Tracy Hills - Wine Region of the Day

/
Tracy Hills

Tracy Hills received its designation as an AVA in 2006. Situated on 39,200 acres, Tracy Hills is located in both San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties between Tracy, Patterson and Vernalis, California. In the petition for its creation, the unique soils, microclimate, and slope were listed as distinguishing features. Initially, the proposed name for the region was Mt. Oso for the nearby Diablo Mountains peak, however, TTB felt that the petitioners didn’t meet the standard for name recognition.  The name, Tracy Hills was more readily substantiated.

The appellation is located between 100 and 500 feet in elevation and slope to the valley floor to the east. Hospital, Lone Tree, and Ingram Creeks drain out of the foothills to form an alluvial fan that creates the free-draining alluvial and colluvial soils. The Tracy Hills is located in the rain shadow of Mt. Oso which is located to the southwest of the region.  This means that they receive less rain, fog, hail or even dew.  Instead, the region is known for constant winds, sunny days, and sparse morning fog, with occasional early morning frost.

The Tracy Hills has several new wineries and a few old vineyards.  They are producing Cabernet Sauvignon,  Chardonnay, Merlot, Montepulciano, Nero d’Avola, Sagrantino, Sangiovese, and Syrah.

Salado Creek - Wine Region of the Day

/

Salado Creek received its designation as an AVA in 2004. Situated on 2,940 acres, the region is located in northern Stanislaus County, California, near the town of Patterson. The creek as well as many other geographic features in the area were named by Spanish explorer, Gabriel Moraga who explored the San Joaquin Valley from 1806-1811.

The wine region lies at the eastern base of the Diablo Mountains at the western edge of the valley.  Salado Creeks flows from the mountains and crosses the California Aqueduct and the Delta-Mendota Canal eventually ending in the San Joaquin River. The viticultural area is part of the flat, flood plain from Salado Creek and its tributaries and is made of the heavier alluvium.

The soil in the region is an alluvial fan of clay and sandy loam which come from shale and sandstone parent materials. These Ensalado soils are well draining and deep which forces the vines to dig deep, strong roots in search of water. This process forces the vines to concentrate their efforts into the fruit, making a deep, robust flavor.

The region is protected from marine air by the Diablo Mountains and exist in a “thermal belt” at the edge of the larger San Joaquin Valley making this belt zone the only places where citrus grows in the San Joaquin Valley. The climate of Salado Creek has warmer cool season temperatures but consistent cooling breezes do flow from the north making its warm season cooler than the rest of the valley. Salado Creek is known for its production of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and Viognier.

Solado Creek - Wine Region of the Day

/

Salado Creek received its designation as an AVA in 2004. Situated on 2,940 acres, the region is located in northern Stanislaus County, California, near the town of Patterson. The creek as well as many other geographic features in the area were named by Spanish explorer, Gabriel Moraga who explored the San Joaquin Valley from 1806-1811.

The wine region lies at the eastern base of the Diablo Mountains at the western edge of the valley.  Salado Creeks flows from the mountains and crosses the California Aqueduct and the Delta-Mendota Canal eventually ending in the San Joaquin River. The viticultural area is part of the flat, flood plain from Salado Creek and its tributaries and is made of the heavier alluvium.

The soil in the region is an alluvial fan of clay and sandy loam which come from shale and sandstone parent materials. These Ensalado soils are well draining and deep which forces the vines to dig deep, strong roots in search of water. This process forces the vines to concentrate their efforts into the fruit, making a deep, robust flavor.

The region is protected from marine air by the Diablo Mountains and exist in a “thermal belt” at the edge of the larger San Joaquin Valley making this belt zone the only places where citrus grows in the San Joaquin Valley. The climate of Salado Creek has warmer cool season temperatures but consistent cooling breezes do flow from the north making its warm season cooler than the rest of the valley. Salado Creek is known for its production of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and Viognier.

Clements Hills - Wine Region of the Day

/

Clements Hills received its designation as an AVA in 2006. Situated on 85,400 acres, Clements Hills is a sub-appellation of the Lodi AVA in the southeast portion located in San Joaquin County.  It is nearly 40 miles from Sacramento and more than 10 from the city of Lodi.  The viticultural area is located in the northeastern portion of San Joaquin county south of the Borden Ranch appellation.  Nestled between the Calavaras River to the south, Liberty Road to the north, the eastern boundary of San Joaquin County and Elliott and Jack Tone Roads to the west, the region is a transition from the valleys to the west and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

It is centered around the town of Clements which was settled in 1857 by Thomas Clements.  Clements later donated 25 acres to establish the town as a railroad stop on the San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad which was ideal for the agricultural community that was growing.  The name Clements Hills has been in use since that time.

The soils in the appellation are varied but are alike in that they have low fertility and are a mixture of clays and loams.  The presence of the clays are sufficient to hold moisture in the soil. The region features an alluvial topsoil with varying lower levels comprised of granite and volcanic soils. 

The climate is hot and muggy but gets some relief from coastal breezes that make their way through the hills. The climate of the area is generally warmer and wetter than the average in the Lodi region.  The increase in elevation to the east creates more precipitation and air drainage that moves away morning fogs and frost that would be caused by cool Pacific air coming up the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta.  The lack of fog also leads to more hours of sunshine to help the grapes achieve their maximum flavor.

This climate makes the region perfect for growing Italian and Spanish grape varieties such as Albarino, Grenache, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, and Grenache.

Consumes River - Wine Region of the Day

/

Unlike most of the Lodi area American Viticuttural Areas which mainly grow red wine grapes, the Cosumnes River appellation produces a significant amount of white wine.  Located between Sacramento and Lodi, California the Cosumnes River appellation is located in the low river plains among wetlands, levees, sloughs and creeks.

The name of the area as well as the river comes from the native Miwok peoples words for the type of people who settled in the area.  Cosumnes refers to the residents being the “Salmon People”.  Salmon still run in the river up to Rancho Murieta as the river draining west of the Sierras that has no major dam.  Because of this, the area is subject to occassional flooding or may even dry up at times.  The topography of the region slopes downward from the highest points in the eastern portion of the appellation to the southwest corner.  The river runs downstream through the AVA until in converges with the Mokelumne River and then into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta leading to the Pacific.

 This topography allows cool moist air to travel up the river delta cooling the river valley and creating maritime and inland fog in the region which cools the environment but is dissapated by the moderate winds blowing down from the Sierra Nevadas.  The soils are young and alluvial near the many water sources with older San Joaquin series deep, red, gravelly loamy clays covering fanning over the region.

Like many of the new Lodi  AVAs there is only one winery in the Cosumnes River Viticultural Area.  The property has been a working ranch for five generations and began planting grapes on the property in 1993. Cold weather vines do well here, and the region is known for its Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

Tracy Hills - Wine Region of the Day

/

TRACY  HILLS

Tracy Hills photo by David Toomey for Qork.

Tracy Hills received its designation as an AVA in 2006. Situated on 39,200 acres, Tracy Hills is located between both San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties. The terrain in the region consists of rolling hills featuring free-draining alluvial and colluvial soils. Tracy Hills climate consists of constant winds, sunny days, and sparse morning fog, with occasional early morning frost. The region features Syrah, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon.