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Feature Article
Northern Mendocino has two new AVAs,
but who is the man behind their creation?
The Mysterious Ralph Carter: AVA Petitioner-at-Large
by
Mark DeWolf
August 16, 2006
With the mega appellation trend seemingly behind us - at least until the marketing guys figure out a way to re-pitch Coastal California as an AVA - there has been a pleasant procession of pint sized appellations receiving approval as American Viticultural Areas.
While the value of the large and well established AVAs such as the Napa Valley are obvious – especially to the marketers – it is less obvious if the approval of these new smaller AVAs will have any lasting impression. That is, unless of course, the unique qualities of these smaller appellations become popularized by the likes of AppellationAmerica and the greater wine intelligentsia.
And here in lies the responsibility of the petitioners of these new small AVAs to create meaningful appellations and their residing wineries to clearly define styles of wine that set them apart from others.
Appellation America is proud to feature the wines of Vin de Tevis winery and the first wines from Mendocino’s newest appellations:
"the Dos Rios and Covelo AVAs"
And that brings me to the newly recognized Covelo and Dos Rios AVAs. While sifting through the historical backgrounds, climate data and soil surveys (a laborious task even for the most avid of ‘terroirists’) of a series of AVA petitions to the TTB, I came across a most curious similarity between these two appellations in the middle of nowhere California (aka Northern Mendocino County). It wasn’t a similarity of climates or even a comparable soil structure that caught my attention. It was, in fact, the name of the petitioner on the AVA proposals – in both cases it was a mysterious man by the name of Ralph Carter.
Despite growing up in the Napa Valley, Ralph Carter only became interested in viticulture 10 years ago. He doesn’t own a winery, isn’t a well known figure in the industry, and beyond a couple off the cuff remarks in the odd blog or two, his name has probably never crossed the desks of the traditional wine press. But Ralph Carter, and people like him, will play an important role if appellation consciousness is to ever become a serious part of the North American wine culture rather than a marketer's tool.
The following is an interview with Ralph Carter; a man I have come to believe represents everything that is good about the AVA movement in California.
While the value of the large and well established AVAs such as the Napa Valley are obvious – especially to the marketers – it is less obvious if the approval of these new smaller AVAs will have any lasting impression. That is, unless of course, the unique qualities of these smaller appellations become popularized by the likes of AppellationAmerica and the greater wine intelligentsia.
And here in lies the responsibility of the petitioners of these new small AVAs to create meaningful appellations and their residing wineries to clearly define styles of wine that set them apart from others.
Appellation America is proud to feature the wines of Vin de Tevis winery and the first wines from Mendocino’s newest appellations: "the Dos Rios and Covelo AVAs"
And that brings me to the newly recognized Covelo and Dos Rios AVAs. While sifting through the historical backgrounds, climate data and soil surveys (a laborious task even for the most avid of ‘terroirists’) of a series of AVA petitions to the TTB, I came across a most curious similarity between these two appellations in the middle of nowhere California (aka Northern Mendocino County). It wasn’t a similarity of climates or even a comparable soil structure that caught my attention. It was, in fact, the name of the petitioner on the AVA proposals – in both cases it was a mysterious man by the name of Ralph Carter.
Despite growing up in the Napa Valley, Ralph Carter only became interested in viticulture 10 years ago. He doesn’t own a winery, isn’t a well known figure in the industry, and beyond a couple off the cuff remarks in the odd blog or two, his name has probably never crossed the desks of the traditional wine press. But Ralph Carter, and people like him, will play an important role if appellation consciousness is to ever become a serious part of the North American wine culture rather than a marketer's tool.
The following is an interview with Ralph Carter; a man I have come to believe represents everything that is good about the AVA movement in California.
Mark DeWolf(MD): Ralph, what were the motivations to plant grapes in Covelo – a region that is by all accounts off the beaten track to say the least?
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