Wines of the UNITED STATES
California
California is best known for full-bodied, full throttle reds and full-bodied, oaky whites made from very ripe fruit – following a trend in the last 15 years to pick grapes later and later, resulting in big, alcoholic wines of surpassing fruity sweetness with little structure. However, with the US palate being exposed to more international flavors and winemakers wanting to explore the variety of terroirs and techniques, the wine options are becoming more varied. Areas closer to cooler maritime influences such as Anderson Valley, Carneros, Monterey, Russian River, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria Valley are now producing wines with more complexity to those of a decade ago. Still, flavorful reds include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel. Generally, Napa Valley, which produces most of the coveted cult Cabs, makes more fruit-concentrated, rich and lavish than the medium-bodied, herbal, more vegetal Cabs of Sonoma County or the more earth-driven, refined, multi-layered ones of the Pacific Northwest. In warmer areas, Pinot Noir can get very ripe, resulting in concentrated fruit flavors, though light on the tongue, due to their lively acidity. Zinfandel, a grape whose popularity grew out of California is known for its heartiness and ability to grow in a variety of sub-regions. It produces ultra-ripe wines filled with dark berries surrounded with ample spices and rounded out with weighty tannins. The Syrah are some of the most sultry, spicy, exotic reds on the market. Most Syrah are more approachable than Cabernet Sauvignon, more structured than Merlot and denser than Pinot Noir. The whites are predominantly Chardonnay. However, California winemakers are growing just about every grape variety you can think of these days: from Albariño to Riesling to Pinot Blanc to Viognier.
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Washington State
| Located approximately on the same latitude as some of France’s Bordeaux and Burgundy wine regions, Washington State produces wines similar to those European styles. While its focus is on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot – as well as Chardonnay, Riesling, Syrah – the region also produces a wide range of other spectacular whites and reds. In fact, it produces more than 30 wine grape varieties – a ratio of 52 percent white to 48 percent red. Many of these wines have the best of the old world earthiness and the new world fruitiness, which makes for a style that is more ready to drink. The reds are less harsh and tannic and more velvety, resulting in a wine with multiple flavors at an early age. Many pick up flavors from the soils that give them a remarkable flavor of chocolate or cocoa powder. Vineyards in Eastern Washington produced the majority of its wines, where grapes can fully ripen, developing complex fruit flavors, good acid levels and pleasing aromatics. The Columbia and Yakima Valley regions produce elegant and crisp whites: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. If California Chardonnays are rich and powerful, Washington’s are crisp and delicate. Washington is now the nation’s second largest wine producer and is now ranked among the world’s top wine regions. | |||||||
Columbia Valley/ Walla Walla/ Yakima Valley |
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| Due to the ability to fully ripen, the wines of this region show off well developed, complex flavors. Rieslings tend to be floral with vivid apricot, peach and apple flavors and are made in a dry to off-dry style. Some make intense late-harvest and ice wines. Chardonnays are often crisp and delicate, with fresh apples and a light touch of oak. Sauvignon Blancs/ Fumé Blancs are becoming popular – with a touch of herbaceousness and lively acidity, ranging from slightly tart and grassy to tangy pineapple overlaid with oak. Gewürztraminers offer spice and tropical fruit with zesty aromas and rich floral flavors and are either slightly sweet or dry. Sémillon are luscious, whites ranging from light and crisp citrus to tender melon and fig to rich fresh pears and vanilla: aging into rich, honeyed, nutty wines. Cabernet Sauvignons are subtle and restrained, showing black cherry, berry, chocolate, leather, mint, herbs, bell pepper of any combination and age beautifully. Merlots, with their cherry flavors, tend to be more full-bodied and moderately tannic, and have complex aromas of mint, cigar box, and sweet spices of nutmeg and cardamom. Gaining popularity: Syrah – spicy and rich, with intense flavors of blackberries, black currants, roasted coffee, tobacco and leather; and Cabernet Franc – with spicy notes, coffee and intense blueberry fruit. | |||||||
| Key Red Grape Varieties
Most commonly labeled as… |
Key White Grape Varieties
Most commonly labeled as… |
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| Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Syrah/Shiraz Malbec Pinot Noir |
Chardonnay Riesling Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Pinot Gris Viognier |
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Oregon
| Oregon has similar climates and growing conditions to Burgundy, and many of the wines are made in the same refined, elegant style. Oregon’s Northwestern portion of wine country is celebrated for its cool-climate grape varieties, led by Pinot Noir, but also including Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Chardonnay. These climates encourage grapes to ripen gradually, creating complex fruit flavors and aromas. The southwestern vineyards are generally higher, much warmer and significantly drier. Its rich variety of “micro climates” are capable of nurturing high-quality Bordeaux and Rhone grape varieties, as well as Burgundian varieties such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Oregon Pinot Noir, still comparatively unknown, produces notably elegant and earthy wines with multiple flavors of savory herbs, spice and meats mixed with delicate raspberry and cranberry flavor, which sets this style apart from other US Pinot Noirs. Although light bodied, they are, however, a bit deeper in color and in fruit, with a little less funk than its Burgundian counterparts. Pinot Gris are fresher, fruitier versions of the Italian styles. Other white grapes, like Riesling and Gewurztraminer, offer similar intense flavors of green apple, wildflowers and minerals. It is common for Chardonnay to be blended with Pinot Gris to inject an additional layer of fruit and body giving it the necessary flavor boost. | ||||||
