A gift of wine is a lovely gift for any occasion and suitable for almost anyone. Although French wine is considered supreme, many can be out of reach for the average gift budget. California wines are a good alternative, both in price and quality.
European countries like France have been famous for fine wines for several hundreds of years so many people overlook the newer wine producers of California. Just because their wineries are less than a century old does not mean that they don’t have some wonderful wines. In fact, California is now ranked fourth in the world for wine production with only France, Italy and Spain producing more.
California is actually one of the ideal grape growing regions of the world and close to a hundred different grape varietals grow well there. This state diverse micro-climates and varying soil conditions contribute to the great variety of grapes that can be grown. Close proximity to the Pacific Ocean as well as the many bodies of fresh water found in California also plays an important factor in the quality of the grapes that grow there.
California wine producing regions are separated into five major regions, with a number...