Today, Sept. 23, Jancis Robinson announced the winners of this year’s contest. I did not make the top three of the vote getters for the People’s Choice, which was won by Diana Hawkins whose essay I enjoyed so much I had my college students read it.
Santa Barbara County AVAs in order of addition: 1 = Santa Maria Valley; 2 = Sta Rita Hills; 3 = Ballard Canyon; 4 = Happy Canyon; 5 = Los Olivos District; 6 = Santa Ynez; 7 = Alisos Canyon; move your mouse onto the map to see the key
While most mountain ranges snake south to north paralleling the ocean, in California’s Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, the Transverse Range is exactly that — crosswise, or perpendicular to the Pacific and running west to east. This anomaly is what makes Santa Barbara AVAs special: air off the cold Pacific Ocean rushes east, cooling inland valleys to make them habitable for vines, and closer to the coast, to provide a cool climate terroir that produces stellar Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as well as spectacular Syrah, gorgeous Grenache, and captivating Cabernet.
AVA stands for American Viticultural Areas, and indicates an appellation of origin, a specific region that offers unique or special characteristics. The US has 260 AVAs with over half of them (142) in California. Within an AVA, sub-AVAs further differentiate, and often particular grapes prevail. Obtaining an AVA is complicated, complex, time consuming; only the truly devoted will succeed in proving the uniqueness of the terroir: geography, topography, climate, geology and more factors go into proving the distinctness of an area.
“We have been able to read about organic viticulture in Crete, sheep and goats in Oregon, and even cider production in Napa,” write the editors. Continue reading →
2018 Orriu Cannnonau di Sardegna + curdbox cheese board supplies
What’s better than Italian wine paired with cheese? When it is delivered to your door! This month, the Italian Food Wine Travel group of writers is virtually visiting Sardegna, an island off Italy north of Sicily, with host Jill Barth. Read her invitation post here. Also known as Sardinia, the main grape grown there is Cannnonau which is also known as Grenache in France and Garnacha in Spain. So lucky me, when I said sure to sampling a pair of Italian wines with a selection of cheese and nuts and other supplies for a cheese board, one of the wines that arrived was a 2018 Orriu Cannnonau di Sardegna!
This year’s competition is inspired by the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation, and we were tasked with writing “An account of regeneration in the wine world, whether of a vineyard, a soil, a winery, a person, a family, a community, a business – anything in the world of wine involving genuine renewal.”Continue reading →
3 Sta Rita Hills Pinot Noir paired with smoked chicken, roasted vegetables, salad
In Sideways, Miles famously celebrates Santa Barbara County’s Pinot Noir. Like Miles, I’m a fan of the region’s Pinot Noir, and I find the wines from the Sta Rita Hills exceptionally fabulous. Since I’m writing about several organic Pinot Noir for the next edition of Slow Wine Guide, Continue reading →
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 