Even in a theoretical future dramatically reshaped by climate change, it seems unlikely for Napa to lose its pre-eminence as the home of California’s most beloved Cabernet Sauvignons. Though the spotlight seems destined to remain trained on the ever-more-rarefied Napa, outside the gilt-edged glare of that performance, an understudy diligently waits in the wings, working twice as hard for half as much recognition.
Though its plantings of Bordeaux varieties and Chardonnay are proportionally similar to Napa (with a bit more Chardonnay and a greater predominance of Zinfandel), Sonoma’s Alexander Valley AVA couldn’t be more different from the shiny glamour that characterizes today’s Napa Valley, yet it is producing a few wines that are every bit the equal of Napa’s best.
Despite the buzzing town of Healdsburg, one of California’s hottest wine-country destinations, lying just minutes to the south-west, Alexander Valley itself evokes much more of the quiet agrarian past that used to characterize all of Northern California’s wine country, but now can feel hard to find.
‘There’s a lot less density in Alexander Valley’, says Alice Warnecke Sutro, president of Alexander Valley Winegrowers. Her family has been farming in the valley since 1911 and growing grapes since 1971. ‘We’re more rural. We have far fewer tasting rooms, fewer distinct vineyards, and fewer distinct labels. It’s less glitzy than Napa. You certainly won’t find the “Disney Effect” here.’
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Image by George Rose courtesy of Sonoma County Winegrowers.
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Source : https://www.vinography.com/2024/09/californias-other-cabernet-valley
