Tag: oldest vines

Perched on the rugged north slope of Chalone Peak in the Gavilan Mountain Range, near the Pinnacles National Park, the Chalone AVA is home to the oldest producing vines in Monterey County, California. At an elevation of 1,800 feet, Chalone Vineyard stands alone, both in its lofty place overlooking the vast Salinas Valley and as a producer of excellent wine. Chalone Vineyard is the first and only winery in the Chalone Appellation. It is also the oldest bonded winery in Monterey County. Recently, Chalone’s 95-year-old 3.79-acre block of Chenin Blanc was awarded Historic Vineyard status by the Historic Vineyard Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of California’s oldest vineyards.

Just an hour east of downtown San Francisco, a sleeping giant has awakened to the delight of wine tourists eager to discover someplace "new."

Actually, when it comes to wine, Contra Costa County is anything but new. The 800-square-mile county has been producing award-winning wine and grapes for more than 120 years; and prior to the Prohibition, it was home to 50-plus wineries. Through the years, a series of historical events and its grow-ing population took Contra Costa County out of the wine industry limelight: but the region never stopped producing exceptional grapes. Giants don’t sleep forever and today, thanks to its nonstop grape friendly conditions and a sophisticated following, Contra Costa County is soaring in all sorts of ways.