Question

Describe the geography and climate of Napa Valley and Central Valley, California. (30% weighting)

Explain how the winemaking and marketplace influence the style, quality and price of Cabernet Sauvignon
from these two regions. (70% weighting)

Response
Geography, climate

Napa Valley
Napa valley has a warm Mediterranean climate overall with high sunshine hours and rainfall low enough
that many producers rely on irrigation. The main cooling influences are the San Pablo Bay and altitude and
fog.

There are approximately 3 types of climate & geography in Napa:

Valley floor AVAs e.g. Yountville, Rutherford, Oakville. These are at low altitude on the valley floor and
vineyards are below the fog line, so they get high diurnal range as evening fog contrasts with fogless daytime.
The topography is gentle — almost flat — and the soils are mainly alluvial deposits with good drainage. Frost
risk is relatively high as there are no slopes for cold air to run down (away from vines). Sunshine is somewhat
blocked by fog, so phenolic ripeness is less than the mountain AVAs. The San Pablo Bay influence is
strongest in these low altitude AVAs.
Mountain AVAs e.g. Mount Veeder, Atlas Peak, Howell Mountain. These AVAs are mostly above the fog line
(planted up to 800m) so sunshine is far more intense, giving deeper colour wines with higher tannins and
better phenolic ripeness. Altitude cools more than the San Pablo Bay and the soils are warm and stony,
infertile (-> low yields). Vineyards are on slopes or benches so frost risk is relatively low. Diurnal range is low
without the cooling evening fog. Howell Mountain, the furthest inland, is very warm — one of the warmest
Napa AVAs.

Central Valley
This is a large (>70000 ha) area of flat land, fertile soils, and hot dry climate. This is highly conducive to
mechanisation. The risk of fungal disease is low and humidity not a concern; there is no appreciable fog
influence or altitude to increase diurnal range, which is low. But there is some sloped land at Lodi and
Clarksburg, especially closer to Sierra Foothills AVA. Rainfall is usually supplemented by irrigation.

Winemaking, market

Napa Valley
This area is relatively small nad cannot expand any further, so land is scarce (and basically all occupied) —
initial investment and barriers to entry are high. Further, the inconsistent topography (slopes + flat land +
benches) make mechanisation not always possible, so manual labour is common and this also adds cost
of production. Labour has become scarcer & more expensive given recent immigration laws.

Therefore the incentive — or necessity — is to make high quality wine at premium/super premium prices
so the consumer bears the aforementioned costs.

For winemaking, there is often a significant distinction between free run & press juice, and the latter is only
sparingly used as suits the target style of wine even if this means waste, as press juice is often intensely
tannic. Sorting grapes is also rigorous and creates waste, increasing cost.

There is also a long tradition of fermenting and ageing in new oak (French, i.e. imported, or American) and
this is a big yearly cost to the winery, but contributes to the sweet vanilla/cinnamon/clove flavours that
Napa is famous for — but this cost must also be borne by the consumer.

Its reputation in the market has been much boosted by people like Robert Mondavi who, in addition to
projects like Mondavi and Continuum, have collaborated with people like Christian Moueix from Bordeaux,
another region famous for Cabernet Sauvignon — Opus One. This, as well as other “cult” wineries like
Screaming Eagle and Harlan, have contributed to the overall prestige of Napa Valley, with no small help
from Robert Parker’s very high ratings (consistently).

Also possibly due to Bordeaux influence, the wines tend to be richly tannic and intense with the structure
to age in bottle, appealing greatly to collectors especially from the Bordeaux scene.

Must adjustment (e.g. chaptalisation and acidification) are avoided: the work is done in the vineyard. This
requires significantly more expertise — knowledge workers are expensive.

Central Valley
This is mostly a region dominated by big companies like EJ Gallo, whose reputation thrives on inexpensive
acceptable/good quality wines for the mass market. Consumer loyalty relies on the brand more than
“terroir” or appellation significance.

This is achieved in the winery by processing the Cabernet Sauvignon with little regard for berry quality —
everything is vinified homogeneously with ample must adjustment to control acidity, alcohol, and body, to
produce a consistent house style with no vintage variation (o r terroir variation — grapes are usually bought
in).

Maturation is brief — a few months versus 12–18 months in Napa — and everything (vinification,
maturation) happens in stainless steel tanks for consistency and reusability — a fixed cost one-off
investment is cheaper than a repeated cost like nw oak. Oak flavours are added by chips/staves which
may be made from old or broken oak barrels (some from Napa) — this is far cheaper than paying a cooper
to contstruct the barrel. Therefore the final wine is acceptable, inexpensive, with light intensity and medium
body, medium tannin for immediate drinking.