To the savvy wine consumer, reading a wine label can provide vital information, such as the varietal, producer, vintage, alcohol content and the appellation, which tells the place of origin of at least 85 percent of the grapes from which the wine was made.
The appellation is often a deciding factor in which wine to buy, as it may give a hint as to what the wine will be like. Or will it?
The word "appellation" often is used in the same context as "American Viticulture Area" (AVA), but they are not the same.
Appellation (with an upper case "A") is the formal term used to describe the European system of place identification, while appellation (lower case "a") is used informally and loosely in the United States to describe the place of origin of grapes.
An AVA is defined as a winegrape growing area with either political boundaries or climactic geographic boundaries. Every state is an AVA, and every county within every state is an AVA (political boundaries), said Burke Owens, associate director of wine for Copia, who moderated a panel that discussed the appellations of Sonoma County Sunday. "Not many wineries use it, but Napa County is an AVA," he said. It's common to find AVAs within a larger AVA -- Napa Valley is an AVA (climactic geographic boundary) within Napa County, and there are 14 AVAs (or sub-appellations, as they are often called) within Napa Valley.
Currently 169 climactic geographic AVAs have been approved in the United States, nearly 100 of them in California, and 29 more are going through the approval process.
Appellations described
Five vintners and viticulturists participated in the Copia panel and described some of the Sonoma County appellations, and it was evident that each appellation had something different to offer. "No single flavor profile exists across the county," said Roger Rosenblum, of Rosenblum Cellars.
They agreed that winemaking styles will vary -- "You can do different styles from the same grapes by using different winemaking techniques," Jim Young, of Robert Young Vineyards, said. "The style depends on the location -- we couldn't make chardonnay like (those in) the Russian River Valley." His winery is in the Alexander Valley appellation.
Sonoma County, which has 12 AVAs, is about twice the size of Napa County in total area, and has about 60,000 acres planted to wine grapes, compared to Napa County's 48,000. More than 1,100 growers provide grapes to nearly 200 wineries in Sonoma County, plus wineries in other counties.
Sonoma County has cooler climates toward the west (near the ocean) and to the north, and varietals such as pinot noir and chardonnay grow well there, while the areas toward the east and south tend to be warmer, and varietals lean toward the standard Bordeaux grapes.
Russian River fog
"The unifying factor in the AVA is fog," said Rod Berglund, winemaker for Joseph Swan Vineyards, the panelist who spoke about the Russian River Valley. "Without the fog we wouldn't have the extensive growing season. We have diverse soils," he added. "We have a saying, 'If you don't like the soil, walk across the vineyard.'"
He said the boundaries of the AVA were re-drawn recently so a few additional wineries located outside the boundaries that use grapes grown within the AVA could be included. To be called estate wines, the rules set down by the Alcohol and Tobacco Trade and Tariff Bureau (TTB -- formerly the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) require that the winery must be in the same AVA where the grapes are grown.
While the Russian River Valley is best known for its pinot noirs and chardonnays, Berglund said some excellent syrahs are coming out of the area.
Don Williams, viticulturist with Ravenswood Winery, represented the Sonoma Valley AVA, which runs from Carneros almost to Santa Rosa, and includes Bennett Valley, Sonoma Mountain and Carneros. "Sonoma Valley looks similar to Napa Valley," he said, referring to its long and narrow configuration.
But they differ somewhat in climate. Sonoma Valley gets cooler as you go north," he said, "while Napa Valley gets warmer. As you go up (Sonoma) Valley, you get rolling hills, unlike Napa Valley," where it's flatter. He said days are moderately warm, with cooler marine-influenced nights.
To demonstrate the variety of soils found in Sonoma Valley, Williams showed the audience some core soil samples he had taken, a dramatic way of showing the contrast and diversity found there.
Rockpile is rocky
The Rockpile AVA was represented by Rosenblum, whose winery gets some highly-rated zinfandel and petite sirah from the area. Rockpile, encompassing about 14,000 acres with only about 200 acres planted, was approved in 2002. The rest can't be planted, he said, because it's exactly as its name implies -- rocky. Grapes were first planted there in 1994.
Because it's elevated above the fog belt, it's cooler than the rest of the valley during the day and warmer than the rest of the valley at night, Rosenblum said. Asked to describe the flavors of zinfandel coming from Rockpile, he drew a laugh when he said, "Chocolate covered cherries."
Mike Sullivan, winemaker at Benovia Cellars and consulting winemaker to Hartford Court Winery, did double duty during the panel, speaking about both Carneros and Sonoma Coast. Carneros, he said, was identified as an AVA in 1983, and is known for its pinot noirs and chardonnays, although some wineries are making merlot and syrah from Carneros grapes. (Carneros is the only California AVA that crosses county lines -- part in Napa and part in Sonoma.)
Temperatures in Carneros vary considerably as one goes north, going from about 53 degrees at the bay to the 70s and even low 80s at the northern section of the appellation.
Sonoma Coast, he said, is the largest AVA, encompassing more than half a million acres and 7,000 planted acres, and it overlaps the Russian River Valley and Carneros AVAs. A slide he showed said, "The hottest new region in the county is, in fact, the coolest." Being so close to the coast, the area has twice the annual rainfall the inland AVAs receive, "but it's still warm enough to ripen grapes. Many vineyards go above the fog line," he said.
Napa Valley look-alike
Another Sonoma County AVA that resembles the Napa Valley in shape and size is Alexander Valley, which extends about 26 miles in length and is from 2 to 6 miles in width, extending all the way to the Mendocino County border, said Young. It resembles Napa Valley somewhat in grapes, too, as cabernet sauvignon and merlot wines from Alexander Valley have achieved some very high scores and are highly regarded by many critics.
Other AVAs in Sonoma County that weren't specifically discussed during the panel include Dry Creek, Knights Valley, Chalk Hill, Bennett Valley, Green Valley and Sonoma Mountain.
Asked if they believe applications to create more AVAs in Sonoma County will be filed, Young replied, "We will probably see more as we see more definition in wine (grape) growing areas." He said there is definitely a climactic difference in the Alexander Valley from the north to the south.
Williams expressed what seemed to be an opinion on the issue shared by many in the wine industry when he said, "There will be a point in time when it gets confusing. It can be overdone."
For information on AVAs, go to http://www.wineinstitute.org/ava/ This Web site is somewhat out of date (last edited in 1998) but it still gives a good description of AVAs and answers questions about them.
Another Web site that offers some good information is the TTB's site,
