Relative to Europe’s multi-millennia wine historical past, California remains to be only a child. However whether or not or not France, Italy, and the remainder of the Euro cohort care to confess it, the grand Golden State has normal an equally commanding seat within the boardroom of storied wine areas. It’s the unquestioned and unequalled torchbearer for wine on the North American continent.
In 1976, Cali bested the French at their very own recreation, surprising the socks off the appalled French members of the blind tasting panel on the Judgment of Paris. Subsequent re-judgments of the identical wines through the years — through which the West Coast entries have been much more dominant — have solely additional cemented the truth that California has undeniably arrived regardless of the condescending noise from haters.
Instances proceed to alter, and California wine has modified with it. However just a few examples, outdated and new, stand tall above the gang for his or her distinction, ties to West Coast wine historical past, or simply plain outdated “wow, these items is uniquely particular.”
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We queried seven of America’s most knowledgeable wine professionals to listen to their nominees for the Mount Rushmore of California Wine. And as I ran a retailer specializing in small and iconic producers of California for the higher a part of a decade, I stuffed the poll field with my very own candidates as nicely.
What follows is a wall of greatness throughout the board, however usually for very completely different causes. With wine being such a dizzyingly complicated and various panorama — and wine professionals, nicely, predictably being wine professionals — the listing is peppered with esoteric ardour picks that fly nicely beneath the radar and barely, if ever, see vast publicity or recognition.
Additionally a enjoyable statement: The idiosyncratic perspective from every skilled relies on their particular function within the wine business. Surprisingly, not a single wine was talked about twice!
Take heed, fellow cork dorks. And you probably have the coin, be sure you search out these residing legends. Not all of them are prohibitively priced.
Notice: Some quotes have been edited for readability.
John Sumners
Drinks journalist and VinePair contributor; California and Portugal specialist; writer: “There’s Extra Than Port In Portugal: The Unpretentious Information to Portuguese Wine”
@grapeguzzling
Bedrock “The Bedrock Heritage” Crimson, Sonoma Valley: One way or the other, inexplicably, Morgan Twain-Peterson managed to outdo his justifiably worshiped father, Ravenswood founder Joel Peterson. The coed has now grow to be the grasp for all issues Zinfandel, outdated vines, and heritage vineyards. The Bedrock group continues to arrange and advocate for the safety of those threatened, culturally irreplaceable websites through the Historic Winery Society. However this one? This one is their child. The one they personal. The gnarled, historic vines they know just like the again of their hand. It’s liquid historical past and heritage. Take a sip, ponder all of the life’s work and multigenerational love that went into this land, and check out to not cry into your glass.
Ridge “Monte Bello” Crimson, Santa Cruz Mountains: Cali Cabernet has acquired quite a lot of flak recently — pretty or not — for its trendy homogeneity of favor and profile. However nobody can deny the distinctive greatness of this wine, its winery, and the general function that Ridge has performed in California’s historical past and in serving to to pioneer site-specific cuvées. Napa will get all of the love, and yeah, these wines are phenomenal as nicely. But in my humble opinion, this inimitable mountain magic is with out query probably the most uniquely necessary Cab-based wine within the Western Hemisphere. Nothing prefer it wherever lives as much as all of the hype, and nonetheless priced nicely under its Napa cult brethren.
Ramey “Hyde Winery” Chardonnay, Carneros: David Ramey is a legendary member of the Zelma Lengthy-mentored winemaking tree. Nicknamed California’s “Professor of Chardonnay” for his refinement of classical strategies within the state, he makes wine via a Burgundian lens for positive. However he additionally proudly embraces the wondrous expressiveness of California fruit — versus these winemakers misguidedly ashamed of its inviting glow. Hyde Winery was his O.G. bottling when placing out on his personal phrases in 1996, and it continues to drop jaws classic after classic. There’s simply one thing about his elegant means of chiseling Hyde’s ebullient fruit with out hiding its cheery heat. A touchstone of California Chardonnay in all its glory.
