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Napa Valley Wine Country And Wine Growing Region
Napa Valley is truly an unbelievable Mediterranean oasis in the middle of Northern California’s gorgeous rolling hills. Nestled inside of what many refer to as the “wine country,” Napa is world-renowned for the incredible grapes and wine it produces. Visitors to the town will be astounded by both the incredible beauty of the area as well as the amazing amount that wine has infiltrated the culture here. It seems that everywhere you turn there is either an entrance to a majestic vineyard, rolling hills of vines, a quaint wine shop, or a sophisticated restaurant offering an extensive menu of fine wines for you to enjoy. A getaway to Napa will truly let you escape from your hectic everyday life, letting you live, if only for a moment, the Edenic, blissful life of Napa Valley.
Located in the heart of the region known as “Wine Country,” Napa contains more than 350 wineries for your enjoyment, most of which ship wine internationally and have gained international fame for their taste and overall quality. More than 3 million visitors per year visit this astounding region, wishing to catch a glimpse of the natural abundance for which the Napa Valley is famed. The reason Napa is so adept at growing grapes is the dry, warm Mediterranean climate afforded to it by its location in a protected valley of Northern California. The soil is very rich and arid, and this fertility combined with the magnificently temperate weather and moderate yet consistent waterfall means an almost ideal location – similar to that of the famed grape-growing regions of France and the rest of southern Europe – for vineyard cultivation. The Napa Valley is already well on its way to becoming an international wine powerhouse, but the discovery of its fertile soil is by no means a new development.
In the middle of the 19th century, pioneer George Yount moved to the Napa Valley and planted the very first crop of wine grapes ever in the region. During his lifetime, the wine industry did not take off, but after he gave his business to his son-in-law, Yount’s original intention finally came to fruition. Grape-growing soon flourished in the fertile Napa Valley, attracting many more affluent growers from around the country and world who were seeking out the Next Big Thing in American agriculture. Charles Krug began Napa Valley’s first actual winery, distilling and creating the first signature wines of the Napa Valley and in the process transforming the valley from what was just an agricultural area into the prosperous distilling and bottling region we know and love today. Interestingly, you can still visit the historic Krug family winery today, bottling many kinds of fine wines such as Cabernet, Chardonnay, Pinor Noir, and Merlot. At the turn of the 20th century, Napa had begun its rise to becoming the formidable and prosperous viticulture region to which visitors now flock from all over the world.
One of the best ways to take advantage of this wine-growing region is to take tours of the seemingly endless number of wineries located in Napa Valley. Surrounded by the majestic, rolling hills that will likely resemble the gorgeous slopes of Tuscany to any who have visited there, these tours will be a great way to get a taste (literally!) of the natural wonders of the Napa Valley as well as get a hands-on look at how some of your favorite wines are created. Usually, these tours take you on a guided tour around their various crops of grapes, then give you a behind-the-scenes look at how their winery operates, from the crushing of the grapes to a glimpse at the carefully-maintained barrels that infuse the grapes with the winery’s signature flavor. These tours can be a great way to get a behind-the-scenes look at how your favorite wines are crafted – and many times they offer free wine tasting as part of the package!
Napa Valley is truly one of the most exquisite regions of California. Covered in glorious vine-lined hills and dotted with quaint little towns that truly make you feel like king or queen for the weekend, taking a trip to this luxurious northern California valley will surely be a highlight of your year.
About Golden Horizon Travel: Golden Horizon Travel offers a different brand of service. A variety of qualities that make our touring experience unique and memorable. Our services are professional, designed to make each tour a personal experience. Top of the line vehicles, for groups of various sizes, ensure that the tour is comfortable.
Wine Tours in the Napa Valley
Napa Valley, located in western California has a robust heritage of producing some of the world’s finest wine grapes since the 19th century – and as you might expect, this tradition remains true to this very day. While the area began to suffer in the prohibition era 1920’s, the end of World War II brought a new life to Napa Valley, but it wasn’t until 1976 when a Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon rated better than numerous fine French wines in a blind taste. Dubbed “The Judgment of Paris”, it was this wine competition that really put Napa Valley on the map – and the region has seen enormous success ever since.
On average, nearly 5 million tourists visit on an annual basis – this makes it one of the most popular attractions in the entire state; second only to Disneyland. And if you’ve ever been to the area you already know that there are plenty of great reasons to visit the area, no matter the season.
