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Chapter1IntroducingCaliforniaWinesInThisChapter▶ThegamutofCalifornia’swineproduction▶Californiawine’sinternationalstatus▶Whytheregionisidealforproducingwines▶California’scolorfulwinehistoryAll50U.S.statesmakewine—mainlyfromgrapesbutinsomecasesfromberries,pineapple,orotherfruits.Equalityanddemocracyendthere.Californiastandsapartfromthewholerestofthepackforthequantityofwineitproduces,theinternationalreputationofthosewines,andthedegreetowhichwinehasper-meatedthelocalculture.TosaythatintheU.S.,wineisCaliforniawineisnotahugeexaggeration.Ifyouwanttobeginfindingoutaboutwine,thewinesofCaliforniaareagoodplacetostart.Ifyou’realreadyawinelover,chancesarethatCalifornia’swinesstillholdafewsurprisesworthdiscov-ering.Togetyoustarted,wepaintthebigpictureofCaliforniawineinthischapter.CoveringAlltheBasesinWineProductionWine,ofcourse,isnotjustwine.Theshadesofquality,price,color,sweetness,dryness,andflavoramongwinesaresomanythatyoucanconsiderwineawholeworldofbeveragesratherthanasingleproduct.CanasingleU.S.statepossiblyembodythiswholeworldofwine?Californiacananddoes.Whateveryournotionofwineis—evenifthatchangeswiththeseasons,thefoodsyou’repreparing,orhowmuchyoulikethepeopleyou’llbediningwith—Californiahasthatbasecovered.Wewouldbethelastpeopletosuggestthatyouforever-after05_376072-ch01.indd1105_376072-ch01.indd113/13/0910:45:52PM3/13/0910:45:52PMCOPYRIGHTEDMATERIALPartI:TheBigPictureofCaliforniaWine12drinkthewinesofonlyonestateorwineregion,becausewebelieveinconstantexperimentation;however,ifthatcurseweretobefallyou,youcouldrestassuredthatwithintheboundariesofCalifornia,youcouldfindjustaboutanytypeofwineyoumightdesire.ThecolorandtypespectrumsCaliforniamakesahugeamountofwhitewineandredwine—thesplitisabouteventhesedays—andyetoneofCalifornia’sbest-sellingtypesofwinesisactuallypink,orrosé.(ThatwouldbethewinecalledWhiteZinfandel,andyes,thatnameisillogi-cal.)CaliforniaalsoproducesplentyofroséwinesbesidesWhiteZinfandel.Sparklingwine—winewithbubblesinit—andreallysweetlike-dessert-in-a-glasswinesaretwoclassictypesofwinebeyondregu-larstill(nonsparkling),dry(notsweet)wines.California’ssparklingwinesrangeinpricefromsuper-affordabletoelite,andinquality,theyrangefromdecenttoworld-class.Theyalsoencompassarangeofstyles,fromsweetandeasy-to-enjoytoclassicallydryandcomplex.SweetdessertwinesareoneofCalifornia’ssmallestwinecategories,butnevertheless,youcanscore.YouroptionsrangefromdeliciousredPort-stylewines(fortifiedwines,madebyaddingextraalcohol)torich,seductivegolden-coloredwinesmadefromgrapesthatshriveledintoanextrasweetstate.Havewemissedanything?Wehopenot,becauseCaliforniadoesn’t!WecoverwhiteandredwinesinChapters5through10,andwecoverrosé,sparkling,anddessertwinesinChapter11.ThewalletspectrumForsomewinedrinkers,loveofwineiscolorblindaslongasthepriceisright—andthewineproducersofCaliforniaarecom-pletelyobliging.Attheirmostaffordable,California’swinescostaslittleas$2fortheequivalentofastandardbottle.(Thevolumeofastandardwinebottleis750milliliters,whichisalittlemorethan25ounces.)Andafewelitewinesboastpricesofupto$750abottle.Yes,that’s$1permilliliter,or$30anounce.Intermsofthedollarvalueofsales,theboomingsegmentofthemarketisinthe$15-and-upwines.Butagreaterquantityofwinesellsintheunder-$8pricetier.Bottomline:plentyofwineatwhat-everpriceyouchoose.05_376072-ch01.indd1205_376072-ch01.indd123/13/0910:45:52PM3/13/0910:45:52PMChapter1:IntroducingCaliforniaWines13DefiningwineIfyou’renewtothewholewineexperience,weproudlyrecommendthatyoutakealookatourbook,WineForDummies,4thEdition(Wiley),becauseitprovidesawealthofinformationaboutwineingeneralthatcanhelpyouappreciateourfavor-itebeverage.ButthelastthingwewanttodoishaltyourmomentumindiscoveringCalifornia’swines,sofornow,here’saquicksummaryofwhatwineisandhowawinegetstobethewayitis.Wineisgrapejuicethatunderwentfermentation,abiologicalprocessinwhichmicroscopicfungicalledyeaststransformthesugarinthejuiceintoalcoholandcarbondioxide(whichusuallydissipates).Adrywineisawinewhosegrapesugarconvertedtotallyoralmosttotallyintoalcoholsothatlittleornosugarremainsinthewine.Winesthatretainsomenaturalgrapesugararecategorizedasoff-dry,medium-dry,medium-sweet,orsweet,dependingonhowmuchsugartheycontain.Adrywineismainlywater,withabout12to16percentalcohol(ethanol),0.5to1percentglycerol(asweetalcohol),0.5to0.7percenttartaricacid(fromthegrapes),andhundredsofminorcomponents.Theseminorcomponentsincludeotheracids,tannin(anaturalsubstanceinthegrapeskinsandseeds),thegrapes’coloringmatter,unfermentedgrapesugar(calledresidualsugar),minerals,aromaticcom-poundsthatcreatethewine’saromasandflavors,andsoforth.Mostofthecomponentsofwinecomefromthegrapes.Otherscomefromthefermentationprocess,thematerialsthatthewineorjuicecomesincontactwith(suchasoakbarrels),andthewine’sagingprocessbeforeand/orafterthewineisbottledandsold.Thewinemakeralsooftenaddscertainsubstances,suchassulfurdioxide(whichhelpspreventthewinefromturningtovinegar)orextraacid,intinyamounts.Eventhoughwineismainlywater,it’sanamazinglycomplexliquid.Differentwinescanbesimilarintaste,butnotwowines