Walla Walla/ Columbia Valley/ Willamette Valley/ Umpqua Valley/ Rogue Valley |
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| Oregon – with its subtle, complex wines – produces Pinot Noirs that, just like the finest red Burgundies, reflect their terroir (soil, climate, environment) and tend to emit more earthy mineral flavors. Complex, ethereal aromas lead to luscious fruit flavors brightened by just the right touch of acidity. Typical core notes are raspberry, strawberry, wild berry, cranberry with undertones of smoke, tobacco, tea leaf, black pepper, wet leaf and game. Willamette Valley, Oregon’s most noteworthy wine production area, is best known for Pinot Noir, as its proximity to the Pacific Coast provides a cool maritime climate resulting in bright, vibrant and refreshing acidity. The main white variety of the region, Pinot Gris, is a medium-bodied wine with color that ranges from a light golden yellow to a copper-pink and is ready to drink within 6 months. Its aromas are reminiscent of pears and apples, sometimes melon and has surprising depth and complexity. Popular grape growing areas are McMinnville Foothills, Dundee Hills, Ribbon Ridge and the Yamhill-Carlton District, to name a few. | ||||||
| Key Red Grape Varieties
Most commonly labeled as… |
Key White Grape Varieties
Most commonly labeled as… |
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| Pinot Noir Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot |
Chardonnay Riesling Pinot Gris |
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New York State
| The wine growing regions of New York State have climates similar to those in northern Europe. The cooler northern regions – Finger Lakes, Hudson River Region and Lake Erie District – are ideal for Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Merlot and some Cabernet Franc. Pinot Noir is recently having increased interest and success in these upstate wine regions. Chardonnay lacks the weight and alcohol of Californian styles and tends to be less smoky or complex than most White Burgundy; but most exhibit a good balance of fruit, oak and acid. Rieslings produced here range from off-dry to sweet wines; probably closest to German styles, producing a unique combination of floral, citrus and apricot aroma. Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon ripen most successfully in the long, warmer growing seasons of Long Island. Cabernet Franc has begun to get more attention by Long Island wine makers as a single variety (though typically it is used as a blending grape with Merlot and Cabernet as the basis for the Bordeaux-style reds gaining popularity on Long Island). It is a light to medium bodied red with soft berry-plum-fruit fruit and shows some of the herbaceous aromas evident in unripe Cabernet Sauvignon. Other white varieties produced are Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris – all grown primarily on Long Island. | |||||||
Finger Lakes/ Lake Erie District/ Hudson Valley |
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| The Finger Lake wine region is centered around four main lakes: Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga. White wines do best here. Rieslings produce aromatic light to medium-bodied wines and can have exceedingly complex aromas with floral, herbal and spicy aromas combined with honey and fruit. Excellent sweet wines are made from this grape as well. Gewürztraminers are perfumy, with a spicy nose that resembles tropical fruit or highly aromatic flowers. Creating rich flavorful wines with a spicy finish that is light to medium bodied in weight, and tend to be refreshing and crisp. Pinot Gris has been found to be a hardy grape, producing crisp, medium bodied, refreshing wines… an interesting alternative to the Chardonnays and Rieslings. A pioneering region for French-American grape varieties such as Seyval Blanc and Baco Noir, the Hudson River Region has also proved welcoming to the more international European grape varieties. Its specialties are sparklings, Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Ice Wine. Other leading varieties are Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, plus some local varieties. It’s especially important to note that the Pinot Noir has found a home here, showing hints of strawberries, plums, and violets often present as well as an earthy note. | |||||||
| Key Red Grape Varieties
Most commonly labeled as… |
Key White Grape Varieties
Most commonly labeled as… |
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| Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon |
Riesling Chardonnay Pinot Gris Gewurztraminer |
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Long Island |
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| Long Island, New York’s “Bordeaux” region, is separated into the North Fork and South Fork – with the Atlantic Ocean to the south, Great Peconic Bay separating the two forks, and Long Island Sound to the north. These massive bodies of water moderate the temperature, creating a long growing season and ideal conditions for robust Merlots, full-bodied Chardonnays, Cabernet Sauvignon, and other European red blend classics. Other classic wines successfully grown here are Cabernet Franc, Gewürztraminer, and Riesling. Of all the NY regions, Long Island is the only one with a season long enough for Sauvignon Blanc to ripen adequately on a consistent basis. There it produces a grassy, lean, crisp wine with racy acidity. The North Fork of Long Island has a maritime climate most similar to Bordeaux and is therefore particularly suited for Cabernet Sauvignon with a growing season long enough to ripen the grapes. These Cabernet Sauvignons are full-bodied and show characteristics of black currant, bell pepper, eucalyptus, mint, black pepper, green olives, tar, and cedar. Merlots will frequently have a strawberry or raspberry aroma and have herbal elements in nose and taste; with lower tannins and acidity, it is drinkable at a much earlier age, but can age as gracefully as some Cabernet Sauvignons. | |||||||
| Key Red Grape Varieties
Most commonly labeled as… |
Key White Grape Varieties
Most commonly labeled as… |
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| Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot |
Chardonnay Riesling Sauvignon Blanc Pinot Gris Gewurztraminer |
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