Wineries

California Wine Regions

Napa Valley

Sonoma County

Bay Area

Monterey County

San Luis Obispo County

Santa Barbara County

Temecula

Southern California Areas

When to Visit

California Winery List

Wines

Types of Wine

Wine Making

Wine Labels

Choosing Wine

Serving Wine

Tasting Wine

Storing Wine

Wine Facts

Wine Quotes

More Info.

Wine Links

Link this Site

Contact Us

Just a Few Interesting Facts and Trivia...

Wine... Wine is fat-free and contains no cholesterol. A six ounce glass of wine contains approximately 130 calories. The Pinot Noir grape has more clones (over 100 registered) than any other wine grape variety.

California WIne... California has estimated 513,000 acres of wine grapes and approximately 1,300 bricks and mortar wineries Chardonnay is the grape variety with the largest acreage in California, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel. In terms of finished wine, Chardonnay is the leader, followed by Merlot, White Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. California accounts for over 90% of total U.S. wine production and approximately two out of every three bottles of wine sold in the United States was produced in California. California had 2001 wine sales estimated at 450 million gallons and had 2004 wine sales estimated at $15 billion. The wine industry's impact on the economy of California is greater than $45 billion and is responsible for over 200,000 jobs. California has over 60,000 registered wine labels California wine country hosted 14.8 billion visitors in 2002, making it second only to Disneyland as California's top tourist attraction.

Laying on the Brix. The sugar content in grapes is measured in Brix. The degrees of Brix of grapes is an indicator of the potential alcohol content of the finished wine. If all the sugars are fermented into alcohol, dividing the Brix level in half will indicate the approximate alcohol content of the finished wine. Two degrees Brix results in slightly more than 1 percent alcohol.

What's Your G.P.A. (Glasses per Acre)?
One acre of land averages	Five tons of grapes (10,000 pounds) 13.51 barrels of wine at 7,552 ounces each 797 gallons of wine at 128 ounces each 3,958 bottles of wine at 25.6 ounces each 15,940 glasses of wine at 6.4 ounces each
One barrel of wine contains	740 pounds of grapes 59 gallons of wine 24.6 cases of wine 295 bottles of wine 1,180 glasses of wine
One case of wine contains	30 pounds of grapes 307.2 ounces of wine 12 bottles of wine 48 glasses of wine
One 750 ml bottle of wine contains	600 to 800 (2.4 pounds) grapes 25.6 ounces of wine 4 glasses of wine
One 6-ounce glass of wine contains	9.76 ounces of grapes Approx. 130 calories

A bottle of any other name is... Split holds 375 milliliters or half a standard bottle Bottle holds 750 ml of wine (also called a "fifth") Magnum holds same as 2 bottles, or 1.5 liters Double Magnum equals 4 bottles, or 3 liters Jeroboam equals 6 bottles for wine or 4 bottles for sparkling wine Imperial equals 8 bottles, or 6 liters Salamanzar equals 12 bottles (one case), or 9 liters Balthazar equals 16 bottles, or 12 liters Nebuchadnezzar holds same as 20 bottles, or 15 liters

Some facts about wine labels
Brand	The brand name is used by the bottler to identify the product. Any brand name is acceptable if it does not mislead the consumer.
Vintage Date	A vintage date on the label indicates that 95% or more of the wine is produced from grapes grown in that year.
Appellation of Origin	The place in which the dominant grapes used in the wine are grown. A country, state or county appellation on the label means that at least 75% of the wine is produced from grapes grown in the place named.
American Viticultural Area (AVA)	A U.S. viticultural area is a well-defined, registered grape-growing region with soil, climate, and geographic features which set it apart from the surrounding areas. A viticultural area appellation on the label indicates that 85% or more of the wine is produced from grapes grown in the particular area.
Varietal Designations	The names of the dominant grapes used in the wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are examples of grape varieties. A varietal designation on the label means that at least 75% of that grape variety is used in the wine.
Estate Bottled	"Estate Bottled" means that 100% of the wine came from grapes grown on land owned or controlled by the winery, located in the viticultural area. The winery then crushes and ferments the grapes, finishes, ages, processes and bottles the wine in one continuous operation. In the case where the winery and the winery's own vineyards are not in the same viticultural area, the winery may designate that the wine has been "Proprietor Grown."
Reserve	Since the term "reserve" has no legal meaning in the U.S., wineries may use this term to designate a special bottling (i.e. "Show Reserve") or limited production. In some cases a winery will use the term as a marketing tool and has no other meaning.