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The River Road Wine Trail [1] is a Salinas Valley roadway trail for wine-tasting following the River Road along the western banks of the Salinas River (California). It is not to be confused with the Great River Road Wine Trail that follows along the banks of the Mississippi River. It is notably referenced in numerous books and magazines. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The River Road (County Route G17) follows along the banks of the Salinas River and predates the wineries by many decades. It runs along the length of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. The earliest grape plantings, however, were in the 1790s, with the arrival of the Spanish missions in California. [7] The arrival of commercial wineries (and wine-tasting), began in the early 1970s, with initial plantings by Smith at Paraiso, by McFarland at Sleepy Hollow, by Johnson at La Estancia, and by Hahn at Smith & Hook. [7] The hot climate of the Salinas Valley produces good Syrahs and the foggy nights are ideal for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and other cool-climate varieties. [8] Currently there are at least 24 wineries [9] in the Salinas Valley with at least 13 tasting rooms lining River Road, going from Salinas south to Greenfield. [10] They are perched on the eastern flank of the Santa Lucia Highlands overlooking great views of the rich valley farmlands. [11] The Salinas River Wine Trail was named by Wine Enthusiast magazine as the top ten wine travel destinations in the world, with only New York and Oregon located in North America. [12] [13]
The Wine-Tasting Facilities are usually encountered driving south from Highway 68 where it crosses the Salinas River. Using that as a starting point, the Wine-Tasting distances are tabulated below:
1. Odonata Wines South • 645 River Road, Salinas – 7 mi.
2. Rustique Wines • 1010 River Road, Salinas – 10 mi.
3. Pessagno Winery • 1645 River Rd, Salinas – 16 mi.
4. Manzoni Vineyards • 30981 River Road, Soledad – 17 mi.
5. Puma Road Winery • 32720 River Road, Soledad – 23 mi.
6. Wrath Wines • 35801 Foothill Road, Soledad – 24 mi.
7. Hahn Family • 37700 Foothill Road, Soledad – 26 mi.
8. Smith Family Wines • 38060 Paraiso Springs Road, Soledad – 31 mi.
9. Joyce Winery • 38740 Los Coches Road, Soledad – 35 mi.
At the end of the River Road Wine Trail is the start of another wine trail. At Greenfield, if one takes the Arroyo Seco Road westward, it branches [14] into the Carmel Valley Road from which one can then take the Carmel Valley Wine Trail northwards, passing Carmel Valley Village and ending at the coastal city of Carmel.
Greenfield is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. Formerly Clarke Colony, it lies in the Salinas Valley, 33 miles (53 km) southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 289 feet (88 m). As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,937, up from 16,330 in the 2010 census. Its most well-known public event is the annual Harvest Festival. Greenfield is a member of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.
Soledad is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. It is in the Salinas Valley, 21 miles (34 km) southeast of Salinas, the county seat. Soledad's population was 24,925 at the 2020 census, down from 25,738 in 2010. Soledad's origins started with Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, founded by the Spanish in 1791, under the leadership of Fermín de Lasuén. Catalina Munrás began developing the town of Soledad on her Rancho San Vicente in the 1860s, which eventually incorporated as a city in 1921. Today, Soledad is a notable tourist destination, owing to the heavily restored mission, its proximity to Pinnacles National Park, and its numerous vineyards, as part of the Monterey wine region.
Wine Country is the region of California, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, known worldwide as a premier wine-growing region. The region is famed for its wineries, its cuisine, Michelin star restaurants, boutique hotels, luxury resorts, historic architecture, and culture. Viticulture and wine-making have been practiced in the region since the Spanish missionaries from Mission San Francisco Solano established the first vineyards in 1812.
The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley.
The Salinas River is the longest river of the Central Coast region of California, running 175 miles (282 km) and draining 4,160 square miles (10,800 km2). It flows north-northwest and drains the Salinas Valley that slices through the central California Coast Ranges south of Monterey Bay. The river begins in southern San Luis Obispo County, originating in the Los Machos Hills of the Los Padres National Forest. From there, the river flows north into Monterey County, eventually making its way to connect with the Monterey Bay, part of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Moss Landing. The river is a wildlife corridor, and provides the principal source of water from its reservoirs and tributaries for the farms and vineyards of the valley.
Carmel Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Monterey County, California, southeast of Carmel-by-the-Sea and it is one of the ten AVAs in the county. Approximately 100 miles (161 km) south of San Francisco, the AVA was recognized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury on January 13, 1983 after reviewing the petition submitted by Mr. David Armanasco, General Manager of Dumey Vineyard, located in Carmel, to propose a viticultural area named “Carmel Valley.”
Carmel Valley is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States. The term "Carmel Valley" generally refers to the Carmel River watershed east of California State Route 1, and not specifically to the smaller Carmel Valley Village. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Carmel Valley as a census county division (CCD), with an area covering approximately 189 square miles (490 km2). At the time of the 2020 census the CCD population was 6,189. In November 2009, a majority of residents voted against incorporation.
