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Wine lovers in the Sonoma Valley generally understand that the cooling effects of San Pablo Bay help make the Carneros a great place for growing pinot noir and chardonnay.
But what keeps western Sonoma’s grapevines cool during the growing season? For decades, just about everybody in the business credited the Russian River -- and only the Russian River -- with delivering the fog that characterizes that part of the county, home to acclaimed wineries such as Hartford Family Estate and Iron Horse, which grows pinot and chardonnay for its sparkling wines.
However, recent technological advances have proven that the river is only part of the story, especially in the Green Valley appellation located in the southwestern crescent of the Russian River Valley appellation. According to computerized mapping, the night-and-morning fogs that chill Green Valley vines actually drift northward from the Petaluma Gap, a notch in the coastal mountain range that, like the mouth of the Golden Gate, allows ocean breezes to sweep inland towards Sebastopol, Graton and Forestville, the towns that more or less mark the Green Valley triangle.
Considering Green Valley’s tiny size – roughly 12 miles long and four miles wide – it may not be surprising that its climate is very consistent throughout. But it also has an “almost unheard-of” soil uniformity, according to viticultural consultant Daniel Roberts. Sixty percent of the soils are Goldridge (sandy loam) and the remainder are Josephine (sandstone) – both soil types known for excellent drainage and minimal nutrients, qualities that keep vines from becoming too robust.
The more people learn about the attributes of Green Valley’s terroir, the better they can distinguish wines from that region. Chardonnays tend to be fresh, crisp, citrus-y, tangy and complex, while pinot noirs are often described as zesty, fruit-forward (dark cherry and ripe plum) and earthy. The best place to sample these and other varietals is, of course, at the six major wineries that have tasting rooms, including Dutton-Goldfield, Dutton Estate, goldridgepinot, Hartford, Iron Horse and Marimar Torres Estate. (Orogeny Vineyards and Tandem Winery are not open to the public).
Thirty years ago, when Barry and Audrey Sterling established Iron Horse, their vineyards did not belong to any appellation other than Sonoma County. Even the surrounding Russian River Valley had not been established as an American Viticultural Area (AVA). It wasn’t until 1983 that the Sterlings succeeded in having the
Bureau of Tobacco and Firearms approve Green Valley as an AVA.
The past few years have seen a groundswell of enthusiasm among vintners and growers for a higher profile for Green Valley grapes. Wine writers and other industry people have been invited to a series of symposia to sample dozens of wines and hear growers, geologists and viticulturists discuss the distinctive qualities of the appellation. (According to Joy Sterling of Iron Horse, the group plans to launch a Green Valley website in March.)
So far, only two wineries – Iron Horse and Orogeny – put Green Valley on their front label and only three others – Hartford, Dutton-Goldfield and Dutton Estate – identify the appellation on the back label.
“We haven’t used it a lot because it is so unknown,” says Don Hartford, “but now people are starting to talk about it and we’re seeing our wine more and more recognized for what it is.”
Hartford specializes in single-vineyards wines with “high personalities” – which, he explains, can translate into extremes, either charming or big. The Arrendell Vineyard where he grows pinot noir is so cool that sometimes he doesn’t harvest it until after bringing in the cabernet sauvignon, normally the latest-ripening varietal. “The wine has a little more elevated acidity than most California pinot noirs,” he notes, “and a blackberry character.”
Because of Sebastopol’s history as an apple-orchard capital, Hartford and other vintners often find apple notes in their chardonnays as well as what Hartford calls a “cold-climate nose”.
Although the area first gained agriculture recognition for its Gravenstein apples, grape vineyards were actually planted in Green Valley as early as the 1830s. One grower, Yagor Chernykh, had more than 2000 vines in 1836. (Interestingly, George Yount, acknowledged as the original grape grower in the Napa Valley, didn’t get going in Yountville until 1838.) As elsewhere, the double-whammy of Phylloxera and Prohibition brought grape growing to a virtual halt in the early 20th century. Farmers quickly found that almost any fruit was more profitable than grapes. The first growers to re-plant grapes were the Duttons, followed, in 1976, by the Sterlings.
Today, says Joy Sterling, “There is a critical mass of wineries producing here. This is the place, and the spotlight is on us.”
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