Great wine can come from almost anywhere in the world, with awareness of these expanding boundaries having long since become commonplace. Even a few decades ago, it was routinely assumed that the world’s greatest wines could come only from a few select regions in France and Italy. Since then, however, an increasing level of production and an openness to exploring more of what wine has to offer has upset this rigid status quo. When a wine from California beat out the best that France and Italy had to offer in an international competition even quite a few years back, many were surprised, but not overly so.
The Best California Wine today can compete with the high points anywhere else on the globe. As retailers like Towne Cellars Wines & Liquors Inc. make clear, California wine also ranges more extensively in its quality than do vintages from many other places. Because California is so rich with good grape-growing land of varying kinds, winemakers find ways of mastering just about every challenge put before them.
For many years, the Best California Wine was thought always to come from the Napa Valley and Sonoma, but this has started to change. While many of the state’s greatest accomplishments of a grape-derived sort still do emerge from these places, the number of launching points has begun to diversify significantly.
Further south, for instance, the rich land of the Russian River Valley is now regarded as more or less the equal of these better known places. In addition to allowing for the fruitful production of a wider variety of grapes, the banks of the Russian River are also most hospitable to varietals that would not be so much at home further north. As a result, the great wines that now come from this area typically do so with a character that would be difficult to duplicate anywhere else in the state.
Even when a vintage from one of France’s famed chateaus still sets the world on fire, places like California therefore have nothing of which to be ashamed. In fact, there has likely never been a better time in history to be alive as someone who loves wine, with so many worthy options from around the world to explore. You can also connect them on Facebook for more updates.
