Anyone who’s spent time in California might well wonder: can I bottle this feeling?
Salt-sprayed coastlines promise easy, breezy days and long, languid evenings. Buzzing cities beckon with culture and culinary brilliance, effortlessly combining history, innovation and creativity.
Like a silky, sophisticated cabernet sauvignon from Napa or a crisp central coast chardonnay, there’s something about wines from the Golden State that’s hard to pin down and impossible to resist.
Terroir you can taste
California has many enduring qualities, and the landscape is right up there. This truly is the state where you can ski in the morning and surf in the afternoon, as the saying goes.
Patchwork quilts of farmland, forest and vine-striped hills unfurl against a backdrop of snow-dusted mountains. Then there’s that endlessly beguiling coastline, bookended by some of the world’s most inspiring cities.
Along with complex soils and a varied climate, the landscape is a key player in the state’s wine production, too, resulting in seemingly endless combinations of grape variety and wine style.
So you can sip a spicy, juicy zinfandel from the oak-studded hills of Paso Robles in the morning (or lunchtime, perhaps) and enjoy a fresh pinot gris, infused with sunshine and citrus notes from those coastal breezes, in the afternoon.
Young at heart
Silver surfers abound here. You’ll spot them off the beaches from La Jolla to Mendocino, riding the waves alongside teenagers, office workers and dogs (usually accompanied by humans). Age is no barrier to embracing the Golden State lifestyle, and it certainly doesn’t restrict winemakers.
California’s most famous wines include robust GSM (grenache, syrah and mourvèdre) blends, aged in oak barrels that round out the characteristic notes of red fruits, pepper and leather.
Many Cali wines transition from young and vibrant to elegant and complex. Sonoma’s famous coastal pinot noir wines, for example, go from vibrant red currant to earthy complexity with bottle ageing, while a floral viognier develops a satin finish and layered structure notes over time.
Others, whether a smooth and approachable merlot or a zippy sauvignon blanc, are at their most delightful when they’ve spent just a little time in barrel and bottle.
The spirit of innovation
California’s 5,000-odd wineries range from sprawling hilltop chateaux in the heart of Napa Valley to tiny, corrugated-steel sheds tucked away on a back road. Just like the people who keep the state centre stage in fields from food to tech, the best wines emerge from determination and a resistance to standing still.
From the viticulturalists who use drones, sensors and AI to monitor every speck of soil and change in the weather to the winemakers who crunch real-time data to perfect fermentation, blending and ageing, it’s a dynamic business regardless of winery size.
That means there’s always something new to discover. Current trends include grenache having a solo moment (outside of the usual blends), and the emergence of more savoury rosé wines and chillable reds.
Flavours to savour
The result of this magic combination of landscape, weather, creativity and talent? Bottles that burst with complex layers of flavour, every sip paying testament to the sheer effort that’s gone into filling them. Yet, precisely because of that effort, they are effortless and approachable in the drinking.
Wines this good, and so thoughtfully produced, deserve to be lingered over, ideally with great food and even better company.
Wineries serve perfectly curated platters of local cheese and charcuterie, encouraging visitors to lean back on picnic blankets or the ubiquitous wooden Adirondack chairs and take life one sip (and nibble) at a time.
In the state’s many laid-back towns and neighbourhoods, from Calistoga in Napa Valley to San Luis Obispo on the central coast, locals know the best way to savour regional wines is slowly, pairing each glass with a different course or small plate on a restaurant crawl.
At home, bottles are popped and poured with meals, paired with nibbles or simply sipped on the patio as the sun dips down. Most importantly, California wines are best enjoyed with people you love – and that’s something that can be emulated anywhere in the world.
Because, here’s the good news: it turns out you can bottle that California feeling, ready to bring a touch of Golden State spirit to any occasion.
To learn more about sharing California wine with friends, visit wineconnects.us
