Wineries &
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Carneros — Spanish for sheep — also known as Los Carneros, is the southern end of the wine country straddling the Napa and Sonoma valleys and is just north of San Pablo Bay. Carneros is the wine producing area closest to San Francisco.
Use the links in the blue column to the right to travel throughout the Wine Country to tour San Francisco or to book Discount Travel.
Carneros was made an official American Viticultural Area (AVA), in 1983. AVA districts are designated based on unique micro climate and soil conditions, what the French call terroir. Carneros may be the most deserving of all California AVA’s of that distinction. It is one of the few designated viticultural areas whose wines display a proven and distinct style.
Although there’s considerable variation in Carneros soil, it is predominantly a poor to moderately fertile, shallow clay composed of sediment from the bay marsh.
A section of marsh has recently been restored by Sam Sebastiani who owns the Viansa Winery and Italian Marketplace. You will find gourmet olive oils, cheese, wine and more - at Viansa Winery .
Straddling the mouth of two valleys rising away from the region combined with proximity to the bay gives Carneros a climate similar to San Francisco — temperate, without drastic variation through the year, with frequent night and morning fog and cool breezes escalating to strong winds as the two valleys heat up and rising air pulls the cooler air off the bay.
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In addition to being cooler, Carneros is also significantly drier than the Sonoma and Napa Valleys.
Soil and climate conditions mean that vines planted here will not be nearly as robust as those planted in the central Napa Valley for instance. The vines’ struggle to produce fruit, combined with a long growing season, which increases hang time, results in a low yield of highly concentrated fruit, with a naturally high acidity and relatively low sugar.
Struggle builds character and grapes grown in Carneros are highly sought after by wineries both within and outside the AVA.
The dominant grapes in Carneros are pinot noir and chardonnay, about one-third of which find there way into sparkling wine. The Carneros Quality Alliance (CQA) has done extensive testing that shows that Carneros chardonnay and pinot noir are distinct and unique from those in other areas studied.
These two grape varieties have been the basis for world-class sparkling wine made in the classic French method for many years. Carneros wineries Gloria Ferrer and Domaine Carneros both make sparkling wines in the traditional methode champenoise which you can read more about in my article on wine caves and champagne cellars.
Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves Vista Terrace provides a panoramic view of the southern end of the Sonoma Valley portion of Carneros. Domaine Carneros terrace has an equally impressive view of the southern area of the Napa Valley as you can see in my panoramas in the left column. Check out the Acacia Vineyards and Roche Carneros Estates panoramas also.
The Carneros appellation is also becoming known for Bordeaux varietals, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as Zinfandel.
A brief History of Carneros
Grape growing in Carneros dates back to the mid 19th Century. Wine historian William Heintz of Sonoma believes that Carneros may be the second oldest vineyard area in northern California.
In the late 1830s Jacov Leese planted a vineyard on the Huichica land grant. William H. Winter purchased 1,200 acres of the Huichica Rancho from Leese and by the early 1870s had built the first winery in Carneros, Winter Winery.
Although the wine industry thrived in Carneros in the mid-1800s, it was nearly destroyed by the combination of phylloxera, the 1906 earthquake, Prohibition — which lasted from 1919 to 1933 — and the Great Depression.
John Garetto established the first post-Prohibition winery in Carneros, at the present site of Bouchaine Vineyards, in 1935.
It wasn’t until the 1980s that Carneros popularity as a grape growing region returned. There were only 200 vineyard acres in the AVA in 1972. By 1992 there were over 6,000 and there seem to be more acres planted every time I visit the area.
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