Chalone Vineyard is located in the Chalone AVA south of San Francisco, California, United States, on an unusual geological formation called the Gavilan benchland. The soil is rich in limestone and calcium carbonate and also contains a significant amount of decomposed granite. This soil has a mineral composition similar to the Champagne region of France. Chalone is situated in an arid chaparral environment, in which temperatures can vary as much as 50°F in one day. The climate is very dry, only 12 to 14 inches (360 mm) of rain fall per year. These factors combine to create a unique terroir, the signature profile of a wine growing region.
California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state. California would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world if it were an independent nation.
Chalone identifies the first American Viticultural Area (AVA) established in Monterey County, California straddling its border with San Benito County where it is the second established AVA. Chalone viticultural area is located in the Gabilan Mountains east of Soledad. It was recognized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) effective on July 14, 1982 after reviewing the petition submitted by the Gavilan Vineyards, Inc. to establish a viticultural area in Monterey and San Benito counties to be named "The Pinnacles." The area encompasses 8,640 acres (14 sq mi) and the proposed name was recognition of the nearby Chalone peaks.
Illinois wine refers to any wine that is made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 2006, Shawnee Hills, in southern Illinois, was named the state's first American Viticultural Area. As of 2008, there were 79 wineries in Illinois, utilizing approximately 1,100 acres (4.5 km2) of vines.
J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines is a winemaking company headquartered in San Jose, California, with over 4,000 acres of estate vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA in San Luis Obispo County, Arroyo Seco and Santa Lucia Highlands AVAs in Monterey County, and the St. Helena AVA in Napa Valley, California. The family-owned and operated company was founded by Jerry Lohr in 1974. The company operates wineries in San Jose, Paso Robles, and Greenfield, California. In 2013, Steve Lohr was appointed CEO of the company. J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines’ product portfolio includes eight tiers of wine: J. Lohr Signature, J. Lohr Cuvée Series, J. Lohr Vineyard Series, J. Lohr Gesture, J. Lohr Pure Paso Proprietary Red Wine, J. Lohr Monterey Roots, J. Lohr Estates and ARIEL Vineyards. The portfolio also includes specialty brands Cypress Vineyards and Painter Bridge. J. Lohr ranks among the top 25 wine producers in the United States, with annual US sales exceeding 1.8 million cases.
The Stags Leap District AVA is an American Viticultural Area located within the Napa Valley AVA 6 miles (9.7 km) north of the city of Napa, California. The Stags Leap District was the first appellation to be designated an AVA based on the unique terroir characteristics of its soil. The soil of this region include loam and clay sediments from the Napa River and volcanic soil deposits left over from erosion of the Vaca Mountains. Like many Napa Valley AVAs, Stags Leap District is particularly known for its Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1976 at the Judgment of Paris wine tasting, the 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet from the area that would become this AVA won first place in the red wine category, beating out classified Bordeaux estates. Today, the Stags Leap District is home to twenty different wineries.
California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted Vitis vinifera vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. In the 1770s, Spanish missionaries continued the practice under the direction of the Father Junípero Serra who planted California's first vineyard at Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Windsor Vineyards is a winery located in Windsor, California, United States. It is one of the largest direct-to-consumer wineries in the United States.
The Arroyo Seco is a major tributary of the Salinas River in central California. About 40 miles (64 km) long, it drains a rugged area of the Coast Ranges east of Big Sur before flowing through the agricultural Salinas Valley.
Pisoni Estate is a family-owned and operated vineyard and winery located in the Santa Lucia Highlands of California’s Monterey Coast. It was founded in 1982 by Gary Pisoni, who was more interested in growing wine grapes than row crops for the family vegetable farm. He decided to plant a vineyard in the mountains above the Salinas Valley--an area previously considered undesirable for growing because of its dry, granitic soil. The vineyard began with small crops of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir, then eventually focused on the Pinot Noir for which it has become renowned.
Monterey County wine is a appellation that designates wine made from grapes grown in Monterey County, California which lies entirely within the expansive multi-county Central Coast viticultural area. County names in the United States automatically qualify as legal appellations of origin for wine produced from grapes grown in that county and do not require registration with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). TTB was created in January 2003, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or ATF, was extensively reorganized under the provisions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
Gabilan Mountains is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in the mountainous region on the border in Monterey and San Benito Counties in California. It is the tenth and newest AVA established in Monterey County by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) on September 14, 2022, becoming the state's 147th official AVA after the TTB reviewed the petition from Parker Allen of Coastview Vineyards, proposing to establish the "Gabilan Mountains" viticultural area. Gabilan Mountains encompasses about 98,000 acres (153 sq mi) including the established Mt. Harlan and Chalone AVAs, and resident to 4 wineries and 6 commercial vineyards cultivating approximately 436 acres (176 ha). The average elevation within the region is 2,370 feet (722 m) placing it above the heavy fog and marine layer. As a result, Gabilan Mountains AVA has a cool air climate without the humidity from the fog and low-lying clouds.