I recently spent a week in California, courtesy of the California Wine Institute. This trip took me to the central part of the state, between Monterey and Santa Barbara, rather than the better-known wine regions like Napa and Sonoma. It's always a pleasure to venture more widely in California to be reminded of how varied the state and its wines are.
Most of the California whites widely available here are chardonnays (as are most of the whites produced in California), but on this trip I tasted some delicious sauvignon blanc, viognier, pinot grigio, riesling, chenin blanc, marsanne, muscat and grenache blanc, among others.
As for the reds, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and zinfandel are obvious, and syrah and pinot noir from California are pretty well known.
But how about grenache, cinsault, counoise, petite sirah, petit verdot and mourvèdre?
It's not that all California wineries are making wines from a wide range of grape varieties (as many Niagara producers do). Apart from the mammoth producers (Gallo, Mondavi) and even the mid-range wineries like Delicato, most California producers work with a quite restricted range of varieties. They seem more Old World in this sense, and that's odd because we tend to think of California as the epitome of New.
That's probably what makes California such an exciting wine region right now. It's going through a period of change and shaking free of any residual image as mainly a producer of wines for the mass market. Gallo and Mondavi have top-tier wines that deliver superb quality.
The range available regularly in Vintages releases and poured at the annual California Wine Fair speaks to the breadth of quality that's available.
There's also stress on raising awareness that California has many varied wine regions. Some are warm, others are cool, and many are known for specific varieties and styles. Napa Valley is associated with cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay, Russian River with pinot noir, and Paso Robles with syrah and other Rhune varieties.
Still, most of the California wines in the LCBO are labelled "California," rather than more specific American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), as officially recognized wine regions in the U.S. are known. (The AVA indicates where the grapes were grown.) Take Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon (Vintages Essential, $18.95, 738823). This excellent wine could be labelled for a smaller AVA, but the producer uses "California" so as to have flexibility in selecting grapes from anywhere in California, depending on the vintage.
Labelling with a smaller AVA, such as Paso Robles or Santa Ynez Valley, adds cachet to wine, and it's meaningful to wine consumers who like to know precisely where their wine is coming from. But for most wine lovers, the names of smaller regions can be confusing, and many people who like California wine might pass over one labelled "Santa Ynez Valley," not realizing it was from California.
So the drive to highlight California's smaller regions has its advantages and disadvantages. My advice: Drink California, and keep your eyes open for the wide range of varieties, styles and regions it offers.
Four California wines from the LCBO General List are featured this week.