Melville “Property” Syrah, Sta. Rita Hills: It’s not well-known, nor historic, nor costly. However Syrah is my desert island crimson selection, and this can be a super-savory, gamey cool-climate instance that’d make Côte-Rôtie producers swoon. Western Santa Barbara is now revered for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, however it’s the Syrah (normally harvested in late November!) from these chilly, chalky soils that provides me goosebumps with each sniff and sip. Chad Melville continues to make what I contemplate California’s entry into the Syrah olympics. Once I’m again within the Golden State, it’s the very first thing I decide up.
Clara Klein
Lead sommelier, Sunday Vinyl
@clarantula
Dalla Valle “Maya” Crimson, Oakville, Napa Valley: The “Maya” wine from Dalla Valle is a big emblem of California wine tradition, representing innovation, legacy, and the pioneering spirit that has helped form Napa Valley’s fame on the worldwide stage. I used to be fortunate to work a small a part of the harvest just a few years in the past with the razor-sharp Maya and iconic Naoko. In 1987, Naoko and Gustav Dalla Valle expanded their unique winery by planting 5 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, naming it the Maya Block, and launched the primary “Maya” wine mix in 1988, combining Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The Maya Clone of Cabernet Franc, now proprietary to the property, originated from Mount Veeder however stays unidentified attributable to lack of early data. I’m frequently amazed by the pure deliciousness and complexity of this wine.
Michael Cruse “Ultramarine” Glowing Wine: Cruse fully redefined glowing wine manufacturing by specializing in the expression of a single winery web site and classic, impressed by small grower-producers in Champagne who prioritize terroir over mixing for a home model. Ultramarine is crafted with minimal intervention, utilizing ambient yeasts and conventional strategies like hand-riddling and disgorging to keep up purity and a robust sense of place. Besides, he at all times selects fruit from iconic California parcels of vines. It’s no surprise I save all of my powerful questions on glowing wine manufacturing for Michael when he involves city. Thank goodness he’s such a superb sport!
Âmevive “Ibarra-Younger Winery” Marsanne, Los Olivos District, Santa Ynez Valley: One of many first issues my boss Bobby [Stuckey] and I bonded over was each pouring ’80s-era Bob Lindquist’s Qupé Marsanne on a tasting menu someday throughout our profession. The enduring Ibarra-Younger Winery is a historic winery within the Los Olivos District AVA, initially planted by Charlotte Younger in 1971 and nonetheless owned by her daughters. Since Alice Anderson and her accomplice Topher de Felice took over in 2019, they’ve continued its legacy with holistic, regenerative natural, and biodynamic practices on these 10 acres of own-rooted vines. It’s unimaginable to see how Alice continues to honor the legacy of this parcel of land whereas respiration new life into its wines.
Littorai “One Acre Winery” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley: I might be remiss to not embrace the legendary Ted Lemon on this listing. Ted and Heidi’s journey started within the early Nineteen Nineties after Ted studied winemaking in Burgundy and labored with famend vignerons. Littorai pioneered by-the-acre contracts, selling balanced crop masses and inspiring natural and biodynamic winery administration, with half of their manufacturing now estate-grown or managed utilizing these environmentally aware practices. In 1993, One Acre was the primary vineyard-designated Pinot Noir that they ever produced and stays a wine that at all times appears to have its personal gravitational pull.
Charles Antin
International head of public sale gross sales and auctioneer, Zachys Wine Auctions
@charlesantin
Heitz “Martha’s Winery” Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa Valley: Since 1966, Heitz has been making this single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon of favor and sophistication. Napa wasn’t what it’s right this moment again then, so to have the foresight to bottle this as a standalone wine practically 60 years in the past is a real accomplishment. It’s far and away my favourite Napa Cabernet and probably the most distinctive — particularly if you happen to pop a bottle of the ’74.
