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Is an AVA the same as an appellation?
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Fun Fact by Nancy Hawks Miller, Goosecross: Is an AVA the same as an appellation?
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Napa Valley AVA
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Fun Fact by Nancy Hawks Miller, Goosecross: Napa Valley AVA
Did you enjoy this? Here are more Fun Facts from Goosecross Cellars.
Napa Valley AVA
Napa Valley is a strange and wonderful place, perhaps in equal parts. In an area about 1/8 of the size of Bordeaux, we are able to grow a great number of different grape varieties with remarkable success. For the wonderful array of Napa Valley wines we enjoy today, we owe our thanks to Mother Nature and some rather impressive mood swings on her part.
It appears we have a history of violence, geologically speaking. Over the last 10 million years, massive collisions of the earth’s crust created our mountains and valleys. Repeated volcanic eruptions spewed forth rock, lava and ash, and created some of the small knolls you see as you drive through the valley. Changing sea levels sent flood waters washing in and out of the valley like the waves of the sea, depositing layers and layers of sedimentary clay and sand of vastly different ages. These major events, in conjunction with many minor ones, worked together to create an area of unsurpassed beauty and diversity.
What it all adds up to, is that 33 different soil profiles, representing half of the soil orders that exist on the planet can be readily found in the Napa Valley1. It’s important to note that all of this exists in an area that produces about 4% of California’s wine2. Extensive soil diversity can also be found within individual sub-appellations, such as the Spring Mountain District, an area that encompasses only 8,600 acres and contains 22 different soils series. What this means, is that viticulturists shouldn’t assume that a vineyard site, even a small one, will be uniform in soil type. Our own 9.5 acre vineyard at Goosecross is divided into 10 different sections according to variety, clone3 of the variety, rootstock hybrid4 and vine spacing – the last two factors mainly due to variations in the soil.
Today, the most striking geographic features are the two mountain ranges, the Mayacamas to the west, and the Vaca range on the east side, which form our valley. It’s about 30 miles long and a few miles wide, narrowing as it goes north, and bi-sected by the Napa River. First time visitors to the valley are surprised to notice a marked difference in appearance between the Mayacamas and the Vaca ranges. The Mayacamas is heavily forested and perpetually green. The Vaca range is dry in the summer, a home for sagebrush and scrub oaks, due to lighter rainfall, generally shallower soils and from baking in the afternoon sun.
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NVWR® 63 – The Napa Valley AVA
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Did you know that Napa Valley produces just 4% of California’s wine? And yet, in such a small area, we enjoy an amazing diversity of soils and a climate that allows us to produce a number of different varieties of outstanding quality.
Sit back and enjoy a glass of Napa Valley wine while Nancy Hawks Miller, a 20-year veteran of the wine industry and our Director of Education, tells you a little about it. Cheers!
NVWR® 15 – What is an AVA?
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We hear about appellations, districts and AVA’s all the time, but the term AVA is the only one that tells you a region has been recognized by the federal government as one of distinction. Nancy Hawks Miller, our Director of Education will tell you about some of the requirements and what American Viticultural Areas mean to you as a consumer.
Text: What is an AVA?
