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CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE CHAPPELLET VINEYARDS: A CASE STUDY A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography by Lee Yassinski I , : May 1984 The Thesis of Lee Yassinski is approved: William A. Bowen Gordon R. Lewthwaite Robert B. Lamb, c California State University, Northridge ii " ' ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Unable to thank all those who participated in the preparation of this thesis, I will here thank only those whose contributions made the completion of this work possible. Dr. Robert Lamb more than chaired the committee, he inspired my initial interest in wine. Dr. Gordon Lewthwaite time and again provided suggestions and en­ couragement whenever my inspiration waned. Dr. William Bowen offered ideas and directions. Thanks also to Robert Provin in the Cartography Laboratory, Robert Moore, USDA soil conservationist in Napa, and finally to my father George Yassinski who helped by proof reading this work. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENT . iii LIST OF TABLES . vi LIST OF MAPS vii LIST OF FIGURES viii ABSTRACT ix Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 Areal Reconnaissance 4 Topography 5 Climate 9 Geology 17 Soil 18 Vegetation and Animal Life 20 II. HISTORY . • • . 22 Chappel let 25 III. VITICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT . 30 Environmental Perils at Chappellet 35 IV. VITICULTURAL TECHNIQUES 56 Training . • . 61 Pruning and Crop Control 64 Pests and Diseases . 66 Harvest 70 iv ~ ' Chapter Page v. WINE MAKING . 72 Fermentation 76 Red Wines . 77 Malo Lactic Fermentation . .. 79 White Wines . 81 Clarification . 82 Aging 84 Blending and Bottling . 85 CONCLUSION 88 BIBLIOGRAPHY . .. 90 APPENDIX A . .• 96 v TABLES Table Page 1. Temperature Means and Extremes for Three Selected Napa County Weather Stations . 10 2. Mean Annual Temperature Ranges for Selected Stations • . • . • . 12 3. Mean Monthly and Yearly Precipitation for Selected Weather Stations . 4. Fermenting Vessels at the Chappellet Winery . 77 vi MAPS Map Page 1. Napa County . • 2 2. Chappellet Winery and Pritchard Hill 8 3. Chappellet Vineyards • 57 vii FIGURES Figure Page 1. Cattle Guard and Deer Fence • . 39 2. The Chappellet Winery . 41 3. Grape Crusher . 43 4. Fermentation Tanks . 45 5. Vineyards and Lake Hennessey • • • • • • • 47 6. Chappellet Winery Behind Deer Fence • • • • 49 7. Deer Fence, Vineyards and Winery 51 8. Fermentation Tanks . 53 9. Wooden Barrels . 55 viii ABSTRACT CHAPPELLET VINEYARDS: A CASE STUDY by Lee Yassinski Master of Arts in Geography Chappellet Winery is located in the Howell Mountains, east of the Napa Valley in California. Although this winery is unique in its physical setting and history, it is, like dozens of wineries throughout the state, producing limited quantities of distinguished wines. Many of these wineries make wines from the same varieties of Vitis vinifera as those grown in France and Germany. Despite location in completely different social and environmental settings, the wineries of both Napa and Northwestern Europe create wines that are, in many instances, virtually alike. In this thesis, the geography of only one winery is examined; but Chappellet is representative of many modern California wineries. Attention is focused first on the ix " ' physical setting and then on the history of early old­ world cultivation in California, and ultimately at Chappellet. Environmental factors in grape growing, viti­ cultural techniques, and finally, wine making are dis­ cussed. As comparisons are made between Chappellet and Europe, it is argued that the great success of the same varieties of vinifera is due to more than the permissive California environment. It is here maintained that it is the people involved, the growers and wine makers, who deserve the most credit. California's strong tradition of experimentation, somewhat in contrast with prevailing old-world conservatism, has enabled Chappellet and other similar establishments to produce wines that may match the finest of Europe. X " ' CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Winemaking is a relatively new activity in California begun by the Franciscan missionaries in the late Eighteenth Century. In the two centuries that have passed since the first grapes were crushed, a large industry,based on the vision of a few pioneers and the toil of forgotten thou­ sands, has emerged. The wine industry today is an economic giant, employ­ ing thousands of workers and contributing millions of dol­ lars to the state's economy. Every year, millions of gal­ lons of very drinkable "jug wines" are made in the state. But the outstanding reputation of California wine is due in large measure to the many, smaller, quality wine makers. These latter-day pioneers have embraced both modern tech­ nology and proven, traditional methods. For