A worker sorts through a bin of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, removing any leaves and not-ripe-enough clusters to leave only pristine fruit to hit the crusher.

Napa Valley is, from a grape-growing perspective, a very diverse region. Yet there is still an all too common stereotype that Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon all tastes the same. It’s a generalization so broad as to be clearly incorrect even at face value. Rather than dismissing it out of hand though, I’ll be exploring the diversity of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in a number of articles over the next few months. And I will also cover some of the issues that lead to this perception.

My latest article for the blog at JJBuckley.com is the first directly addressing this topic. It’s a general overview of the Napa Valley AVA and how temperatures, rainfall, soil, altitude and more differ greatly among the smaller, nested AVAs. These all have an impact on the wine from those areas. I also list a few examples of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that show distinct personalities based on where they are grown and producer choices.

Future articles, here and at JJBuckley.com, will dive in with much greater specificity. They will address specific AVAs and/or vintages in detail. Some will focus on particular vineyards or producers. For example, my next article at JJBuckley.com looks at the 2013 vintage of Rutherford District AVA Cabernet Sauvignon, including weather that year, overall character of the grapes and then reviews of at least a dozen specific wines. In other articles, I’ll address changing styles, winemaking and viticultural techniques and more. And I have two articles coming up that look at massive, vertical tastings from a couple of Napa Valley’s best producers.

Of course, I’ve already published some articles here that point to the diversity. Consider the dark mineral, fine silky structure and 14.1% alcohol in the 2013 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Calistoga AVA Napa Valley vs. the 2012 Stony Hill Cabernet Sauvignon from Spring Mountain with prominent tobacco and currant leaf accents, grainier tannin and 13.3% alcohol. There are plush, full-bodied wines like the 2012 Rombauer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon “Diamond Selection” from St. Helena and the equally powerful, yet more slender and feminine, 2012 En Garde Winery Cabernet Sauvignon “Le Bijou du Roi” Diamond Mountain AVA.

I’m not going to be all Napa Cab all the time in the coming weeks and months though, I’ve got upcoming wine reviews for unusual varieties from Lodi, California Rhone wines, more Spanish wines, some French, etc. And I’ll be profiling a number of Gin and Scotch producers too! Stay tuned.

Copyright Fred Swan 2016. Photo courtesy of Napa Valley Vintners. All rights reserved.