1. The brief history of wine2. The brief history of California3. The story of wine in California

with a tangent on the history of the UC

4. Enjoying California winewith an optional tangent on the major varieties

5. What to drink, where to buy it, and where to go wine tasting

The whole and only point of drinking wine is to enjoy itIt is not a puzzle to be solvedThere are no wrong answers nor wrong

experiencesThere are no incorrect opinions

all experiences are subjective

However, similar to cardiac auscultation, your enjoyment of wine can increase with knowledge and practiceIncreasing how much you enjoying things in life

is good

A collaborative effort of:

Vitis vinifera or Vitis labruscaSaccharomyces cerevisiaeQuercus petraea or Quercus alba

Plus the sun, air, water, soil, insects, molds, and humankind

6000 BCE – first archeological evidence for winemaking in the Caucasus and Mesopotamia

Spread around the Mediterranean by the Phoenician seafaring culture

3000 BCE – well established in ancient Egypt

800 BCE – important to public culture in ancient Greece and Rome

43CE – Romans under Julius Caesar conquer and occupy Transalpine Gaul, bringing Vitis vinifera to western Europe

First Peoples arrive 12th century BCE via Bering Sea land bridge

Ohlone and Miwok tribes and sub-tribes populate the greater Bay Area

Spanish Exploration

Vasco Núñez de Balboa cross the isthmus of Panama in 1513

Francisco de Ulloa reaches Baja California in 1539

Spanish ExplorationJuan Rodríguez Cabrillo

reaches the Russian River in 1542 (and misses San Francisco Bay, dang!)

Gaspar de Portolá i Rovira, travelling overland, sights San Francisco Bay from the hills above Pacifica, 1769

Spanish ExplorationJuan Manuel de Ayala y Aranza enters the

Golden Gate in 1775

Spanish Viceroyalty, 1697 – 1821 Fr. Junipero Serra, El Camino Real, and the Missions

Bear Flag Rebellion and the Republic of California, 1846

Mexican Territory, 1821 – 1846

Mexican-American War, 1846 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo –  February 2, 1848

Native American grape is Vitis labrusca First V. vinifera planted in California by

Junipero Serra for sacramental wine at Mission San Diego in 1769

Ágoston Haraszthy, a Hungarian, imported 165 cuttings of European V. vinifera Founded the Buena Vista Winery

Charles Krug, 1861, first Napa winery

Winemaking in the French, German/Hungarian, and Italian traditions flourishes in many parts of California, concentrated around the Bay Area

Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, a.k.a. PhylloxeraAphid native to Americas that feeds on vine roots

Accidentally introduced to Europe in 1863, destroys the entire European wine industryCalifornia winemakers graft V. vinifera stems to

V. labrusca roots and save the California wine industry

By 1900, there are 800 wineries in California

Prohibition destroys the California wine industry94% of wineries go out of businessa few wineries, notably Christian Brothers

(now Greystone Cellars) and Krug survive making sacramental wine

V. vinifera vines are torn out,replaced with table grapes and jelly grapes

California table and jelly grapes are used to make very bad wine

Winemaking is effectively ceded back to Europe

Handful of California growers interested in good wineGeorges de Latour (Beaulieu Vineyards)Brother Timothy (Christian Brothers)Cesare Mondavi (Charles Krug estate)

Main Campus – Berkeley

School of Medicine – San Francisco

School of Education – Los Angeles

Marine Research Stations – Santa Cruz and San Diego

School of Agriculture – DavisBecomes heavily involved in wine grape research,

especially V. vinifera – V. labrusca grafting technique

The University of California, founded 1860

Regional designation (French custom)“Bordeaux”, “Burgundy”, “Chablis”

California adopts varietal designation (German custom)“Cabernet Sauvignon”, “Syrah”, “Merlot”

Varietal

designatio

n, yaaarr!

The Judgment of Paris, May 24, 1976A blinded, randomized, crossover

comparative efficacy trial12 California wines crush 8 French wines when

judged by a blinded panel of nine French judges

Reported in Time Magazine

The Judgment of Paris, May 24, 1976

Leads to worldwide acceptance of California wines

Leads indirectly to the worldwide rise in wine cultivation and consumption

Terrible

movie

90% of American wine production4th largest global producer1,200 wineries

Cabernet SauvignonMerlotPinot noirSyrahZinfandelPetit Syrah (Durif)Cabernet Franc

ChardonnaySauvignon Blanc

Whites

The whole and only point of drinking wine is to enjoy itIt is not a puzzle to be solvedThere are no wrong answers nor wrong

experiencesThere are no incorrect opinions

all experiences are subjective

However, similar to cardiac auscultation, your enjoyment of wine can increase with knowledge and practiceIncreasing how much you enjoying things in life

is good

Combination of grape, soil, climate, elevation, geography, growing season, and technique make each Producer-Vintage-Location-Variety unique

Producer – “Vincent Arroyo”

