If you’ve been following along with our American Viticultural Area tour of the Napa Valley, you’ll know what’s going on. If not, check out past Sunday posts here as well.

** A few weeks ago, I included Calistoga in my Sunday School #1 post, even though it was still awaiting AVA approval. This week, after 6 years of waiting, wineries in this historic region will soon be able to print Calistoga AVA on their bottles. Cheers Calistoga! Here for more info from Jancis.

1. Stags Leap AVA

(Image linked from GourmetGirlMagazine.com)

The region, of what was to officially become Stags Leap AVA in 1989, played a major role in the ’76 Judgement of Paris. Despite how you feel about this little tasting, it was a huge contributor in shifting the global perception of Napa. It was Warren Winiarksi’s 1971 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon which ended up taking the top Cabernet honours. Today there are roughly 20 wineries and 15 growers working the 1200 acres of vines. The unique soils in this part of the valley floor, cemented volcanic ash covered with a couple feet of loose loam and gravel, was a key factor in securing the AVA status.

Whats up with the Stag’s Leap vs Stags’ Leap thing?

It’s hard to ignore the fact that there are two wineries in Stags Leap that are practically called the same thing. Both were opened in 1972 when respected founders Carl Doumani and Warren Winiarksi each named their wineries Stags Leap. After 12 years of legal battles, they ended the conflict with an apostrophe. Doumani’s became Stags’ Leap Winery while Winiarksi’s took Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Doumani sold Stags’ to Beringer-Blass (now owned by Foster’s) in 1997 and Winiarksi sold Stag’s in 2007 for $185 million to Ste. Michelle and Antinori. Not too bad at all.

Other producers in the area include Chimney Rock, Shafer, Clos du Val, Steltzner, Cliff Lede, Silverado.

2. Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley AVA

(This vineyard can be yours for $3.5 mil. Image credit here)

Officially designated in 2004*, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley AVA is the next-to-last addition to the Napa Valley’s list of sub-AVAs, just being edged out earlier this week by Calistoga. The reason for the wordy official name is to avoid any confusion with the Oak Knoll Winery in Oregon. OKD’s cooler boundaries produce some of Napa’s highest regarded Merlot, yet with 18 varietals planted over 3500 acres of vineyards, it is also the most diverse. Northeast Italy’s revered Ribolla Gialla grape even makes an appearance here with George Vare’s 2.5 acre vineyard. Supposedly, some of the only plantings of its kind in North America.

(Image linked from thegoodwineguru.com)

Trefethen Family Vineyards is the biggest player in OKD with a substantial 550 acre continuous vineyard. It was Janet Trefethen who lead the fight to get Oak Knoll District granted it’s own AVA. In addition to the resident wineries, there are roughly 50 producers who source OKD fruit including Opus One and Joseph Phelps.

* Oddly enough, I’ve found three different dates as to when this status was granted. AppellationAmerica.com says April 21, ’04, the TTF Federal Regulations seems to say Feb 25, ’04, and Trefethen.com claims 2002.

3. Los Carneros AVA

(Image borrowed from SonomaUncorked.com)

Carneros is unique in the fact that its low lying vineyards (below 400ft) overlap the southern base of both the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. This cool, dry and windy region is heavily influenced by fog seeping in off the San Pablo bay to the south and has gained a reputation for cooler varieties such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which lean towards a subtle style with crisp acidity.

Sparkling Wine and Outsider Influence

Carneros is the heart of quality sparkling wine production in the United States. Many labels produced from Carneros fruit are made Méthode Champenoise and from the traditional Champagne grapes of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. It was the well established sparkling wine brands from Europe who had the foresight to begin building wineries here. The Spanish family Ferrer, who owns the Cava giant Freixenet, founded Gloria Ferrer in 1984 and Champagne house Taittinger created the extravagant Domaine Carneros is 1987.

In 1991, the 450-year-old Spanish Cava house Codorníu, opened Codorniu Napa. Apparently this new venture wasn’t all that successful, as 8 years later they rebranded themselves as Artesa and began fazing out sparkling wine production. Today, it looks like they’re completely out of the bubble game, yet still owned by Codorníu.

Domaine Chandon‘s winery isn’t based in the Carneros AVA boundry, but they do own extensive vineyards here. This was the first French-owned sparkling wine venture in the United States, created in 1973 by the massive Champagne house Moët et Chandon.

Domaine Chandon ’06 Carneros Chardonnay
As mentioned above, Chandon is the most established quality sparkling wine producers in the US, offering 13 different labels. They also sell a decent sized still wine collection and when I saw their Chardonnay on sale at BevMo for a mere $15.99 (down from $23.99), I decided to give it a shot.

The nose is dominated by baking spice and a vanilla bean oakiness with hints of tropical fruit. The palate is rich and concentrated with baked apples, cinnamon and poached pear, followed by a tart lime character. The finish flirts with minerality. Although nothing truly unique, the bright citrus acidity (med + ) and the faint minerality separate this wine from the pack of similarly priced Napa Chards. At $16, this Chardonnay over delivers, yet is still decent value at $24.

In Carneros, there are nearly 30 resident wineries, 40 growers and many outside producers sourcing fruit. A few others I’ve enjoyed recently are Truchard, Schug, and Etude. For a larger list see CarnerosWineries.org.

As always, please feel free to contribute any information, experience or tasting notes that you feel are relevant and check back next Sunday, where I’ll most likely be taking a much needed break from California.