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HADM 4300 **This is the first two pages only**
Professor Stanley
Fall 2016
Week 7: Lecture 1 of 1
Wednesday, October 5th
Lecture Key Words: American Viticultrual Areas (AVA), 1976 Paris Tasting, Phylloxera, varietal,
generic, proprietary, California, county, AVA, vineyard, estate-bottled, produced and bottled by, vintage
dated, bottled by, cellared by.
1.
2.
Intro to North American/California Wines.
1. The wine-making world mainly consists of Europe, New Zealand, Australia, North
America, South America and South Africa.
2. The US is the fourth largest producer of wine, behind Italy, Spain and France.
1. The top three switch positions all the time, but the US stays solidly fourth.
3. California produces 85% of all wine in the US.
1. This is down 5% from 2014.
4. North America was known as “vinland” due to its native species of grapes.
1. Vitis Labrusca and Vitis Riparia were found in North America.
2. They had a “foxy”, animalistic, and odd taste.
5. In 1619, vitis vinifera was successfully planted in New York, near where NYC is today.
6. In 1779, missionaries brought the criolla grape to California.
1. The grape grows like a weed, and requires a lot of maintenance.
7. Throughout the 1830s-50s, vitis vinifera vines were brought to California.
California At A Glance.
1. California is a very large state with lots of different climates and areas that impact grape
growing.
2. It is influenced heavily by the Pacific Ocean, which has a cool current that originates in
Alaska. Some parts of California are cooler.
1. Los Angeles is warmer than San Francisco, for example.
3. California also has mountain ranges, the Sierra Nevada area, etc.
4. The valleys, especially the central ones, are affected by a cool mountain breeze. This
breeze produces fog, which is key to grape-growing in that area.
5. The fog cools the vines down. This is great because the weather in the area is warm to
hot, which can impact grape growing.
1. The fog acts like a blanket. Fog is extremely important to the California grape
growing climate**
2. This is why Chardonnay and Pinot Noir can be successfully grown, even though
they are normally cool-climate grapes.
6. Cabernet Sauvignon can be grown in warmer valleys.
7. California is America’s top wine producer. It makes 85% of all US wine.
1. It exports 51 million cases to 138 different countries.
2. This is a 1.6 billion dollar industry.
8. There are over 4,600 bonded wineries in California, totaling to over 608,000 acres of
wine grapes.
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1. Wine grapes are grown in 49 out of 58 counties.
9. There are now 138 approved American Viticultural Areas (AVA). throughtnote.com
1. AVAs are the US government’s approved area.
2. This identifies where the grapes are from.
3.
3.
It is not regulated like an AOC in France. AVA’s are not overseen that tightly –
there are no regulations on date of harvest, types of grapes grown, yield
amounts, etc.
4. That’s why there are over 110 grape varietals in the state.
Historical looks at California wines.
1. There are many noted pioneers that brought wine to CA.
2. There was a distinct European influence, especially French, Italian, German, and Spanish
origins.
3. Father Junipero Serra, who was sainted last year by the Pope, was the first well known
wine pioneer in CA.
1. As missionaries were being established along the CA coastline, Father Serra was
planting grapes along with it.
2. 1779 is the first recorded instance of a vineyard being planted, at San Juan
Capistrano Mission. It was Mission Grape, otherwise known as Criolla.
4. Jean Louis Vignes was another noted pioneer, who brought over Cabernet Sauvignon and
Bordeaux in the 1830s.
5. In 1850 was the Gold Rush, which heavily influenced wine culture in CA.
1. Everyone wanted alcohol, so people were encouraged to bring their native
drinks.
6. This inspire Count Agoston Harazsthy, who began importing wine cuttings from Europe
for Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma.
7. In 1861, Charles Krug starts a winery in St. Helena.
8. The 1870s saw a lot of activity. The German born Beringer brothers started Beringer
wineries in Napa.
1. Gustav Niebaum, a Finnish sea captain, starts the Inglenook Winery in
Rutherford.
9. By the 1880s, there were over 400 different grape varieities.
10. Many well-known brands were established: Simi, Swiss Colony, Mayacamas, etc.
11. At this time, fortified wines are the most popular but table wines do exist.
12. There were two major setbacks for the US wine industry in the late 1800s/early 1900s.
1. A root louse called Phylloxera and the Prohibition in the 1920s.
2. Phylloxera, a root eating louse, destroyed around 250,000 acres.
3. The Prohibition outlawed alcohol, which isn’t great for wine businesses.
1. This was repealed in 1933.
13. E&J Gallo Wineries and Beaulieu Vineyards (BV) started to make waves.
14. From BV, Andre Tchelistcheff elevated CA wine status.
15. In the 1940-50s, CA was struggling to develop its wine markets and move from preProhibition fortified wines to more refine wines.
16. Soldiers returning from WWII began to demand fine wines leading to a shift in
production.
17. This revolution begins in the 1960s.
1. Robert Mondavi leaves Charles King. This is huge since he’s the guy who
revolutionized modern California wines. He's the godfather of modern wine in
CA.
2. Warren Winarkski starts Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars.
3. Joe Heitz starts Heitz Cellars/Martha’s Vineyard.
18. The 1970s saw an increase in participants – multimillionaires began changing careers and
getting into the wine business.
1. Notable examples are Gil Nickel, Firestone, and Tom Jordan.
19. The 1976 Judgement of Paris was between Stags Leap Wine Cellars and Chateau
Montelena, who beat the first growths of Bordeaux and the Grand Crus of Burgundy.
1. This was crazy – no one thought that CA would beat France.
20. 1980s became the decade of the winemakers.
1. They were UC Davis trained, and were science and technology driven.
2. Mergers and acquisitions were huge.