Wine Country (California)
Wine Country is a wine region in Northern California. It is located north of San Francisco and consists of over 400, mostly based in Sonoma County and Napa County wineries. Among the most famous wine-growing areas in the region include Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley and Russian River Valley.
Breakdown by wine-growing areas
The wine region Wine Country is located in the counties of Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma - in some publications also still a part of Lake County will be added. In these counties are the following American Viticultural Areas ( AVAs ):
- Mendocino County: Anderson Valley, Covelo, Mendocino and Potter Valley.
- Napa County: Atlas Peak, Los Carneros, Mount Veeder, Napa Valley, Oakville, Rutherford, Saint Helena, Stags Leap District and Yountville.
- Sonoma County: Alexander Valley, Bennett Valley, Chalk Hill, Dry Creek Valley, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, Knight 's Valley, Los Carneros, Northern Sonoma, Rockpile, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma Mountain and Sonoma Valley.
- Lake County: Clear Lake, Guenoc Valley, High Valley and Red Hills Lake County.
Wine Country is thus a subset of the North Coast AVA, which in addition to Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma and Lake County also wine-growing areas in the counties of Marin and Solano.
Tourism
Tourists visiting the Wine Country and not just because of the wine, but also for hiking, biking or ballooning. In addition, the Wine Country is also known for its farmers' markets, the thermal baths and for its petrified forest.
A number of seasonal festivals attract tourists to the region, including:
- Napa Valley Mustard Festival: see the flowering of the vines planted between mustard annually since 1993 by the end of January to March throughout Wine Country activities around wine, culinary specialties and art instead.
- Sonoma Jazz Festival: Four-day jazz festival around the Memorial Day in late May. The event takes place in Sonoma in a several thousand persons which is tent.
- Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic: Once a year in July there is a hot air balloon event in Windsor.
- Sonoma County Harvest Fair: A festival held annually at harvest time in Sonoma County, held in Santa Rosa, in early October.
Among the negative aspects of tourism in the Wine Country heard that leading through Calistoga and Napa California State Route 29 on weekends - is often burdened by heavy traffic - especially in the summer months.
History
The beginnings and first boom during the Gold Rush
The beginnings of viticulture in Wine Country lie in the first half of the 19th century. 1823 founded the Franciscan priest José Altimira the mission San Francisco Solano, which later became the city of Sonoma. The missionaries operated cattle, built olives, planted vines and laid with the production of wine for liturgical purposes the foundation for today's wine production in the Wine Country. Unlike today, the main focus at that time on the quantity and not on quality. Contemporary travelers reported, the wine produced by the priests was of inferior quality, own, however, as sacramental wine and follows an ordinary aguardiente ( brandy).
The first private vineyard in Sonoma operation of the Mexican military commander of Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Northern California. In the course of 1834 commenced dissolution of the Spanish mission system he distributed a large part of its controlled secularized land to his relatives and friends. He kept the best lands, built in wine and won in later years at wine competitions at the California State Fair numerous awards.
A first boom time of the wine in Wine Country during the California Gold Rush 1848-1854. Among the immigrant to California gold miners were also many Italians and the French, who brought with them the knowledge necessary for the production of wine. Some of them realized that more money had to do with the sale of wine on gold mining, as created by the search for gold itself The gold rush caused by the population explosion beyond a sufficiently large market for the wine.
Agoston Haraszthy, a pioneer of the California wine industry
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