Vinoce Cabernet Franc 2008

Winery: Vinoce

Varietal: Cabernet Franc

For many centuries now, Cabernet Franc has been a grape varietal deeply associated with high quality wines. It is now grown all over the world, and is generally used as a grape for blending in the production of fine, aged Bordeaux-style wines, generally considered to be amongst the best in the world in regards to flavor and complexity. The vine itself thrives in cooler, valley regions in many countries, and tends to ripen quite early, allowing wineries to make the most of its fantastic range of aromas and distinctive bright, pale red color Cabernet Franc is still often used for single variety wines, and is popular with those looking for a grape varietal which offers unusual aromas, with everything from raspberries to tobacco coming off the glass.

Region: California

Since the 18th century, California has been a hugely important and influential wine region, acting as a trailblazer for other New World wine regions and utilizing an important blend of traditional and contemporary practices, methods and techniques relating to their wine production. Split into four key areas – the North Coast, the Central Coast, the South Coast and the Central Valley – Californian wineries make the most of their ideal climate and rich variety of terrains in order to produce a fascinating range of wines made with a long list of different fine grape varietals. Today, the state has almost half a million acres under vine, and is one of the world's largest wine exporters, with Californian wines being drunk and enjoyed all across the globe.

Country: United States

For three hundred years now, the United States has been leading the New World in wine production, both in regards to quantity and quality. Wine is actually produced in all fifty states across the country, with California leading the way by an enormous margin. Indeed, as much as eighty-nine percent of all wines to come out of the United States are produced in California, where the fertile soils and sloping mountain sides, coupled with the long, hot summers provide ideal conditions for producing high quality, European style red, white and rosé wines. With over a million acres of the country under vine, the United States sits comfortably as the fourth largest wine producer in the world, where imported grape varietals from all over the Old World are processed using a successful blend of traditional and contemporary techniques.

Appellation: Napa Valley

California has long been recognized as a wonderfully rich and fertile location for viticulture, and hundreds of years now, vintners in the United States of America have used the valleys and mountain sides of California for gradually building their own wine culture, based on techniques and practices brought over from the old countries. When it comes to Californian wines of real quality and distinction, however, there is nowhere quite like the Napa Valley, which is now widely considered to be one of the world's premier wine regions, and very much the standard bearer for modern, American wines. With Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Zinfandel varietal grapes all growing well in Napa Valley, the region produces an impressive range of wines, which have had an enormous impact on the Old and New Worlds, and have changed viticulture forever.