Wine and Maps

Before you were able to use a GPS system on your phone to find your way, there were maps. Maps of all sizes and colors for all places to explore. Car insurance companies would give them out as a thank you to their customers. I would sit for hours with the Rand McNally United States map book and want to travel to every state that was listed. Rand McNally published its first road map, the New Automobile Road Map of New York City & Vicinity, in 1904. After more than 60 years in suburban Skokie, the company returned to Chicago in late September, 2018.

Maps are a great way to explore wine too. Wine maps point out vineyard areas and informs you about what grapes grow best in different areas, what the elevation is and where the nearest body of water is located. Seeing a wine map can help identify famous regions as well as point out neighboring regions that usually fly under the radar. By observing the clues, you’ll be more adept at buying wine. For instance, let’s say that you really like Chianti from Tuscany. Tuscany happens to be right next door to a lessor known region called Umbria. While Umbria is a much smaller region, they make several amazing and great valued, Sangiovese-based wines.

An integral part of winemaking is observing the land with the ultimate goal of gaining a deeper understanding of how the essence of site is ultimately reflected in the glass. Some maps are created through extensive proprietary research and boots-on-the-ground work.

Napa Valley is the centerpiece to California wine. Napa was the first region to prove that American wines were good, if not better, than the best wines of the world. Since their fame in the 1970’s, Napa has evolved from a sunny grass-covered valley to a mecca of chi-chi wine estates. Being surrounded by mountains can wreak havoc on your GPS, so a paper map is always a good idea while traveling to this part of California.

Despite the importance of Napa Valley in California’s wine history, Sonoma actually has more vineyards. The region is larger and more diverse in terms of styles from elegant sparkling wines to rich and lusty Merlot wine. There are a few new sub-regions of Sonoma that are making waves with Pinot Noir, best grown in the Russian River Valley, which when viewed on a map can show may shifts in the tectonic plates that are strewn throughout this area.

Maps are a terrific tool to get you places, they show history of change, climate and elevation and including maps can educate you more on wine regions. A sense of place, people and climate all help in better understanding wine.

When wine is involved, nothing is difficult. Cheers! Nancy