Variety – “Cabernet Sauvignon”

Vintage – “2002”Location – “Napa Valley”

Combination of grape, soil, climate, elevation, geography, growing season, and technique make each Producer-Vintage-Location-Variety unique

This combination of organic processes was unique to what happened that year, and will never happen in exactly that same way again

Four phases of drinking wine, a lot like performing a physical exam1. Inspection2. Auscultation3. Percussion4. Palpation

Four phases of drinking wine, a lot like performing a physical exam1. Look2. Smell, in the glass (“nose”, if you must)

3. In the mouth taste and feel in the mouth (“palate”) smell in the mouth (“aroma” and “bouquet”, if

you must)4. Taste, smell, and feel after the mouth

(“finish”)

Beauty

ColorClarity“Legs”

FruitsSpicesGrassesFlowersEarthMinerals“Butter” (malic and lactic acid)Strange things

cedar, tobacco, leather, hay, manure, tennis balls, garden hoses, movie-theater popcorn

AcidTanninsAlcohol“Body”

FruitsSpicesGrassesFlowersEarthMinerals“Butter” (malic and lactic acid)Strange things

cedar, tobacco, leather, hay, manure, tennis balls, garden hoses, movie-theater popcorn

Chardonnayvery fruity and grassyvariable acidityvery low tanninscan be “buttery” or “oakey”

Buttery = malolactic fermentation

Oakey = aged in oak

Most popular California wineby production and sales

volume

Sauvignon Blancgrassy, tropical, and floralmoderately high acidity,

“crisp” or “fresh”very low tanninsnever “buttery” or “oakey”

Very popular in New Zealand and Australia

Cabernet Sauvignonwidest variety of flavors

fruit, berry, spice, chocolatemint, eucalyptus, mineralsgreen bell pepperseverything else …

high acidityhigh to very high tanninsalways oaked

Merlot fruit, berry, some spicelow to moderate aciditylow to moderate tanninssometimes oaked

Very trendy in the ‘80s and ‘90sCrushed by “Sideways”

Pinot Noirfruit, berry, no spicelowest acidity among redslowest tannins among redsrarely oaked

Very trendy right now, partly because of “Sideways”

Syrah / Shirazvery spicy,

chocolate, coffeevery acidicmoderate tanninsusually oaked

Huge in Australia

Zinfandel / Primitivovery spicy, berriesmoderately acidicmoderate tanninsvariably oaked

Nearly unique to California, especially Sonoma

Petit Syrah (Durif)spice, fruit, berries, chocolatemoderately acidichigh tanninsusually oaked

Mostly from California and Australia

Cabernet Franclike Cabernet

Sauvignon, but more soat the best has a

unique blueberry notecan be extremely acidiccan be extremely

tannic

Rare, but yummy

The Neurocognition of Smell

The brain keeps a list of “smells that are food” and “smells that are not-food”

MRI studies show that “food” and “not-food” are processed very differently in the brain.

Much of the “food” and “not-food” list is established by early experiences, but plasticity continues throughout lifeThis underlies “acquired tastes”

If you find red wine repugnant, it is on your brain’s “not-food” list. This is usually addressable.It is not because of receptor alleles, which

would not be addressable.

At Safeway! Excellent selection and value.

Castro

Marina

Taraval

Diamond Heights

K & L Wine Merchants, 4th Steet at BluxomeCrazy selection, you can spend all day (and maybe a lot of money)

You don’t like wine (yet) – Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot

You don’t like red wine (yet) – Pinot or Merlot

You like wine – Cab, Syrah, or Zinfandel

You really like wine – Cab Franc, Cab, Durif, Zin

Beware of “Napa Valley” winesyou pay an unjustifiable price premium

because of their global marketability

Pay between $12 and $30 for a bottle at a supermarket< $12 takes a risk> $30 has diminishing marginal utility except for

special occasions

“Wine Tasting”driving from winery to winery drinking really

good, often free wineextremely funa great group activitygreat with visitors (parents,

boyfriend/girlfriend, siblings)is beautiful and relaxing, never mind the wine

Be safe - moderate your alcohol, have a D.D., or rent a limo (can be cheap with 5+ riders)

Try to avoid June – Septembervery crowded, and sometimes hotdead of winter is perfect

If you go to Napa Valley, avoid Highway 29The Pier 39 of Wineprimarily exists to induce out-of-town visitors

to part with their cash

Go to places other than Napa Valleyjust as beautiful, often as good, a lot less

expensive

Napa Valley• Cab, Cab, and Cab• Merlot

Alexander Valley• Cab• Chardonnay• Syrah, Petit Syrah

Dry Creek Valley• Zinfandel• Syrah• Cab

Valley of the Moon• Merlot• Cab

Carneros District• Chardonnay• Pinot

Livermore Valley• Zinfandel• Syrah• Cab

Santa Cruz Mnts• Merlot• Pinot

Santa Lucia Highlands•Pinot