Winter is primarily the off-season, but in the spring the first sprouting of mustard flowers along with pink and white blossoms can be seen amongst the grapevines throughout the valley; and this is quite a sight for any visitor to the region. In summer the grapevines begin to develop their leaves, tiny grape clusters may even begin to develop on some types. The grape clusters are harvested in the fall, and as you might expect, this is the most popular time to plan a vacation to the area.
There are a number of wineries for you to visit while on your vacation. One of the earliest, the Robert Modavi Winery remains one of the largest and most popular wineries to date – but some of the smaller ones have a lot to offer in the way of great tasting wine, as well. This includes Bryant Family Vineyards, Diamond Creek Vineyards, Dominus Estate, Screaming Eagle Winery and Vineyards, just to name but a few.
But of course no vacation to the region would be complete with a wine tasting tour or two; and Napa Valley has plenty of them to offer that cater to all tastes and lifestyles. One of the area’s most popular tours is the Wine Train, a three-hour roundtrip train ride in and around some of the regions most prolific vineyards. Onboard you can sample anywhere from 30-40 local wines, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and much more.
For the tourist who would rather get outdoors and take on an exciting adventure while vacationing in the region, Adventure Tours may be just right for you. Here you’ll have guided tours of some of the area’s vineyards while hiking, rock climbing, while riding a mountain bike or even in a kayak. If you are feeling a little bit more adventurous, you can even have one of their experts put together a safe yet exciting self guided tour for you to relax and explore the trails of Napa Valley on your own. If you love the outdoors and outdoor activities, this may just end up being the vacation experience of a lifetime.
If you are looking to relax in a limousine with your own private chauffeur, there are plenty of wine tours in the area that offer the comfort of limo tours of the region, as well. Many have a variety of vehicles and options, allowing you to accommodate any size group and any level of luxury. If you desire the high class service that only a professional limousine service can offer, you’ll have more than enough choices here in Napa Valley.
As you can see, Napa Valley really makes every attempt possible to make sure all of our guests are entertained. And in your downtime, the hotels and resorts here will make sure you stay comfortable all night long.
The History as well as Development of the St. Helena Wine Area in Napa Valley
The Background and Growth of the St. Helena Wine Area in Napa Valley
St. Helena was the centerpiece of early industrial wine production in the Napa Valley area. As a result of the manufacturing of wine in this region, the whole white wine sector in The golden state was shaped.
The town of St. Helena was developed in 1855. Numerous years later, in 1861, the first winery was established in the Valley by a German immigrant. His name was Charles Krug. A variety of other German immigrants soon complied with in his steps, including the Schrams as well as the Beringers. Krug went on to end up being one of the very first major vintners in Napa Valley. Born in 1825 in Prussia, Krug had been a political radical as a young people. Later on he relocated to Alto, California and also ended up being a next-door neighbor of Agoston Haraszthy, who ended up being Krug’s mentor pertaining to the production of grapes and wine. Prior to long, Krug started creating a glass of wine for others. One of his first clients was George Yount, of Yountville popularity.
Krug established his very first commercial vineyard at the age of 27. Swiftly, he ended up being well recognized for his use a cider press in order to extract juice from his grapes. Krug also ended up being connected with a variety of other innovations for the manufacturing of white red wine as well. These approaches consisted of aging as well as fermentation methods. Thinking about the age, Krug was fairly cautious in his selection of varietals and also rootstocks.
Throughout the next thirty years, Krug continued the advancement of his vineyard and also wineries. He was not able to get away the devastations of the insect phylloxera; nonetheless, and he was eventually compelled to declare bankruptcy therefore. Krug passed away in 1892 and the list below year his vineyard was acquired by James Moffitt. In 1943, the vineyard was sold once again; this moment to Cesare Mondavi.
With no reluctance, Mondavi started to restore the wineries as well as the manufacturing facilities. Mondavi was helped by his children, Peter and also Robert, in the procedure of the winery. The Mondavi family members proceeds to run the winery.
Beringer Vineyards has additionally gained quite a track record. The vineyard was developed in 1876 by Frederick as well as Jacob Beringer. That very same year neighborhood vintners developed the St. Helena Viticultural Club. The Beringer siblings had been drawn in to the area due to the fact that the growing conditions were quite similar to that of their house area in the Rhine Valley of France. At the time, the task of developing the vineyard was tough due to the truth that bros had to actually sculpt caverns into capitals that were positioned straight behind their winery. The work was finished by Chinese workers and upon conclusion the caves verified to be the dreamland for the aging of Beringer wines. Today, those very same caves are still in usage.
