Sodaro Vineyard

AVAs or American Viticultural Areas describe the geographic pedigree of a wine and play a major role in their identity.  Alan Goldfarb of Appellation America recently contacted Sodaro Estate’s Winemaker Dawnine Dyer and Vineyard Manager Michael Wolf for expert input on the Coombsville region of Napa Valley; the home of Sodaro Estate Winery.

Why Cool Coombsville is HOT

Just as the pending Calistoga AVA remains in controversial limbo, at the other end of Napa Valley, a bitter brawl is underway about not only the naming of an AVA but its boundaries.

by Alan Goldfarb
October 8, 2008

n case you haven’t noticed - and chances are you haven’t – save for a little dust-up over a name, the so-called Coombsville area east of the city of Napa is the hottest spot for grapes these days in the Napa Valley. Sitting on a plateau under the imposing Mt. George, the growers in the region are experiencing a come-to-the-mountaintop moment, while at the same time they’re trying to figure out what the heck to call their little corner of America’s most important wine region.

“Coombsville, because of its proximity to San Pablo Bay, is cooler than up-valley vineyards. Thanks to that temperate climate, the region is afforded conditions that allow grapes to mature to full ripeness without driving up sugar levels. Is this why cool Coombsville is so hot? “It’s because it’s not hot,” replies Dawnine Dyer, with a hearty laugh. Dyer, along with her husband Bill, makes a Coombsville red Bordeaux blend called Meteor (along with their other brand, the Diamond Mountain-based Dyer Vineyard).”

“Dyer characterizes Coombsville as ‘not exactly in a cool climate. I would call it moderate. When it’s hot in other parts of the Napa Valley, it’s not as hot here. When it’s cold in other areas, it’s not really cold here.’”

“Michael Wolf, a vineyard management consultant, who farms more than 100 acres in Coombsville, concurs about trying to pin it down. ‘It’s a hard region to generalize about, which is one of the things that’s interesting about it,’ he says. ‘(But) it’s a region that lends itself nicely to making single-vineyard wines.’”

For the full article visit: Why Cool Coombsville is Hot

Sodaro Estate Winery owner Don Sodaro is featured in the new Summer 2008 edition of OC Menus, packaged with OC METRO Business and available on newsstands throughout Orange County.

Winemaker Dawnine Dyer and Don Sodaro

“Wine is an intriguing product,” says Sodaro, who splits his time between Newport Beach and Napa. “It’s incredible the interest that people have in wine and the joy it brings them. You taste a good glass of wine, and it makes a big difference. It’s something that people really enjoy.”

The full article is available online at: www.ocmenus.com