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SKU 450536
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Seghesio Family Vineyards Aglianico 2004 750ml
Seghesio Family Vineyards
- California
- United States
- Sonoma Valley
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Aglianico varietal grapes have a long and impressive history, having been brought to the Campania region of Italy over two thousand years ago, and becoming the primary grape for the production of ancient Rome's finest wines. They were and continue to be prized for their deep dark color, and particularly their thick black skins which have a high tannin content. These tannins mean that the wine made from Aglianico grapes is ideal for aging, as time spent in oak mellows the harsher characteristics of the grape and results in fine, mellow, balanced wines bursting with complex fruit flavors Aglianico grapes also have a high acidity content, but this doesn't get in the way of the lovely plum and chocolate aromas associated with the varietal. Aglianico grapes are often blended with Bordeaux varietals, to produce wonderfully complex wines of excellent character.
When it comes to New World wine regions, it is widely agreed that many of the finest wines are grown and produced in California. The long stretches of coastline and the valleys and mountainsides which come off them are ideal areas for vine cultivation, and for over a century now, wineries have found a perfect home in the hot, dry state, with many of the wines produced here going on to reach world class status. The state is greatly helped by the brisk oceanic winds which cool the otherwise hot and dry vineyards, which hold mineral rich soils covering vast areas and featuring many established wineries. The state is split into four main regions, the largest by far being the central valley which stretches over three hundred miles in length.
The first European settlers to consider growing grapevines in the United States must have been delighted when they discovered the now famous wine regions within California, Oregon and elsewhere. Not even in the Old World are there such fertile valleys, made ideal for vine cultivation by the blazing sunshine, long, hot summers and oceanic breezes. As such, it comes as little surprise that today more than eighty-nine percent of United States wines are grown in the valleys and on the mountainsides of California, where arguably some of the finest produce in the world is found. However, American wine does not begin and end with California, and due to the vast size of the country and the incredible range of terrains and climates found within the United States, there is probably no other country on earth which produces such a massive diversity of wines. From ice wines in the northern states, to sparkling wines, aromatized wines, fortified wines, reds, whites, rosés and more, the United States has endless surprises in store for lovers of New World wines.
Since the 1850s, Sonoma Valley has been recognized as one of the United States' most important and productive wine regions. Any visitor to the region will quickly understand just why Sonoma Valley has had so much success over the past hundred and fifty years, as the region benefits enormously from the wonderfully hot and dry climate it receives, alongside mineral rich soils, geological features such as thermal springs. Furthermore, the region has a rich wine heritage which gives the region a sense of pride and a determination to consistently put quality above quantity, and to make the most of the wide array of red and white wine grape varietals which flourish there. The Valley of the Moon, as it is affectionately named, is now widely understood to be home to many of North America's finest wines, and this is set to continue for many years to come.
