The Calistoga AVA sets it Apart from Napa
Establishing an Approved Agricultural Area is a time-consuming process and Napa has more than its share for such a little county. But essential to many of the winery’s nation-wide strategies has been to promote the Napa brand over the individual AVA’s. Even when the AVA is Stags Leap or Rutherford, the less wine savvy customer at a wine store may pass it up while looking for a ‘Napa’ wine.
For instance, in Sausalito, that bastion of international tourism there is a store called “Real Napa Wines”. That’s their label. Next to the Nikko hotel in San Francisco is another store named simply, “Napa Wines”. People like Robert Mondavi spent a huge amount of time and money establishing the Napa brand, and as a result, labels often sport the Napa name in big letters on the front, and then the individual AVA on the back.
The exceptions are the high end wines aimed at collectors and serious aficionados, who take pride in recognizing the unique qualities of the regions. Since we belong to that category ourselves, along with many of our clients, you’re not going to hear me criticize that approach. What do you think I am, French?
With that as a premise why would Calistoga go through all the trouble of establishing their own AVA? In the same that there are ‘inside baseball’ stories, there are ‘inside wine country’ stories. Now, I’ve lived in New York and Philadelphia, spent a lot of time in Washington DC., and visited many of the great cities of the world as professional speakers, but Napa rivals them all as far as seeing themselves as the center of the world.
This little county of 140,000 people has an ego as big as any fighter plane jock or first tier political personality. I’m not saying it’s undeserved, but reputation matters to them big time, and when their neighbors have an AVA and they don’t, well, you see the problem.
The reality is, the difference in the various sections of the Napa Valley, excluding Carneros, are not that great in terms of the variety of grapes that they can grow there. You find Cabernet, Merlot and Zinfandel planted all over the valley, and up into the canyons. The temperature ranges do vary, it gets hotter the farther north you go in the valley, but not so much to exclude many of the most popular grapes. For instance, there are some great Chardonnay vineyards in both Yountville and Rutherford, and there are Pinot Noir Vineyards up on Spring Mountain, quite far north in the Valley. Meanwhile, there are good Cabernet vines in ‘cool’ Carneros, not a lot, but it’s all in finding the correct exposure.
With all that said, we’re glad that Calistoga has the recognition of their own AVA. That northern part of the valley has a unique quality shaped by its ‘top of the hour glass shape, the hot springs, and the beauty of the St. Helena Mountain. The wineries and hotels there tend to be smaller and more intimate, and the overall style is relaxed and friendly, even with all of the Napa buzz they continue to keep real.
Ralph & Lahni de Amicis are authors of the Amicis Winery Guides (Find them on Amazon), and owners of Amicis Tours. They are authors of over twenty books on health, design, business and travel. Their iPhone Apps, The Napa Valley Wine Tour, and The Sonoma Winery Tour are a tour guides approach to these beautiful area, complete with 1000’s of photos and insights. Their articles and products can be found on the sites http://www.amicistours.com and http://www.spaceandtime.com
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