There are over 2,000 wineries* in California and over 790,000 acres of grapes**.  California produces more than 700 million gallons of wine annually, making up approximately 90% of all wine in the U.S.*, and according to the Wine Institute, California accounts for about 95% of U.S. wine exports. 

It doesn’t make sense to talk about wine and California without looking back in time.  Throughout recent history, many perceived France as the undisputed producer of top quality fine wine.  In 1976, Steven Spurrier organized a wine competition between California and France, in which French judges conducted a blind tasting of the highest quality chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon.

To the surprise of the world’s wine community, the judges gave both the California chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon the highest ratings (with the chardonnay receiving a unanimous vote from all judges).   This became known as the Judgment of Paris.

The French “experts” became critical and claimed the tasting was flawed, and that French red wines would age better than the California reds.  That’s right, you guessed it!  In 1978, the San Francisco Wine Tasting competition was held and over 90 judges blind-tasted the same chardonnays and cabernet sauvignons.  The results showed the French wines rank lower than the they did in the tasting done two years earlier.  The Judgment of Paris was vindicated.

In 2006, a 30-year anniversary tasting was held where the red wines were blind-tasted again (white wines don’t age as well as red wines).  The top 5 ratings went to the California cabernet sauvignon’s.

The Judgment of Paris had a significant affect on the world of wine.  It gave instant credibility to wines from the new world (wine from areas outside the traditional European regions) and caused French winemakers to rethink their techniques and technologies.  As a result, wine quality world wine has increased over the past 30 years. 

As a wine growing state, California is blessed by the sun and the Pacific Ocean.  During the growing season, sunny and dry days are followed by cool foggy nights as moisture rolls off the Pacific Ocean.  The California regions best known for producing quality wines are Napa Valley, Sonoma County, and the Central Coast region.

Napa Valley is recognized as on of the top winegrowing regions in the world and the top California.  It is home to some of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon in the world.  30 miles long and only a few miles wide, it is a relatively small region and produces about 4% of California’s wine.  Other grapes such as Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc Zinfandel grow well throughout the region.

Sonoma County often plays second fiddle to Napa Valley.  However don’t let that mislead you, absolutely phenomenal wines are produced there.  Over the past 20 years, the number of wineries and acres of vineyards has increased more than five times and three times, respectively.  Sonoma County is often broken up into several regions, each with climate and soil conditions that are ideal for growing specific grapes.

                Alexander Valley - Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon

                Carneros - Borders both Sonoma County and Napa Valley and produces

                Pinot Noir and Chardonnay

                Dry Creek Valley - Zinfandel

                Russian River Valley - Pinot Noir and Chardonnay

                Sonoma Valley - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot,

                as well as Meritage, which is a Cabernet-Merlot blend

The Central Coast region starts just south of San Francisco and runs about 300 miles down the Pacific coast.  The region as a whole produces fine Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.  The Monterrey area of this coastal region is also known for Riesling and Gewurztraminer, while the Santa Barbara area is known for Syrah.

Another California notable is Amador County.  Located in the Sierra Foothills, Amador County produces some of California’s best Zinfandel.

*U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau

**USDA-NASS