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Wine Country

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Vineyard on Sonoma Mountain with background of the Mayacamas Mountains

Wine Country is a region of Northern California in the United States that is known world-wide[1] as a premium wine-growing region since the mid-19th century. There are over 300 wineries[2] in the area north of San Francisco, mostly located in the area's valleys, including Napa Valley in Napa County, and the Sonoma Valley, Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Bennett Valley and Russian River Valley in Sonoma County. The Wine Country is defined not only in terms of viticulture, but also the ecology, geology, architecture,[3] cuisine[4] and culture[5] of this notable region. The largest amount of the grape harvest, in terms of both acreage and value, derives from Sonoma County.[6]

Some of the region's major communities associated with the Wine Country include Kenwood, Healdsburg, Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Napa, Yountville, St. Helena, Calistoga, Geyserville, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Guerneville, historic Fort Ross and Ukiah.

Wine Country proper is generally regarded as the combined counties of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino; some reference works include part of Lake in the term Wine Country. The U.S. federal government maintains the official list of American Viticultural Areas (AVA). The Wine Country includes the following individual AVAs:

History

Yountville historic rail station, Napa Valley.

The earliest prehistory of the Wine Country involves habitation by several Native American tribes since approximately 8000 BC.[7] The principal tribes living in this region were the Pomo, Coast Miwok, Wappo and Patwin, which early peoples practiced certain forms of agriculture, but probably not involving the cultivation of grapes. European settlers in the early 1800s brought more intensive agriculture to the Wine Country, including growing grapes and wine production. Some of California's early historical events transpired in the Wine Country, associated with the early California history of the town of Sonoma; Agoston Haraszthy is credited with being one of the forefathers of the California wine industry in Sonoma by his planting of grapes in the lower Arroyo Seco Creek watershed of Sonoma County.[8]

Geology

As recently as the Miocene period, twelve million years ago, the majority of the present day Wine Country was on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. After significant volcanic uplift and tectonic movement, the Mayacamas and Sonoma Mountains, which are the major defining ranges of the Wine Country, emerged above the ocean. Basaltic outcrops are commonly seen in the foothills and upper reaches of these mountains, betraying the volcanic origin of these ranges.[9]

Ecology

Pygmy forest along a popular Wine Country hiking trail of Hood Mountain. Note darker vegetation in upper right is a mixed oak woodland.

A diversity of aquatic and terrestrial organisms populate the Wine Country and its riparian zones. Winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tsawytscha), Delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) and steelhead (Onchorhynchus mykiss) are the most prominent fishes. Anadromous fish movements in Sonoma Creek and the Napa River as well as the Laguna de Santa Rosa have been studied extensively not only in the mainstems, but in many of the tributaries. These investigations have demonstrated a historical decline in spawning and habitat value for these species, primarily due to sedimentation[10] and secondarily to removal of riparian vegetation since the 19th century.

A variety of salamanders, snakes and frogs are also present in the Wine Country. The federally listed as threatened California red-legged frog is present in the northern reach draining the south slopes of Annadel State Park. Several endangered species (mostly associated with the Napa Sonoma Marsh) present include California clapper rail (Rallus longirostris), California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis), California brown pelican (Pelicanus occudentalis), California freshwater shrimp (Syncaris pacifica), Salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris ), Suisun Shrew (Sorex ornatus sinuosus), Sacramento splittail (Pogonichtys macrolepidotus). The above are endangered species with the exception of the splittail, steelhead and black rail, which species are federally designated as Threatened.

Upland ecosystems drained include mixed California oak woodland, chaparral and savannah woodland, In these upland reaches one finds plentiful Black-tailed Deer, coyote, skunk, raccoon, opossum, wild turkey, turkey vulture, red-tailed hawk and occasionally bobcat and mountain lion. Prominent higher elevation trees include: Coast live oak, Garry Oak, Pacific madrone, California Buckeye, Douglas fir, whereas Valley oak is prevalent on the Wine Country valley floors.

Tourism

The Wine Country is a relatively recent blossoming of tourism influx. For example, in 1975 there were only 25 wineries within Napa Valley,[11] where today there are well over 400 wineries in the Wine Country. Besides wine tasting, tourists are attracted to the region for hiking, bicycling, hot air ballooning, as well as the extensive culinary venue choices and rich historic sites. Numerous notable chefs and restuaranteurs are present in the Wine Country such as John Ash and Sondra Bernstein.[12] Besides the obvious winery attractions, the Wine Country is known for its hot springs baths, petrified forests and other natural areas.

The downside of the Wine Country is exemplified by portions of Napa Valley where traffic congestion of California State Route 29 is manifested by the number of tourists exceeding the carrying capacity of the resource on summer weekends, and also by pressures in the Napa Valley for increased urbanization and roadway upgrading.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Fodor's Escape to the Wine Country: California's Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino, Publisher: Fodor's ISBN-10: 067900918307 (2002).
  2. ^ Jennifer Barry, Beautiful Wineries Of The Wine Country, Speed Press, Berkeley, California (2004).
  3. ^ Mary Whitesides, Wine Country: Architecture and Interiors, Gibbs Smith Publishers, Layton, Utah (2004).
  4. ^ Michael Chiarello, Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking: Wine Country Recipes for Family and Friends, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, California.
  5. ^ Molly Chappellet, Gardens of the Wine Country, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, California.
  6. ^ Sonoma County Indicators: 2007
  7. ^ Stewart, Suzanne B., Time before Time: Prehistory and Archaeology in the Lake Sonoma Area. Sacramento, CA: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1985.
  8. ^ Charles Sullivan, Zinfandel: A History of a Grape and It's Wine, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2003.
  9. ^ Volcanic Regions: Mayacamas and Sonoma Mountains
  10. ^ Sonoma Creek Watershed Limiting Factors Analysis, Sonoma Ecology Center, with support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, December 2004.
  11. ^ Fodor's California Wine Country Online (2006)
  12. ^ Sondra Bernstein, The Girl & the Fig Cookbook: More than 100 Recipes from the Acclaimed California Wine Country Restaurant
  13. ^ Trancas Road/Calfiornia State Route 29 Intersection Improvements

External links

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