Lake County wine

Lake County wine designates wine made from grapes grown mostly in Lake County, California. The region is located north of Napa County and east of Mendocino County. Although each region within Lake County has unique viticultural attributes, many are influenced by Clear Lake, the largest inland body of water in California.

With 11307 acre acres of vineyards planted at elevations ranging from 1,370 feet (Clear Lake's level) to 2,640 feet, Lake County enjoys a reputation for bright, concentrated red wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Zinfandel, and fresh, aromatic whites made from Sauvignon blanc.

History
Although the local Pomo were familiar with Vitis californica vines, the first winegrape vineyards in the area were planted by European American settlers in the 1870s (although it is claimed the first vines were planted in 1854 at Lillie Langtry's Guenoc estate), and in 1884 totaled about 600 acres. One of the county’s earliest viticulturists was a Frenchman, "Professor" William Claudius Mottier, who near Harbin Springs experimented in the early 1870s with grafting European varieties on californica rootstocks, notably “Carbonet Malbec” (probably Carménère) and Mourvèdre. Mottier's wine is said to have earned Arpad Haraszthy's praise. Another early viticulturist was Serranus Clinton Hastings, who reportedly farmed 125 acre of vineyards (including 60 acres of Zinfandel) in the Upper Lake area and had a 150000 USgal capacity winery and distillery in 1886. He and his brothers eventually acquired more acreage in the region, but the winery ceased operation in 1900.

Reported varieties planted in the 1880s feature Zinfandel, Charbono, Riesling, Golden Chasselas, and Burger, grown notably in a 300-acre vineyard planted by the California Agricultural and Improvement Association in the Lower Lake area. In 1907, Lake County reported 7 wineries and a production of 34,500 gallons.

The number of wineries had risen to over 30 when Prohibition hit, dealing a serious blow to Lake County's vineyards and wine production. Wineries were shut down, and most vineyards were ripped out to plant walnut and pear orchards, which have remained significant, although secondary crops in the region. Some vineyards were replanted when the ban was lifted – a 1953 county agricultural report lists 150 acre of grapes (yielding 175 tons), while walnuts account for 4788 acre and pears for 3792 acre. Lake County grapes would be sent to neighboring counties for vinification and bottling, to operations such as Fetzer Vineyards or Parducci Winery in Mendocino County. In 1972, a phylloxera control ordinance was passed to address the ongoing pest problem affecting many North Coast vineyards. The decade saw a rapid uptick in vineyard plantings, with 532 acres of bearing grapevines in 1974, 1,237 acres the following year, and 2,680 by 1979.

It's only in 1977 that Lower Lake Winery, the first to open in the county since Prohibition, inaugurated its first crush. In 1979, Albert Moorhead built Konocti Winery in Lakeport. By 1980, 2,990 acres of vineyards had been planted in the county, and Lake Wine Producers had been formed to promote the use of local grapes. Lake County Vintners was spun off that group, a co-op of 34 wine growers which took an interest in Konocti Winery.

The Guenoc Valley AVA, the county's first viticultural appellation, was established in 1981, followed in 1984 by Clear Lake AVA. In 1983, Jess Jackson founded Chateau Du Lac in Lakeport, which would become the foundation for the Kendall-Jackson brand. In 1987, the county counted five winery tasting rooms: Stuermer Winery (formerly Lower Lake Winery), Konocti Cellars and Kendall-Jackson in Lakeport, and Guenoc and Channing Rudd Cellars in Middletown. By 1989, Horne, located south of Middletown, had joined the list.

Having outgrown its Lakeport location, in 1993 Kendall-Jackson moved most of its operations to Windsor, in Sonoma County. In 1996, Jed Steele, who had worked for Kendall-Jackson in Lakeport until 1990 and had since already started his own label as well as consulted for Wildhurst Vineyards in Kelseyville, purchased Konocti Winery.

A slow resurgence of the Lake County wine industry in the late 1990s and 2000s saw the establishments of new wineries, notably Wildhurst Winery, Brassfield Estate Winery, Shannon Ridge, Céago, Gregory Graham Wines, Chacewater Winery, and Six Sigma Ranch and Winery. New AVAs were recognized by the TTB: Napa Valley-based Andy Beckstoffer was instrumental in the creation of the Red Hills AVA in 2004 where he had acquired over 1,000 acres, and High Valley AVA, where Brassfield Estate and Shannon Ridge already owned acreage, was established the following year.

Wildfires, in particular the 2015 Valley Fire and the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire, have impacted Lake County's wine industry over the years. While the physical damage to vines has been minimal (some were actually credited as helpful firebreaks ), smoke taint affected several vintages. The Mendocino Complex Fire is estimated to have cost the county's growers over $37 million. The Lake County Winegrape Commission has been collaborating with UC Davis, public agencies, laboratories and other wine groups to investigate the effects of wildfire smoke on crops.

Viticulture
As of April 2024, there were 3359 acre acres of planted white grape varieties and 7948 acre acres of red winegrapes in Lake County, totaling 11307 acre.

Lake County's Cabernet Sauvignon was recognized early on for its quality. At 5,675 acres, the Bordeaux variety is by far the most planted grape in the county, dominating the Red Hills AVA, but also the High Valley and Kelsey Bench AVAs’ rocky soils. Sauvignon blanc is the second most planted grape, which the county’s growers have been capitalizing on. The range in terroirs allows for different expressions of the variety, from the sedimentary soils at 1,300 feet in the Big Valley District to the mountainous volcanic soils of the Red Hills and High Valley.

