Los Carneros AVA
| Wine region | |
Vineyards in the Sonoma section of Los Carneros
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| Type | American Viticultural Area |
|---|---|
| Year established | 1983, amended in 1987 and 2006 |
| Country | United States |
| Part of | California, Napa County, Napa Valley AVA, North Coast AVA, Sonoma Coast AVA, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley AVA |
| Size of planted vineyards | 1,100 acres (4 km2) |
| Varietals produced | Albarino, Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Dolcetto, Gewurztraminer, Grenache, Malbec, Marsanne, Merlot, Muscat Canelli, Nebbiolo, Pinot blanc, Pinot gris, Pinot Meunier, Pinot noir, Riesling, Roussanne, Sauvignon blanc, Syrah, Tempranillo, , Vermentino, Vernaccia, Viognier, Zinfandel |
Los Carneros AVA (also known as Carneros AVA) is an American Viticultural Area which includes parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties in California, U.S.A.. It is located north of San Pablo Bay. The proximity to the cool fog and breezes from the bay makes the climate in Los Carneros cooler and more moderate than the wine regions further north in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley. The cooler climate has made Los Carneros attractive for the cultivation of cooler climate varietals like Pinot noir and Chardonnay. Many of the grapes grown in Los Carneros are used for sparkling wine production. Receiving its AVA status in 1983, the Carneros area was the first wine region in California to be defined by its climate characteristics rather than political boundaries.
Among being a Viticultural Area, it is also famous for being the place where the default Windows XP "Bliss" background was taken. The picture was taken a few years after the vineyards had been removed following a phylloxera infestation; they were replanted later, making the place unrecognizable as the Windows XP background to anyone just visiting.
In the year 1942, wine producer Louis M. Martini purchased the old Stanly Ranch and began a replanting effort. By the 1970s, the Carneros region had more than 1,300 acres (530 ha) of vineyards. By this time the Carneros region was starting to develop a reputation for the quality of the Chardonnays and Pinot noirs that came from this cool-climate region. This reputation caught the eyes of sparkling wine producers from Champagne and elsewhere. In the 1970s and continuing to this day, Francis Mahoney of Mahoney Vineyards and Fleur de California in conjunction with UC-Davis have conducted an ongoing series of clonal trials to determine the best Pinot noir grapes for the Carneros region. The 1980s saw a wave of investment and development in Los Carneros by producers such as Domaine Chandon, Domaine Carneros, Gloria Ferrer, Mumm Napa and Codorníu Napa that made Carneros one of the centers of California sparkling wine production. In the late 1980s, phylloxera returned to the Carneros region prompting extensive replanting efforts. In addition to taking advantage of better phylloxera-resistant , many Carneros producers also took the opportunity to plant some of the new French clones of Pinot noir and Chardonnay. The surging popularity of Chardonnay in the 1980s further stimulated plantings in the Carneros region. By the early 1990s, the region had over 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) planted.
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