CALIFORNIA
Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley.
WINE CENTRAL
Napa and Sonoma
California's top wine regions still reign
By Liza B. Zimmerman
INCREASED CONSUMER AWARENESS
The bulk of the Purple Parrot's Napa wines are made from
cabernet sauvignon and merlot. The wines it carries from
Sonoma are generally produced from the classic duo of
chardonnay and pinot noir. Frierson thinks that California's
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| MARCH 2013
incredible complexity of wine-producing styles is one reason
that so many of its wines appeal to a lot of customers.
California wine appellations also carry a comfort factor for
many consumers, he notes. Part of this is that there tends to be less
vintage variation in wines from some California regions, compared
with many Old World wine-growing areas, Frierson believes.
SONOMA FAST FACTS
Major AVAs:
Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley
Growing conditions:
A wide variety of microclimates, many with much cooler
temperatures than Napa, moderated by water and
coastal exposure
Popular varietals:
Pinot noir, chardonnay
Major vineyards and wineries:
Benzinger, Bonterra, Gloria Ferrer, Fetzer,
Ravenswood, Sebastiani
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WWW.SONOMAWINE.COM
M
any forward-thinking wine producers—and the
missionaries who preceded them in planting
grapes—created a name for the Napa Valley more
than 150 years ago. And Sonoma is running a close second
in terms of getting the word out to restaurant operators and
consumers about its wines.
The Napa Valley now includes about 480 wine producers,
according to the Napa Valley Vintners Association, while
Sonoma County has 680 bonded wineries, according to Sonoma
County Vintners. A few other emerging California regions are
giving these two best-known appellations a run for their money,
but it will likely still take some time for them to catch up.
"California is so diverse in style and climate," says Dusty
Frierson, wine director of the Purple Parrot Café in Hattiesburg,
MS. The Purple Parrot carries nearly 300 wines from Napa and
Sonoma priced from $60 to $1,500 for Napa wines and $34 to
$215 for those from Sonoma.