Drawing new lines for wine on the Sonoma Coast
BY: Jon Bonné
When is the coast not necessarily the coast? When it’s marked on a bottle of Sonoma wine, apparently.
In wine terms, the Sonoma Coast appellation has been a mess since its approval in 1987. It stretches over 750 square miles, from the eastern end of San Pablo Bay, on Napa’s edge, to the far northern reaches of Sonoma’s actual coast, near the hamlets of Annapolis and Gualala. Along the way it engulfs most of Russian River Valley, Green Valley, the Sonoma portion of Carneros and nearly half of Sonoma County.
The original motives of the appellation are draped in the sort of politics that attend so many American Viticultural Areas, or AVAs. The original intent, as always, was to delineate a growing region with unique character. But the map for this particular sprawl of an appellation was largely sketched to include the vineyards of Sonoma-Cutrer, which needed an area that encompassed its winery and farther-flung vineyards for the “coastal” Chardonnay it promoted in the 1980s.”It’s big,” says Brice Jones, Sonoma-Cutrer’s founder, of the Sonoma Coast, “but it’s true to the purpose of having appellations.”
In subsequent years, every logical twist has been applied to explain this draw-outside-the-lines appellation: the predominance of certain soils, the impact of ocean wind through the gap in the coastal range near Petaluma (the Petaluma Gap is now pushing for its own appellation, of course), the presumptive cool climate.
“We felt the Sonoma Coast appellation was beginning to be used on wines for marketing purposes, and wasn’t being used on wines that showed the natural style of the area,” says Carroll Kemp of Red Car, which has vineyards in remote Fort Ross. “In that sense, it is deceptive.”
So there’s what has come to be called the “true” Sonoma coast – vineyards within a few miles of the Pacific coastline that, as it happens, are defining spots for some of the country’s top Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This includes names like Hirsch, Peay, Flowers and Marcassin, along with wineries like Littorai, Williams Selyem, Kistler and Freestone – all together a litany of California outperformers.
At long last, many have had it with the funny geography. Last month they unveiled a new organization, the West Sonoma Coast Vintners (see more at westsonomacoast.com), with two dozen members and its own festival to be held in August in Occidental.
This is hardly the first attempt to bring order to the gerrymandered blob of the Sonoma Coast. Around 2002, several of the group’s founding members submitted a proposal for a Fort Ross-Seaview appellation that included coastal ridges from Cazadero to Annapolis. That effort was shot down after concerns were raised by Jones, some of whose vineyards were excluded, along with Fort Ross Vineyards, who saw its brand name imperiled, and Hartford Family Winery, who similarly had vineyards outside the dotted line.
There are hopes that Fort Ross-Seaview will rise again. Efforts for Freestone-Occidental, an appellation south of the Russian River, are coming along, as are plans for an Annapolis appellation to the north, a Sebastopol Hills area south of the Bodega Highway (see sfg.ly/dRRaxo) and the Petaluma Gap.
But for now, the new group’s creators have moved to other tasks. They would rather promote the common culture of West County than start marking up maps once again. So they have devised a large, and unofficial, “West Sonoma Coast” area, with Highway 116 as a dividing line that cuts northwest through Sebastopol and Forestville.
Their hope is that rather than mire themselves in more bureaucracy, they can take their case directly to their customers.
“Looking at it from my point of view and some of my neighbors, we don’t really care anymore,” says David Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards, who spearheaded the original Fort Ross-Seaview effort.
“There’s been a learning curve around the real Sonoma Coast versus the generic, so I’m not sure how much interest there’ll be in putting these AVAs on the label.”
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/01/FD821IMPRL.DTL#ixzz1JqzoCOC4
Clark Wine Center is more than a wine shop to people living in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone. Clark’s wine shop is also a popular venue for parties and family gatherings. Conveniently located on the main highway of Clark Philippines, it is accessible to guests from Manila, Subic, Pampanga, Angeles City and of course those who live and work in Clark. Aside from the 2-storey wine shop which also has a nice roof deck lawn for small party of up to 80 people as well as an indoor wine tasting room which accommodates up to 60 comfortably, this wine store called Clark Wine Center also has one hectare of picnic grounds surrounding it.
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This Manila Wine Shop is the largest wine shop in Philippines. This is the wine shop to go for fine vintage wines, not just the big names like Lafite, Latour, Petrus, Cristal, Krug, Grange, Vega Sicilia and Sassicaia. This wine shop in Manila offers many excellent vintage wine for under p4,000, even for some that are 20-30 year old from St. Emilion and Pomerol.
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http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com
Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.
Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.
Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)
YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay
Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.
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While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com
YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.yatsleisure.com
Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:
http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com
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