[MUSIC PLAYING]
Napa Valley, one of the
world's smallest wine regions,
is also one of the most diverse.
We have only to look back,
oh, about 150 million years
to understand why.
Here in California, we
have dramatic geology,
the ocean floor pushing
up with the volcanoes
coming up with the valleys
being formed and carved.
It's all recent geology
here in California.
Geologically speaking,
this is a new area.
We're literally born
yesterday in geologic time.
Mount St. Alina, the
Vaca mountain range,
the Mayacamas mountain
range, all this
was on the ocean floor.
So about 150 million years
ago, through plate tectonics,
this area was uplifted.
And at the same time,
mixing up this big soup
of what we call bedrock material
or parent material of soil.
And then over millions
of years, it's
been exposed and then eroded
into the different soil types
that we have today.
The rocks, the gravel,
the sand are carried down
into the valley floor.
And we'll have lighter soils
with more gravel and sand
and then heavier
soils with more clay.
As you head down
to Carneros, you're
looking at the bottom
of San Francisco Bay.
So we go from almost
barren rock hillsides
to relatively deep, balanced,
fertile, loam soils.
An astounding 50% of
the world's soil orders
are found within the boundaries
of the Napa Valley appellation.
This means that numerous
grape varieties thrive here.
And those varieties
provide a vast range
of delicious flavors.
The real point, though,
is, how does that soil
affect what the roots can get
in terms of water and nutrients.
How does the vine grow?
Is it going to be big,
lush, produce lots of fruit
or tiny little berries.
When you think about the
soils, in all the soils
that are really the best soils
to grow the best grapes you can
possibly grow, think of these
beautiful alluvial soils
that come out of the hillsides,
the fluvial soils that move
actually on the valley floor.
And down in San Pablo bay,
down in the southern part
of Napa Valley, we all
know that pinot noir
loves these calcium-rich soils.
Over at Stag's Leap on
the eastern side, right
at the base of the
Vaca range, again,
you have a lot of
volcanic nature there.
It's relatively infertile
but also very deep
so that you get
some wonderful root
growth, which is
important to the stability
and longevity of the vine.
I can't think of any
other world class
wine-growing region
that has this diversity.
And I can't think of
any other place that
has this type of complexity.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
