Falstaff Magazin International Nr. 1/2022

wine / CALIFORNIA

wine / CALIFORNIA Californian red wine, especially from Napa Valley, has a certain image. The wines are thought of as big, bold, sometimes even brash – and sinfully expensive. But while they undoubtedly speak of Californian sunshine, they come with more nuance than they are given credit for. They are joined by equally expressive reds from Sonoma and the Central Coast. The winemakers and estates may not look back at centuries of tradition, but they are at the cutting edge of winemaking. Because their wines are valued in the market, they can afford to lavish care on vineyards, invest in progress and attract talent. They are also dealing with a changing climate and are re-assessing what it means to make wine in California – in all their numerous styles and philosophies. We are here to trace what makes these THERE IS THE CRU- CIAL INFLUENCE OF THE COLD PACIFIC AND ITS CLIMATIC INTERPLAY WITH THE INLAND HEAT. wines so unmistakeably Californian – because authenticity and sense of place are the cornerstones of fine wine. We find much to discover and rediscover in the Golden State. THE PLACE AND ITS PAST California’s coastline spans 1,350km/840 miles – longer than Italy’s boot. Its wine country covers just over eight degrees of latitude from its southernmost point in San Diego to its northernmost outpost on Lake Trinity. Then there is the crucial influence of the cold Pacific Ocean and its climatic interplay with the inland heat. In the numerous valleys along the coast and inland where both these elements are moderated by topography, read mountain ranges and their varying altitudes, vines thrive. That this land was destined for viticulture was as evident to Spanish Inset above: The Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa Valley. Below: The Pacific Ocean and California’s mountainous, coastal terrain are key elements in the different styles of wine that are made. 18 falstaff mar – jun 2022

The harvest crew at Ridge Vineyards picks grapes into small crates, so they won’t be crushed by their own weight and will arrive in the winery in pristine condition. Photos: To Kalon, Ridge Vineyards, Napa Vintners/Bella Spurrier, Getty Images/Adam Kaz missionaries in the 18th century as to the scores of European immigrants who arrived in the 19th century. By the turn of the 20th century, there was a thriving and professional Californian wine industry: in the late 1850s there were 2,407ha/5,948 acres of vines in California, by 1914, that had swelled to 121,114ha/299,280 acres. Then came Prohibition. Ratified in 1919, the Volstead Act came into force in 1920 and was not repealed until 1933. After this disruptive blow, new pioneers emerged who set the course. André Tchelistcheff in the 1940s and 50s, Robert Mondavi and Paul Draper in the 1960s, Warren Winiarski, Jess Jackson and many more in the 1970s and 80s. PARIS, PARKER & CULT WINES A turning point came in 1976, when the late British merchant Steven Spurrier staged a comparative blind tasting in his Paris wine shop, pitting the best French wines against a range of then unknown Californian wines. To their horror, famous French critics scored the Californian wines higher than their homegrown classics. The story was covered by Time magazine and all of a sudden California was no longer an arriviste – it had arrived. At the time, California was still planted to a wide mix of grape varieties – suited to the land or not. But the ‘Judgement of Paris’, as it became known, along with another key Steven Spurrier‘s ‘Judgement of Paris’ in 1976, changed the course of Californian wine. figure, changed the California wine industry: an American critic called Robert Parker. His rise in the 1980s coincided with California’s – and his love for ripe, opulent wines soon made itself felt. A third element was also decisive: many vineyards had been planted on rootstocks that were not resistant to the phylloxera pest, thus when vineyards had to be replanted in the 1980s, more often than not they were planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. In the 1990s, the phenomenon of the cult wine was born: fine wines, usually Cabernet Sauvignon-based, made in tiny quantities and initially released at expensive but still affordable prices, received top scores and sold out immediately. You were either one of the lucky early subscribers or had to languish on a waiting list for years. Prices went into the stratosphere, many jumped on the bandwagon and California gained its reputation. CALIFORNIA TODAY Today, the long shadow cast by the 1980s, 90s and 2000s is waning and California, < mar – jun 2022 falstaff 19