| The apple trees are one clue. Blueberries and tangled thickets of blackberries
and raspberries–and the densely-fruited jams, jellies and preserves they
produce–are the other. Both reference a climate that is just cool enough
to bring out the most fully matured fruit flavors that Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer,
Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc can mount.
Tucked away on the edge of Sebastopol– once the world’s home to
the Gravenstein apple–Green Valley offers an admixture of redwood forests,
llama and Christmas tree farms, ornamental flower nurseries (even normally fragile
orchids thrive here), Luther Burbank’s famed Gold Ridge Farm, old style
Italian restaurants . . . and wine grapes with distinctive “cold climate”
identities. Also used for sparkling wine, Pinot Noirs are velvet-textured and
supple with spicy black cherry, and local Chardonnays are crisp and creamy, with
nutty spices all their own. Then there’s the spice queen, Gewurztraminer,
with nutmeg and cinnamon pushing forward hothouse floral aromas that entice and
lure.
~Sonoma County Vintners |
