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Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/114508
NAPA FAST FACTS Major AVAs: Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, Stags Leap, Calistoga Growing conditions: Long growing season with sunny days and cool evenings, enormous diversity of microclimates within the region Popular varietals: Cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay and other reds Major vineyards and wineries: Beringer Vineyards, Domaine Chandon, Hess, Robert Mondavi, Sterling, Stag's Leap, Silverado SONOMA STEPS IT UP Sonoma is starting to take on the Napa Valley in terms of the breath of wines that it produces and also the value that it offers operators. "Sonoma Country has so much more excitement surrounding its AVAs," notes Frierson. Field notes that if Mortons' guests are primarily focused on a high-priced region, and if a wine escalates too much in price, "they will move to another AVA." Many consumers are also recognizing the flavor profile and stylistic differences in wine production between the two regions, he adds. A handful of restaurants located in the Sonoma Valley have started to specialize in promoting the diversity of the region's wines. For instance, the 49-room Timber Cove Inn, based on the Pacific Coast in Jenner, CA, features an entirely Sonomafocused wine list. The hotel's restaurant Alexander's offers 80 wines by the bottle, priced from $25 to $140. Most are examples of pinot 24 | MARCH 2013 Above, Stags Leap Vineyard in Napa. Right, Dusty Frierson, wine director of the Purple Parrot Café in Hattiesburg, MS. noir and chardonnay, says Jason W. Gibson, the property's food and beverage manager. The locally grown, Sonoma Coast-produced wines, which tend to be cooler climate than those produced inland, represent some of the region's top values, Gibson says. He also thinks these wines are less manipulated by winemakers. Timber Cove's wine list is now structured by varietal, but Gibson says it will be transitioning to a regional format in the near future. The hotel also features a variety of wine flights that highlight the Sonoma Coast regions' various microclimates and wine styles. CLICK FOR MORE For more information about California wine region, please visit www.CAWineCentral.com, or use your smart phone to activate this QR Code. www.cheersonline.com WWW.VISITNAPAVALLEY.COM, PURPLE PARROT CAFÉ When it comes to Napa and Sonoma wines, it also helps that "the brands are well known, and the AVAs have done a good job in promoting quality over the years," says Tylor Field, III, divisional vice president of wine and spirits at Morton's the Steakhouse and the Oceanaire Seafood Room. Part of Landry's, Morton's operates 71 locations and Oceanaire Seafood Rooms has 11. Field carries approximately 150 wines from Napa and Sonoma, priced from $39 to $3,000. The chain markets its wines by varietal, "but you always know the region in the description," Field says. The most popular varietal remains cabernet sauvignon, followed by red blends and other red and white varietals; Sonoma's Russian River chardonnays and pinot noirs are attractive to guests as well. The U.S. consumer is also coming to a solid understanding of the best types of wines that both regions can produce, Field says. "America is definitely seeing that pinot noir and chardonnay should be from Sonoma and Bordeaux varietals from Napa. That is how the AVAs are going: Burgundy versus Bordeaux." In his chain's restaurants, pinot noirs and American cabernet sauvignons "rule the roost." But Frierson has found that a handful of lesser-known, but solidly acknowledged international grape varietals are gaining in interest among his client base. These include petite sirah, viognier and carignan.