Scar of the Sea “Bassi Winery” Chardonnay, SLO Coast: It’s at finest a cliche to name a California Chardonnay “Burgundy-like,” and at worst insulting to winemakers on each side of the equation. However what Mikey Giugni has completed along with his Bassi Chardonnay is to create one thing elegant, prolonged, persistent, and refreshing — a nod to the Outdated World however with California’s imprimatur.
Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain, Napa Valley: One of many first to make site-specific wines in Napa, Diamond Creek’s 4 wines (Gravelly Meadow, Crimson Rock Terrace, Volcanic Hill, and the uncommon Lake) have at all times impressed Bordeaux lovers, of which I rely myself one. Al and Boots Brounstein created the vineyard from nothing within the mid-Nineteen Sixties, when creating 4 wines from one 20-acre parcel simply wasn’t one thing that was completed. The way in which these wines age is proof that they knew what they have been doing: I just lately opened an ’84 Gravelly Meadow and it was the wine of the evening, subsequent to many very outdated Bordeaux.
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa Valley: How might the Mount Rushmore of wine be full with out the founding father of cult California? Since their first classic in 1992, made by Heidi Barrett, the model has grow to be synonymous (for higher or worse) with high-end Cabernet Sauvignon, and right this moment it’s continuously on the public sale block as one of many world’s costliest wines — and definitely Napa’s costliest. The factor is, it truly is that good. If you drink it, which is invariably occasionally, it’s dense however not overly so, prolonged, elegant, and ages unbelievably nicely.
Camille Lindsley
Beverage director and proprietor, HAGS NYC
@lees_sleaze
Au Bon Climat “Hildegard” Pinot Blanc/Pinot Gris/Aligoté, Santa Maria Valley: Jim Clendenen is inarguably one of many biggest minds of California Wine of the final 100 years. He was right down to earth, unpretentious, and making gorgeous wines which are (nonetheless!) modestly priced and ahead pondering, particularly for the SoCal space. Whereas ABC is thought for his or her lovely Pinots and Chardonnays, this wine to me encapsulated a referential aspect of ABC that highlights Clendenen’s pondering in creating the vineyard. Named after Emperor Charlemagne’s spouse Hildegard, who begged her husband to start out ingesting some white wines to keep away from staining his beard, this bottle is an ode to the non-Chardonnay white grapes of Burgundy. Not their most well-known bottling, however probably the most distinct and memorable wines from ABC. Whereas many wineries have made Burgundian-inspired wines in California, I’ve nonetheless by no means seen anybody make a wine like this!
Ashanta “Sankofa” Foraged Feijoa & Foraged Apples, Oakland/Occidental: New up-and-comers within the California wine scene, Will Basanta and Chenoa Ashton-Lewis of Ashanta Wines are crafting wines which are as scrumptious as they’re progressive. Made out of feijoa (a.okay.a. pineapple guava) and foraged apples, that is glowing, dynamic, and probably the most distinctive wines I’ve had popping out from the Golden State. Chenoa, a fifth-generation winemaker and fifth-generation Oakland native, grew up close to Bushrod Park, performed sports activities there rising up, and her grandparents attended Black Panther conferences at this identical park a long time earlier. Chenoa and Will observed feijoa bushes lining the blocks close to Bushrod Park and determined to make a glowing wine, co-fermented with foraged apples. The result’s magic — a wine the place the terroir, the story, and the style are unforgettable.
Cathy Corison “Kronos Winery” Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena, Napa Valley: If I needed to decide one basic Napa Cabernet, 10 out of 10 instances it might be Cathy Corison’s Kronos. Cathy is a residing legend of California wine and has constantly made attractive, well-crafted, timeless Napa Cabernet Sauvignons. The Kronos winery is Corison’s flagship — planted in 1971 and with many of the vines nonetheless remaining on their very own rootstock. The wine is distinctly Napa, however distinctly completely different in model than the various super-ripe, oaky Cabernet Sauvignons of the braggadocio stripe. Her wines are restrained however beneficiant, actual gems of Napa!
