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What’s an AVA?
January 4, 2011 by David
Filed under Wine Words
It’s important! When I buy wine, one of the first things I look for on the label is where the grapes were grown, which, in America, is the AVA or appellation. It’s the number one influence on wine character. Heck, in most of Europe, wine is named and sold in terms of location, not variety!
It turns out that in America we use the terms appellation, district and AVA pretty much interchangably, even though they don’t mean exactly the same thing. You should know that the AVA (American Viticultural Area) can only be used by a region that has convinced the federal government that it has a distinctive combination of soil, climate and topography which, in turn, contribute to identifiable regional wine character. They also need to see a history of wine production in the region. Wines named for states don’t fall into that category – in this country, if it’s just a place, it’s an appellation.
AVAs don’t have to be smaller, in fact there are some that straddle states (!), but they usually are. For instance, the Napa Valley AVA produces about 4% of California’s wine. The sub-AVA of Yountville, where Goosecross is located produces a small fraction of the larger Napa Valley AVA. A single-vineyard wine, like our Estate Cab is about as specific as you can get, coming off of a fraction of our 9.5-acre home ranch. There are many who think the more specific the appellation, the more distinctive the wine.
Federal law requires an 85% minimum of the grapes come from the AVA in order to use it on the label.
This can get complicated, so click here for more information.
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
April 1, 2008 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Wine Radio
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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?
June 5, 2006 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Wine Radio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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?
