Monday, 9 January 2012
A gift of wine is a beautiful gift for any occasion and appropriate for almost anyone. Although French wine is considered supreme, many can be out of reach for the average gift budget. California wines are a great alternative, both in price and quality.
European nations like France have been famous for fine wines for several hundreds of years so many people overlook the newer wine producers of California. Just because their wineries are less than a century old does not mean that they do not have some fantastic wines. In fact, California is now ranked fourth in the world for wine production with only France, Italy and Spain producing more.
California is actually one of the ideal grape growing regions of the world and close to a hundred different grape varietals grow well there. This state diverse micro-climates and varying soil conditions contribute to the excellent variety of grapes that can be grown. Close proximity to the Pacific Ocean as well as the many bodies of fresh water found in California also plays an essential factor in the high quality of the grapes that grow there.
California wine producing regions are separated into five main regions, with a number of smaller sub-regions (known as appellations) inside the five main locations. North Coast, Central Coast, Southern California, Central Valley and the Sierra Foothills are all excellent regions for wine grape growing and wine production. In order for a specific appellation to be listed on the wine’s label, at least 75% of the grapes utilized in production must have originated in that sub-region.
Even though California produces numerous varieties of wine, its reputation has been earned with the high quality white wines that it creates. There are many fine red wines that originate in California but they are really overshadowed by the exceptionally fine white wines like Chardonnay and Avignon Blanc.
Chardonnay has remained probably the most well-liked white wine in the United States for close to fifty years. Chardonnay grapes are extremely hardy and are resistant to most horticultural diseases. This makes them extremely simple to grow and consequently they are widely available for wine making. This ease of growing in big quantities keeps the costs of the wines extremely reasonable so are suited to all budgets.
Chardonnay is a white wine which is appealing to numerous palates due to its full-bodied fruitiness. It is a very versatile wine and is often utilized for blending to make many different vintages. Chardonnay is also a dry wine which is heavily influenced by the materials utilized in the barrels throughout the aging process. Oak is popular for aging Chardonnays as it lends a nutty, buttery note to the resulting wine.
Either of these lovely white wines will make a sophisticated gift choice whilst living within your spending budget.
The author has many interests and writes about many things. Check out his new site about dry white wine. To stop by his other site about best mileage cars, click here.
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