How Can We Select a Good Bottle of California Wine? By Greg Levonian
My first sip of wine was at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park. If memory serves, I had a Chardonnay that went with my delicious Chicken Piccata. White meat, white wine, the kind sommelier kindly told me. I also leaned that Yosemite was not so far from the Central Valley, where some of the best wineries around resided.
California wines have an over 200 year-old history. With The Gold Rush came winemakers to California. With plenty of unoccupied territory, many took up farming, including growing grapes. Over time, California wines became—in the words of Robert Louis Stevenson—“bottled poetry”.
But how can we select a good bottle of California wine? Most of us rely on referrals from friends or wine aficionados (Oenophiles), or we examine a label and try a new brand. However, Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Complete Wine Course (Dell Publishing) contains some valuable insights, particularly on interpreting labels:
- Vintage date: 95% of the grapes must have been harvested that year.
- A California wine means that 100% of the grapes must have originated in California.
- Alcohol content: Usually the higher the alcohol percentage, the fuller the wine.
- The statement “Produced and bottled by”: at least 75% of the wine was produced by the winery on the label.
Regarding how much to spend: price does not necessarily mean quality, so no need for us to to over-spend.
You may be familiar with the expression, in vino veritas: “truth in wine”. Whether your preferred wines derive from California or elsewhere, embrace your favorites, seek a referral, or make a discovery—and then you will enjoy a truly tasty wine.
Greg Levonian taught English and Theatre Arts at Marymount California University. He is the author of the book, Oz and Ends: Wisdom from the Emerald City (BearManor Media). He lives in PVE. Glevonian@marymountcalifornia.edu
