California Wines: I prefer the chardonnays from Sonoma and the cabernets from Napa. Can anyone explain why?

Answer 1

The terra of the vineyards greatly affects the tastes of the wine. A Cabernet from the Napa valley tastes way different from a Bordeaux, but Bordeaux is mostly a cab / sauv.

Answer 2

Basically, it comes down to the terroir which means the "entire natural environment of the vine - the climate, soil, site and topography of the vineyard where it grows." The land in Sonoma and Napa is different from the land in New York State, Oregon, many European countries and the areas in Canada where grapes are grown which makes the wines different from each of those areas. The other things that influence grapes and how they develop are:

1. Weather (amount of rain & sunshine)
2. Winemaker's influence.

We've all seen how it can be bright and sunshiny in one area of a city and raining cats and dogs in another. Since each winery has their own winemaker than their choices on how to approach each set of grapes will influence the final product. Now, some of the bigger winemakers in a region will work with a larger number of wineries so that will change things around a bit. However, you may hear people saying, for example, "Jim Warren made this wine - you know this will be a great wine." (Jim Warren is one of the more known winemakers in the Niagara region of Ontario's wine country).

Hope this explanation helps.

Answer 3

It's the appellations. Sonoma is nearer to the coast, and they do more heavy oak flavored due to the oak barrels. Napa's appellations are more geared towards reds because we're more inland.

Answer 4

Sonoma napa they're all good.