Varietals of California Red Wines – You Should Know
It is no secret that California is the top producer of wine in the United States, and it produces plenty of great wines!
The state, with more than 2000 producers and wine stores has also become a major player in the world of wine, with plenty of focus on the big names such as Napa Valley or Sonoma. But several lesser-known areas around the state are producing great wines with equally interesting styles. The reason for California’s success as a diverse wine-producing state is its Mediterranean climate and geography.
California is most widely known for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot varieties, as they are the most grown. But there are more than three dozen grape varietals grown throughout the region. Let’s focus on some of the more common varieties that you can easily order red wine online.
The Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety is the most popular grape in the world, as well as California’s king of red grapes. it’s also California’s most planted red wine grape and makes up about 23% of California’s red wine production. Thanks to its thick skin and capacity to adapt to the soil and climate, it is more effortless to grow than many other grape varieties. It can be grown in many different regions of California, except for some coastal areas that are just too cold. It gives rise to wines with more body than many other varieties. This is because it has low yields, which also makes it appealing to winemakers because of its aging potential — it can mature up to decades in the cellar.
Its thick-skinned small dark berries, make tannic, dark-colored, full-bodied wines with medium acidity. The wines of this grape have a complex and concentrated aroma profile of blackberries, cigar box, cedar, and flowery violet aromas. They also have the potential to grow tertiary aromas over time. California Cabernet Sauvignon Wines could have ripe fruit flavors and higher alcohol levels than Bordeaux Wines.
Merlot
Merlot is a popular grape that has found its place among California wines. A lot of people believe that Merlot can’t make structured wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, which is not true. There are both tannic and complex Merlot wines just like Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot grape doesn’t grow well in any environment, so it’s possible to taste a big difference in the quality and flavor of Merlot wines depending on where they were grown.
Merlot’s aroma profile is like Cabernet Sauvignon as expected because their fathers are the same. Merlot is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to soften the profile of the more powerful wines. However, California Merlot is different: the intense tannins in Californian Merlot give the wine a deep purple color and a full-bodied mouthfeel and imparts aromas of blackberry, raspberry, plum, cassis, and mocha.
Pinot Noir
Among all the grapes, it is considered one of the noblest. Romantic and elegant grape, however, this grape’s most crucial feature is its difficulty in growing and vulnerability to climatic conditions, agricultural pests, diseases, very picky about the land, and prone to oxidation during winemaking. Pinot Noir demands a cool climate such as cool coastal vineyards to make an elegant and complex wine with a silky texture and loses finesse in warmer temperatures and can reflect any subtle differences in terroir.
The best aroma descriptors of delicate Pinot Noir wines are the raspberry, cherry, strawberry, vegetal notes, truffle, and forest ground scents with age. However, the style of Pinot from California is typically ripe, powerful, and fruit-forward with a silky texture.
Cabernet Franc
Napa Valley is perhaps better known for its world-famous Cabernet Sauvignon wines, but some excellent Cabernet Francs can be found too. Even there is a huge difference between how much of both grapes are planted when compared to each other — it’s one to 25, and it has gained much popularity. The grape can be found in many red blends, but more winemakers are now making single grape bottlings as well. It is a mutation of Cabernet Sauvignon, so it shares similar fruit flavors such as blackberries but is less tannic. This makes it a good pairing wine for many different dishes.
One attention taker grape to watch out for is the Zinfandel. The Zinfandel grapes themselves are red, but it’s often labeled as white, which is a rose wine with fewer tannins and low alcohol levels. However, they can be medium to full-bodied, but they carry a similar kind of rich flavor to other red wines such as blackberries. They offer the best examples when they come from old vines.
How do you buy these wines if you don’t want to order red wine online?
A lot of people indeed prefer online wine delivery, but if you want to know where to buy in a wine store in the USA, start by checking out Bottle Barn Liquor Store in Santa Rosa.
If you want to go deeper about California Wines, you should check our blog about Sonoma Cost AVA.