Beringer Vineyards generates a number of various glass of wines; much of which are produced with grapes that are in fact sourced from various regions. Although other vineyards in St. Helena are equally as popular as Beringer, Beringer Vineyards has the sole case to being the earliest winery in Napa Valley that has actually been continuously operated.
The front runner a glass of wine of the winery is the Beringer 1999 Private Get Cabernet Sauvignon. Just the finest fruit from countless AVAs in Napa Valley are used in the production of the white wine. They are all aged separately, utilizing French Oak, and after that combined together later on. This incredibly intricate a glass of wine is thought about a premier red wine of the region.
The advancement of the St. Helena wine area has certainly been substantially aided by the Krug and Beringer wineries; nevertheless, they are absolutely not the only vineyards in the area. As early as the 1880s there were almost 3,000 acres of wineries planted in St. Helena as well as greater than a loads vineyards in operation. Regrettably; however, the combination of Prohibition and also phylloxera almost entirely decimated the region.
Even a few of the oldest wineries in St. Helena at some point went out of business as a result of Prohibition. Throughout this moment duration, the acreage was converted to the growth of various other items.
In the 1940s; however, the venerable Krug vineyard began to return from the ashes after it was bought by the Mondavi family. Today, the Krug winery is still among the most respected in the state.
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An Introduction to Napa Valley
An Introduction to Napa Valley
If you are a red wine fan, there is nothing better than taking a trip of several of the Napa Valley vineyards. For several red wine enthusiasts, a see to Napa Valley can be the culmination of a lifetime dream. The spectacular scenery as well as really pleasant environment create a remarkable holiday.
Napa Valley is positioned in Northern The golden state. The soil as well as environment in Napa Valley have actually verified to be amongst the very best in the world for expanding a glass of wine grapes. Because of this, this region has turned into one of the premier a glass of wine creating areas in the U.S. A variety of various wines are included via vineyards in Napa Valley, including Caymus, Chandon as well as Frank Family Members.
Millions of visitors and site visitors group to Napa Valley yearly in order to visit the many vineyards in production there. Actually, Napa Valley has ended up being one of the premier destinations in the whole state of The golden state. Not just will you be able to take pleasure in awesome views during a journey to Napa Valley yet your trip will certainly also supply you with an once in a lifetime experience to take pleasure in many culinary pleasures also. In the event you occur to dabble in your own wine making in your home, a trip to Napa Valley can absolutely provide you with lots of ideas.
Historically, Napa Valley has constantly been strong; however, there have actually been times during background when it appeared as though this fertile and attractive valley would certainly nearly discontinue to exist in terms of wine production. Among these times happened throughout Prohibition, beginning in 1920. A root louse understood as phylloxera also added to the damage of various fine vines throughout this time around duration too. As a result a variety of wineries in Napa Valley shut. Adhering To The Second World War; however, they re-opened and Napa Valley once more ended up being fairly preferred.
After the outcomes of the Paris Wine Tasting were introduced in 1976, at which time the Napa Valley Chardonnay as well as Cabernet Sauvignon were deemed to be far better than many fine French labels, Napa Valley became fairly preferred. Today, Napa Valley has actually proceeded to expand and also expand and also is house to literally thousands of wineries. Some of the best vineyards worldwide are situated right in Napa Valley.
A trip to Napa Valley provides you with the opportunity to take pleasure in wine scenic tours from early morning till evening. Not just will you have the possibility to enjoy a broad range of fine red wines but you can likewise see the procedure of making red wine from the very initial step to the very end. In addition, several vineyards provide excellent quality red wines at rates that are highly discounted.
When you first traveling to Napa Valley you will uncover that in spite of the truth that many vineyards lie in Napa, the valley itself is rather compressed. The entire valley is just 35 miles long. The benefit of this is that you can quickly take a trip from one end of Napa Valley to the various other in a really percentage of time. Provided that website traffic is not heavy it takes only about half a hr to drive the whole distance of the valley. Highway 29 forms the major course for the vineyards; which is where a lot of the larger vineyards as well as the dining establishments, shops and hotels lie. Freeway 29 begins at the mouth of the Napa River, fairly close to completion of San Francisco Bay. You can quickly get to every vineyard in Napa Valley by traveling along Highway 29.
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