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Santa Cruz Mountain Bordeaux Varieties: The Real Deal
by Clark Smith
January 12, 2009



You can’t make money in this region. These tiny labors of love exist for one purpose only – excellence. Whether they’re ego-driven or on a spiritual quest, these guys (including plenty of extraordinary women) are the real deal. And that's exactly what the results of our Best-of-Appellation tasting of Bordeaux varietals proved.

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Lodi, California - Seven AVAs in One

by Dan Berger
April 25, 2007

The 7 sub appellations of Lodi begin to define the diversity within the larger appellation as wineries begin to make specific wines from each region

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As the Crane Flies
An Interview with Nick Nardolillo
of White Crane Winery

by Laura Ness
February 8, 2007

Nick Nardolillo has two tasting rooms: one in Livermore and one in Capitola, on the Monterey Bay. He can just as easily look the part of the Santa Cruz shredder, an ad agency executive, a school teacher, an intelligence analyst or even, a winemaker. He cleans up well and is well put-together enough to play all those parts. In fact, he has. From Air Force Intelligence officer in Vietnam, to elementary schoolteacher, Nick Nardolillo has done it all. And he’s far from finished reinventing himself.

[>] see full story

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Willamette Valley: It's Not Just
for Pinot Noir Anymore

by Alan Goldfarb
August 4, 2008

Ensconced in a world of Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley, where the varietal is lionized for giving the region its raison d’être, the young winemaker, Remy Drabkin, will soon be making about 12,000 bottles – and conspicuously and consciously - none of it is Pinot Noir. Drabkin is drawn to producing wines made from warm climate Italian grapes such as Sangiovese, Barbera, and Lagrien. Her reasons, she admits, are pragmatic.

[>] see full story

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Q: What is an appellation?
An appellation is a winegrowing region with officially recognized boundaries. Appellation designations are required on wine labels to identify the origin of the grapes used in making the wine. Vineyard locations rather than winery locations determine appellation.

Because in North America we are in the process of defining our growing areas, there are two classes of appellations. Political boundaries (states, provinces and counties) are still used for some, but increasingly, appellations defined by geographic boundaries based on topography, climate and soil types are receiving government approval. These geographically based appellations are known as American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in the U.S. and Designated Viticultural Areas (DVAs) in Canada.



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Q: Where are the appellations?
Counting all classes of appellations there are 322 officially recognized wine growing regions in North America. Presently, in the U.S. there are 201 AVAs spread across 26 states, and 21 DVAs in Canada.

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Q: Looking for a grape variety?
In the U.S. and Canada, there are presently 347 grape varieties being grown for commercial wine production.

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There are presently 5461 commercial wineries in North America, with 2648 in California and the rest spread across the other 49 states and six Canadian provinces.

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Sommelier Wine Picks

Peconic Bay Winery
2006 Steel Fermented Chardonnay
(North Fork of Long Island)


750ml $18.00

C.G. Di Arie Winery
2005 Syrah
(Amador County)


750ml $20.00

Dr. Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars
2006 Rkatsiteli
(Finger Lakes)


750ml $17.99

Peconic Bay Winery
2001 Oregon Hills Reserve Merlot
(North Fork of Long Island)


750ml $38.00

Cakebread Cellars
2007 Chardonnay
(Anderson Valley)


750ml $37.00

Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards
2005 Chardonnay - Gravel Ridge Vineyard
(Santa Cruz Mountains)


750ml $20.00

Tamayo Family Vineyards
2006 Pinot Noir
(Santa Lucia Highlands)


750ml $32.00


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New Partners

Appellation America welcomes its newest Partners to the Winery-Direct Marketplace!

D'Alfonso-Curran Wines
(Santa Ynez Valley)
Patton Valley Vineyards
(Willamette Valley)
Grant-Ed Winery
(North Yuba)
Kukkula
(Paso Robles)
Derby Wine Estates
(Paso Robles)
TR Elliott
(Russian River Valley)

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Wineries wishing to become Partners in the Winery-Direct Marketplace please contact us.


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