Forget Napa: This California wine-making valley is producing excellent, affordable cab sav
Alexander Valley has earned a reputation for producing top cabernet sauvignons from iconic brands like Silver Oak and Jordan.
Napa Valley produces most of the finest American cabernet sauvignon. But as that region’s prices have soared into the stratosphere, nearby Alexander Valley has become the cabernet capital of Sonoma County by producing excellent, reasonably priced wines like this one.
Located just north of San Francisco, both Napa and Sonoma counties have a lot in common. Both have a vine-friendly Mediterranean climate and are close enough to the Bay Area to feel its impact on real estate prices. But there are meaningful differences as well. Almost all of Napa County is suitable for growing cabernet sauvignon, since it is shielded from the cooling influence of the Pacific Ocean by two ranges of coastal hills. Sonoma County’s terrain, on the other hand, is more exposed, with more than half of its area being too cold to fully ripen the thick skins that give cabernet sauvignon its signature color and flavor intensity.
While much of that land can produce excellence in chardonnay or pinot noir, only the easternmost reaches of Sonoma County have the warmer, more sheltered conditions that make for great cabernet sauvignon — most notably in appellations nestled into the Mayacamas Mountains like Alexander Valley, Knights Valley, Moon Mountain, and Sonoma Valley. Of these, Alexander Valley is the largest and has the most Napa-like conditions, which explains how it has earned a reputation for producing top cabernet sauvignons from iconic brands like Silver Oak and Jordan.
In this example, a small family-owned vintner uses 100% cabernet sauvignon and patient maturation in French oak barrels to produce a solid, well-made red wine you can afford to drink every day. In the glass, the wine has good depth of color and a charming fragrance. On the palate, it offers a ripe, rich mouthful and flavors of fresh Bing cherries and blackberry compote, finishing with a hint of cocoa dust and a mild vanilla inflection from barrel aging.
BonAnno cabernet sauvignon
Alexander Valley, California
14.1% ABV
PLCB Item #100056916
On sale for $22.99 through Nov. 29 (regularly $24.99)
No alternate retail locations within 50 miles of Philadelphia according to Wine-Searcher.com
