California is one of the world’s most diverse and misunderstood wine regions. It’s famous for sunshine, Hollywood… and big, ripe reds — but the best Californian wines don’t behave like “sunshine in a bottle” at all.
The state’s top producers lean on altitude, fog, cold ocean air and careful site selection to craft wines with finesse, freshness, and structure — the same traits we typically associate with Bordeaux, not the West Coast.
In this guide, we break down:
Why Californian wines vary so dramatically in style
How AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) work
Why “cooling influence” is everything
Three benchmark wines worth knowing (and why each one matters)
Just like France has Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne, the U.S. uses AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) to designate regions with distinct terroir. Some AVAs are known for high-volume, inexpensive wines; others (like Napa’s mountain AVAs) are associated with top-tier, small-production bottles.
The longer the ripening period, the more complexity you get — because acidity drops more slowly and sugar rises more slowly. The result = vibrant, elegant wines rather than cooked, jammy flavours.
chateau-latour.com/en/" title="Link to Chateau Latour website" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Château Latour.
Mount Veeder is a mountain AVA within Napa Valley. The vineyards sit above the fog line — so the grapes ripen fully under the sun, but altitude keeps them cool.
That combo = power + freshness.
Lokoya only makes Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from different mountain AVAs, each showcasing a distinct terroir profile. Production is tiny (around 2,000 cases), and the 2019 has been directly compared to Chateau Latour — a Bordeaux First Growth from the legendary 1855 Classification.
This is true investment-grade Napa: precision, structure, and long-term cellaring potential.
Think: mountain tannin structure, cassis, graphite, long life ahead.
Caption: Napa Valley AVAs. Source: Wine Spirit Education Trust (WSET)
Wine 2: Hartford “Old Vine” Zinfandel (2022) — Russian River Valley
Zinfandel can be either incredible or forgettable. The difference almost always comes down to fruit sourcing and whether it was hand-harvested.
Zinfandel is notorious for ripening unevenly. Machine-harvested Zin = underripe + overripe + ripe grapes in one mix → unbalanced wine.
But old vines? Completely different story.
Old vines produce lower yields but higher concentration. Their root systems are deeply embedded, pulling more minerality and character from the soil. In Russian River Valley, fog keeps it cool — protecting freshness while old vines deliver density and spice.
It’s Zin for serious wine drinkers — not the jammy supermarket style.
Wine 3: Jonata “Todos” (2019) — Santa Ynez Valley (Santa Barbara)
Jonata is the sister estate of Screaming Eagle, one of the most coveted and expensive wines in America. Todos is their “field blend” of everything grown on the estate — hence the name ("todos" = "everyone").
Santa Barbara is cooler than people realise because the mountain ranges run east–west, funneling cold Pacific air inland. That allows Bordeaux varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to remain vibrant rather than overly ripe.
This is a brilliant entry into “serious California” at a far more approachable price point than Screaming Eagle — with pedigree baked in.
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Caption: Californian AVAs. Source: Wine Spirit Education Trust (WSET)
