg is interesting if you like a tour. You'd need to book that with them in advance and keep your eyes out for them as you drive.

[Paul H]

AS has been noted elsewhere, Santa Barbara is home to many of the most interesting wineries in the state. There is general consensus that the SB area produces the best Pinot Noir in California, and there are also very good Syrah and Chardonnay producers there.

If you want to take home something *really* special, look for "Ojai Roll Ranch Syrah 2000" Ojai also makes good Pinot Noirs. Other producers worth tracking down are Sanford, Foxen, Au Bon Climat and Qupe.

[PolarBear]

I would have to echo the thoughts of PaulH, SLRossi and e.d. Zinfandel is the choice for a truly unique to CA wine experience. There are some very nice ones from the Russian River and Anderson Valley areas as well. The Carneros region (southern end of the Sonoma and Napa Valleys) is known for great Pinot Noir but as mentioned, the central coast (Paso Robles and Santa Ynez areas) is as good if not better.

[sonal vaid]

respected sir/ madam
we are students of institute of hotel management, aurangabad india in collaboration with the taj froup of hotels. in my second year i am doing a project on californian wines and would be thankfull if you could send some material on the regions , their feature, location, vuineyard and wines, soil, climate, grape varieties.
looking forward to your reply

thanking you
sonal vaid

[mc michael]

Here's a start.

Link: http://www.robertmondavi.com/

[kc girl]

There are three "regions" of wine country in California (Napa Valley, Sonoma, and Mendocino) and they are on the Central California Coast) That is not to say there are other areas that produce the wine grape in California (heck, there's even a guy in Newport Beach, California trying his hand at it).

Personally, I like a buttery chardonnary, but many California wines are lighter than that and fruity.

I am not a great wine expert, but I would recommend for a good value and appeal, Hess Select Chardonnay.

Also, but not as easily found, try a wine from the Paul Hobbs Winery.

If you are actually going to be in the area of the wineries, know that many of them are open for tours and wine tasting. I found some great tasting affordables at Castoro Wineries in Templeton (near San Luis Obispo).

California wines are gaining more and more appeal with the experts as time goes on. They are competing with French wines admirably. Even the old standard Mondavi Vineyard is winning awards and should be tried.

Others I have had and like are from J. Lohr and
EOS. Both are a good value and appeal in my opinion. Some restaurants are known to mark up a bottle of wine from a retail $7.50 per bottle (like a Meridian chardonnay) and sell it for $29.00. Meridian is good, though.

Most I have mentioned are middle range in price.

Link: http://www.californiawineandfood.com/...

[Joan Kureczka]

Heck, there are more than three MAJOR regions for wine in California and they are not all on the coast! I'd guess the combined Sierra Foothills counties (Amador, El Dorado, and Calaveras) have many more wineries than the Monterey area. I can think of 20+ in the Plymouth area alone. And then there is the Santa Barbara Area, Mendocino, Temecula and more. These regions don't just have a few isolated wineries -- they are all major wine producing areas.

And all produce wines that are very characteristic and unique to their local climate.

[Steve Timko]

I like most anything with the Ferrari-Carano label on it. Their Chardonnay is a big, bold California Chardonnnay. Quite a contrast to a white burgundy. They have a great Italian-style wine call Siena. They also make good Merlot.
Robert Mondavi greatly influenced the California wine industry. It's tough to go wrong buying anything with his name on the bottle.
Rancho Zabaco has a Dancing Bull Zinfandel that's both delicious and cheap. Robert Parker praised the 2000 vintage. I like Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel.

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