When H. W. Crabb planted a vineyard in this central Napa Valley AVA in 1868, he named his chosen site ‘To Kalon’, Greek for ‘most beautiful’. Today, this vineyard is surrounded by 5,000 acres of vines, in an appellation that only totals 5,700 acres. The region is virtually a flat field, squeezed between the Mayacamas Mountains to the west and the Vaca Range on the east. The gravelly, well-drained soils are perfect for the world-class wines that are made here, mostly from Bordeaux varieties. They are characteristically rich and dense, with firm tannins and often with notes of mint and herbs. The cooling wind and fog that rolls in during the afternoon greatly influences the fine balance achieved in these quality wines. Crabb named his vineyard justly, for the wines of Oakville certainly are most beautiful!
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In the southern Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and Georgia vineyards are small and few, yet the establishment of the Upper Hiwassee Highlands could bring much more.
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Merlot:
Madame Merlot, you’re a big gal, soft and smoky; how we love your full, curvaceous figure. But you are
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Correspondent
Alan Goldfarb
is the Regional Correspondent for Oakville ~ Napa Valley.