The Wine Country Lovers tour - It’s hard to pinpoint, but wine country is beautiful, the people are friendly and Charles was fantastic! It was a really nice to touch that he took us to the perfect spot to have our pictures taken with the Golden Gate Bridge behind us.
Thanks Charles!
, Rialto, CA, Oct 2007It is the grapes of Sonoma and Napa that make the Wine Country truly great.
The vines weather season after season, giving us the gift of their sweet fruit each autumn. Once planted, brand new vines will take between 3 and 5 years to yield fruit capable of making decent wine. These same vines can remain productive for well over 100 years. A bottle of wine with the term “Old Vines� on the label indicates that the fruit came from vines over 85 years old. “Ancient Vines� are over 100 years old. The older the vines get, the lower the yield, but the fruit they produce typically has more concentrated flavors and is rich in complexity and character.
Ancient vine fruit can be highly prized and very sought after, but because the vines produce fewer tons per acre they may be removed in favor of younger vines. Sadly, older vines of obscure or less popular varietals are often ripped out of vineyards to make way for more profitable grapes. Be sure to try some old or ancient vine the wine grape cycle on your next Sonoma wine tasting tour or Napa wine country tour!
With each season the vines endure a different stage of their annual cycle.