them wine is more than a beverage, an industry or an agricultural system. Many California districts produce wines of distinction, but the most celebrated area is the greater Napa Valley, located north of San Francisco. Here, in a variety of environments ranging from small, steep clearings carved from the dense forests of the surrounding mountains to the level expanse of the valley, the vine has truly found a home (See Map 1, p.2 ). Much of the valley floor today is carpeted with vine­ yards. There are now well over one hundred wineries in the 1 2 5' Map 1 DAPA c 0 U N T Y LAND OllER 300 meters -BUILT-UP AREAS 10 o._::::II.:::..C===-=' lc.Hometen 0 5 ill-===•-=:::~...i miles Scale /:437,500 SAN PABLO 8AY p ' 3 county and many of these make quality wine. In the Howell Mountains to the east of the valley, on the slopes of Pritchard Hill, lies one of these, the Chappellet Winery. This establishment makes exceptional wines from many of the same varieties as those of Europe. A Cabernet Sauvignon from its cellars compares favorably to one from the chateaux of Bordeaux; its Chenin Blanc with those of the Loire, and its Riesling with those of the Rhine. Yet, like all of Napa and the rest of California,it is in a setting distinc­ tly different from the diverse native lands of these cultivars. Why would two areas so different be able to produce so similar a wine? Naturally, not all factors diverge. The procedures for making a standard table wine, for instance, are essentially universal. But can this alone explain the likeness of wines? How can an area of a few hundred acres grow, side by side, varieties that in Ett~ope are cultivated hundreds of kilometers apart, such as the Cabernet in south­ west France and the Riesling in the Rhine Valley? And just how important are environmental factors in influencing qual­ ity in grapes for winemaking? Finally, which are the vari­ ables which have permitted two very different areas, thou­ sands of miles apart, to make very similar, and very good, wine? The purpose of this thesis is to present the reader with a picture of just one winery Chappellet. But this is a case study of one of dozens of similar small to medium­ sized wineries in California that make a remarkable product, 4 and it is a case study which involves a running comparison with conditions and techniques of wine-making in other and wider regions of the world. AREAL RECONNAISSANCE The Chappellet winery, of course, has its own distinc- tive setting. The mountain wall of the Howells is broken by the canyon of Conn Creek. The waters of this stream are impounded,forming Lake Hennessey. Highway 128 follows the southern shoreline of the reservoir. On the south side of the road, two stone pillars mark the road up Pritchard Hill to the Chappellet Winery. The route immediately steepens as it winds firstly through an oak parkland and then into a woodland of shrub. As the ascent continues, a cattle guard marks the passage througha deer fence into a man-made landscape of orderly spaced vines (Fig. 1, p. 39). A sign points to the left, towards a structure partially obscured by a grove of trees. What at first glance appears to be a low, rust-colored mountain rising over a grassy embankment is, in fact, composed of panels of COR-TEN steel obliquely traversing the surface of the pyramidical roof of the 1 winery (Fig. 2, p. 41). 1 coR-TEN steel is a protective roofing panel that rusts only on its surfaces. 5 In front of the winery lies an expansive concrete courtyard, with two gleaming stainless steel grape crushers (Fig. 3 p. 43 ) . When the building is entered through mass- ive wooden doors, the cool air is chilling. The wood- beamed ceilings of the three-sided pyramid converge at a shallow angle to an apex high overhead. In the darkness two rows of stainless steel tanks stand on either side of a wide central corridor (Fig. 4, p. 45 ) . Small wooden barrels ar.d white cardboard cases of bottled wine fill both sides. At the end of the corridor, beyond a glass door,is the winery office. In the middle of the building, to one side of the aisle, is a staircase leading up to the trihed- ron's apex and the tasting room. Windows on three sides reveal a panorama of neat rows of vines, woodland, chaparral and grass-covered hills. The blue surface of Lake Hennessey lies below,and beyond that extend the Napa Valley and the Mayacmas Mountains (See Fig. 5, p. 47 ). TOPOGRAPHY The lofty perch of the Chappellet Winery offers an impressive lookout to what is certainly the "winiest" county in the land. In a county of only 758 square miles (1,963 km 2 ) and 99,199 (1980) people, there are over one hundred wineries, with most located in the Napa Valley it- self. From cool, marsh-covered tidal flats adjacent to the San Pablo Bay on the south, the valley extends northwesterly 6 for more than forty miles, reaching to beyond the town of Calistoga.

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