Petite Sirah is the second most cultivated red variety in the county, followed by Zinfandel, which was among the first varieties to be planted in the area. Syrah and Bordeaux varieties are also popular plantings. At 516 acres, Chardonnay is the second most planted white, followed by Pinot gris. As of April 2024, there also were reportedly 4 acres of table grape vineyards in Lake County.

The planted vineyard acreage in Lake County is reportedly broken down as such:

Notable vineyard holders include Beckstoffer Vineyards, Shannon Family of Wines, Kendall-Jackson, E&J Gallo, Brassfield Estate, Bartolucci Vineyards, Luchsinger Vineyards, Sol Rouge, and Obsidian Wine Company.

Appellations
As of May 2024, nine American Viticultural Areas have been recognized by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in Lake County. The first one, Guenoc Valley, officialized in 1991, was and remains a single-winery appellation. The most visible AVA in the county is the Red Hills, bringing premium prices for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Benmore Valley
The Benmore Valley AVA was established in 1991. It is a high depression in the mountains of southwestern Lake County. As of 2018, there were no wineries or vineyards in the area, making it a de facto defunct appellation.

Big Valley District
The Big Valley District is located south of the southern shore of Clear Lake and was established as a viticultural area on October 2, 2013. It covers approximately 11000 acre which at the time of its official recognition contained six bonded wineries, 43 vineyards, and roughly cultivated 1800 acre.

Clear Lake
The second AVA recognized by the TTB in Lake County, Clear Lake AVA encompasses 174798 acre, including Clear Lake. Elevations range from 1300 to 3000 ft. The Big Valley District, High Valley, the Kelsey Bench and the Red Hills viticultural areas are nested within the Clear Lake AVA.

Guenoc Valley
Established in 1981, Guenoc Valley AVA was the first American Viticultural Area designation granted to an area with just a single winery. Located in southern Lake County, Guenoc Valley is a small inland valley comprising an alluvial fan of arroyo and Conejo loam series soils isolated from surrounding areas by rocky ridges.

High Valley
High Valley AVA is located in the eastern part of the county. The valley is situated on high elevations ranging from 1600 to 3000 ft in elevation. Red volcanic soils can be found on the hillsides while alluvial fans and benches on the valley floor provide well-drained beds for the vines.

Kelsey Bench
Established on October 2, 2013, the Kelsey Bench AVA encompasses about 9100 acre with 900 acre of cultivation, 27 vineyards when it was officially recognized, and two bonded wineries. The term "bench" was selected to reflect the topography of the area with higher elevations and hills. The boundaries of the Kelsey Bench AVA are the Big Valley District AVA to the north (which was established concurrently), the Red Hills AVA to the southeast, and Adobe Creek Drive to Highland Springs Road in Lakeport to the west.

Red Hills
Part of the Mayacamas Range, the Red Hills Lake County AVA lies along the southwestern shores of Clear Lake, separating Excelsior Valley to the east from Big Valley to the west. The hills lie at the foot of Mount Konocti, a volcano which last erupted 11,000 years ago, but which is still regarded as active. The terrain is rolling hills with elevations between 1400 ft and 3000 ft above sea level. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the Red Hills where 3250 acre are under vines.

Upper Lake Valley
On June 3, 2022, the TTB established Upper Lake Valley AVA. The Upper Lake Valley represents the eighth AVA located in Lake County, California. The topography of the Upper Lake Valley AVA defines a series of valleys running north-northwesterly from the shores of Clear Lake. These valleys and the surrounding hillsides sit at elevations of 1330 to 1480 feet and are slightly cooler than the surrounding areas.

Long Valley
On August 4, 2023, the TTB established the Long Valley-Lake County AVA, a transverse valley lying to the north and east of High Valley and covering approximately 7605 acre.

Winemaking
Since the reemergence of Lake County as a winegrowing region in the 1960s, most grapes harvested in the area have been trucked to neighboring counties for vinification. That share is currently estimated at around 80%, Napa County being the primary destination for Lake County grapes. TTB rules allow for up to 15% of grapes from another area to be blended into a wine that can bear for instance the Napa Valley appellation, and the much lower prices for Lake County grapes have made them an attractive blending proposition for wineries in more prestigious wine regions. In 2023, Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon brought on average $2,321 per ton (as opposed to $9,235 for Napa Valley and $3,058 in Sonoma County), and Sauvignon blanc averaged $1,425 per ton (as opposed to $3,160 in Napa Valley and $2,054 in Sonoma County).

Some local grapes are also used in wines labelled North Coast, as Lake County is encompassed within that large AVA, or even simply California. Napa Valley or Sonoma County-based wineries sourcing from the region include Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Trinchero Family Estates, Hagafen Cellars, Arnot-Roberts, Conn Creek or Kendall-Jackson (which still owns vineyards in Lake County). Lake County counts about 20 bonded wineries as of May 2024, but there also are a number of operations owning vineyards in the area and focusing on labels primarily bearing Lake County appellations, even if their wine is made in neighboring Napa, Mendocino or Sonoma counties: Obsidian Ridge, Fore Family Vineyards, Dancing Crow Vineyards, Wild Diamond Vineyards and Sol Rouge among them.

Through marketing efforts from the Lake County Winegrape Commission, the Lake County Winery Association and region advocates like Andy Beckstoffer, who heavily invested in the Red Hills appellation, some Lake County AVAs or designations now appear more often on the labels of out-of-county wineries.