Scythian Wine Co. “Revolution Crimson” Zinfandel/Palomino, Cucamonga Valley: Speak about historical past in a bottle! Scythian Wine Co. is a collaborative challenge helmed by grasp sommelier and wine famous person Raj Parr, the Galleano household, and Abe Schoener. Amazingly, this winery, planted in 1912, has by no means been irrigated or chemically handled and virtually all the vines are over 100 years outdated. Oh, it’s additionally in the midst of Los Angeles! Previous to Prohibition, Los Angeles was slated to grow to be a serious wine epicenter of the state, and this winery is a remaining piece of that historical past many wine professionals, myself included, aren’t taught about when studying in regards to the state’s historical past. Prohibition is a wild time in American historical past and its impacts on wine tradition, particularly in California, can’t be understated. This wine is the embodiment of that historical past.
Matthew Horkey
YouTuber, wine author, and worldwide wine decide
@drmatthewhorkey
Small Vines Wines “Property” Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: Owned and operated by Kathryn and Paul Sloan, this small producer will make many a believer in Californian Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They make a number of single-vineyard choices, however the Property Pinot Noir is nicely value looking for out. Prior to now, the Pinot Noir from Sonoma was usually an excessive amount of of all the pieces for me — fruit, oak, and alcohol. This wine is something however that. It’s obtained the beautiful darkish fruit and fragrance of nice Pinot mixed with the leather-based and mineral notes one may anticipate in stellar Côte de Nuits. With the costs of West Coast Pinot persevering with to soar, scoop this one up whilst you can.
Zaca Mesa “Property” Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley: How is that this wine beneath $25? There’s no scarcity of nice Californian Syrah, and the bang in your buck in comparison with Cabernet is astonishing. Zaca Mesa is without doubt one of the oldest wineries in Santa Barbara County (lots of the area’s nice winemakers labored right here in some unspecified time in the future) and the primary to plant Syrah again in 1978. That is available and accessible out of the gate, and is harking back to a high-end Crozes-Hermitage with vibrant California fruit. It’s the proper wine to carry to a cocktail party or crack open at residence with a medium-rare steak.
Liquid Farm “Golden Slope” Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills: A small challenge by Jeff Nelson has gained important acclaim in the previous couple of years. He makes a slew of single-vineyard wines from a few of Santa Barbara’s high websites and two staple Chardonnays: White Hill, which is an ode to Chablis, and Golden Slope that pays homage to the Côte de Beaune. I just lately pulled a bottle of 2015 from the cellar and shared it with a number of European wine professionals, which raised all of their eyebrows. This wine has impeccable steadiness in its youth, and also you don’t have to fret about untimely oxidation with time within the bottle. The wine itself is stellar and the gorgeous label belongs in a category all by itself.
Harlan Property Crimson, Oakville, Napa Valley: Sure, this is without doubt one of the cult Cabernets from Invoice Harlan, however the current vintages are a steadiness of the basic California Cab with the tobacco and mineral notes you’d discover in Pauillac. Harlan Property’s flagship crimson wine is the antithesis of the stereotypical huge, burley Napa Cab. There’s actual finesse right here, and the wine is scrumptious in its youth. Sadly, the value is out of attain for many pocketbooks, however it stays probably the most spectacular American crimson wines that I’ve ever tasted.
Ben & Yolanda Papapietro
Winemaker and co-founders, Papapietro-Perry Vineyard
@papapietroperrywinery
Williams Selyem “Rochioli Riverblock Winery” Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: Burt Williams and Ed Selyem began their journey with just a few tons of grapes again within the early 1980’s as one of many unique garagistas. They ultimately had a cult-type following and really put Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley on the map. The winery is on the banks of the river, with cool foggy evenings and heat sunny days. This wine was their first winery designate again within the mid-Nineteen Eighties. The nostril is wealthy with loads of darkish bramble berry flavors and dry herbs.
