The Vineyard of California

The Vineyard of California

Located on the West Coast, and bordered to the south by the Sonoran Desert to the east by the great basin of the United States and to the north by the Klamath Mountains. Ocean frontage fully follows the relief of California, beyond which lies the Central Valley in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The capital of California is Sacramento, but the most populous city is Los Angeles, followed by the region of the Bay "in San Francisco, home to Silicon Valley, followed by San Diego

Great wine state, California is divided into 11 wine regions, which are: the Central Valley, the Lake County, Mendocino Valley, Napa Valley, the region of the North Coast, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Sierra Foothills region, Sonoma Valley, the region of the South Coast, Southern California, and the region of the central California coast.

Franciscan monks from Spain were the first to plant vines in this part of the world in the 18th century, wine was produced for personal use

A French native of Bordeaux, named Jean Louis vines, discovered the potential California in 1830 and brought many European varieties.

After the gold rush winemakers concentrated their efforts on the northern, central California and the San Francisco Bay.

This region offered their vast opportunities, and allowed the American wine industry born.

Initially, California gave heavy wines and spirits, may be had only after 1970 that the California viticulture, became know in Europe, wine producers going to study in European, with the results that have known today.

The area of ​​California brings very different climates, the climate of the east coast,is a Mediterranean type, with mild winters and hot summer, in the Central Valley, it was very hot and dry, or we find highest temperatures, or have found the largest number of precipitation, on the north coast of California.

This diversity also found in soil, due to its size and the fact that it is also a seismic area, with soils of volcanic origin, alluvial and sedimentary.

Today the California produce wines with growing quality from year to year. In small, and on large farms.

The number of small farms has continued to grow, especially in the Sonoma Valley.

Today, the wines of California look more and more to European wines, with varieties that are selected based on climate and soil, which will display a wide variety of wines and grape varieties.

The varieties that are most commonly found are: Chardonnay, Colombard, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Viognier for whites

For Red wine varietals selected are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Grenache, Pinot Black, Syrah, Barbera, Merlot, Barbera, Sangiovese, and Zinfandel.

California

First, was occupied by Native Americans organized in many tribes: Yuman, Chumash, Maidu, Miwok, Modoc, Mohave, Salinan, Ohlone and Tongva.

Then gradually incorporated in New Spain and then attached to independent Mexico in 1821, then the Republic of California declared independence June 14, 1846, prohibits slavery and adopts a constitution in 1849 and joins the Union September 9, 1850 .

Today, California is the most populous state in the United States with over 38 million inhabitants, the first state in the United States in terms of gross domestic product, innovation is the main benefit of California. It is bordered to the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by Oregon, on the east by Nevada and Arizona, and south has a common border with Mexico. With a width that varies between 240 and 400 km, with a north-south length of about 1 300 km.