Benovia “Cohn Property” Pinot Noir, Sonoma County: It is a small family-owned property with plantings primarily of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This flagship wine is from their oldest property winery, and so they describe this as “a painfully low-yielding” winery, with just one ton per acre. Nevertheless, the depth of the fruit shines via with a darkish ruby shade, complicated flavors of cherry and a refined floral trace, good minerality, and a beautiful lengthy end.
DuMOL Chardonnay, Russian River Valley: This vineyard was began in 1996, with Andy Smith within the winemaking place for the reason that early 2000s. He grew to become a accomplice and at last bought the vineyard in 2015 with different traders. Though they personal a number of of their very own vineyards, they do supply from numerous areas within the Russian River Valley, Inexperienced Valley, and Sonoma Coast. This Chardonnay is vibrant, crisp and has simply the correct amount of wealthy fruit flavors to make it an ideal accompaniment to wealthy buttery pasta sauces, creamy cheeses, pork, shellfish, or rooster. It’s a favourite go-to wine (when you will discover it). The tons are small and the wine might be onerous to seek out because it sells out shortly after they launch to their members.
Rochioli “Little Hill” Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: The Rochioli household has been farming in Sonoma County for the reason that Twenties when Joe Rochioli Sr. and his household emigrated to america from outdoors of Lucca, Italy. They farmed on the Wohler Ranch and ultimately began farming their very own property within the Thirties. Tom Rochioli is a third-generation winemaker and produces a number of great wines from their properties. Little Hill is excellent with intense cherry, cinnamon, and great minerality. They’ve acquired many accolades via the years, and the fourth technology is now a part of the operation.
Rick Jones
Proprietor, Napa Valley Vineyard Alternate
Singer “Baker Lane Property” Syrah, Sonoma Coast: Whereas celebrating their twentieth classic, Stephen Singer’s efforts stay considerably unknown besides to a couple within the business. Positioned in Sebastopol in western Sonoma, his winery focus is solely on the Northern Rhône sorts of Syrah and Viognier. The cool microclimate of his winery permits longer cling time for the grapes, leading to wines with layered complexity, steadiness, and depth, whereas offering simply the correct amount of acid to assist the fruit.
Schramsberg “J Schram Blancs” Glowing Wine, North Coast: I’ve lengthy been a “Champagne solely” sort of man — and nonetheless really feel the most effective glowing wine comes from there — however you must give it up for Schramsberg, one of many oldest wineries in California. For years, the standard of it has been ignored just because it wasn’t made within the Champagne area. I admit to pondering this fashion up to now, a place I now contemplate a failure to my occupation. This glowing wine completely rocks. And when tasted aspect by aspect with numerous classic Champagnes, it’ll persuade you of how far we’ve are available in matching the standard.
Wayfarer “Property” Pinot Noir, Fort Ross-Seaview: Jason Pahlmeyer is a flashy man, and if given the prospect, I’d encourage you to shake his hand. You’re prone to be taught one thing about this rising area, one which he’s clearly captivated with. With no disrespect to different areas, among the finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir come from this AVA in Sonoma Coast. Discovering really memorable Pinot Noir is uncommon, particularly youthful ones. But if I have been going to mark an “X” on the Pinot Noir map of California, that is the place I discovered the gold!
Anthem Vineyard, Napa Valley: I not often uncover a vineyard that may impress my parsimonious ranking system throughout the board with all of their wines, however Anthem Vineyard certainly comes shut. For a winemaker to point out such precision with a number of varietals is a uncommon expertise certainly, which makes it onerous to choose only one to advocate. Their Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and two Cabernets are gorgeous, so it’s as much as you and the way deep your pockets are to decide on. I understand the danger folks face counting on a reviewer’s opinion alone when buying an costly bottle of wine, however on this case, I truthfully consider you’ll agree after your first style.
