Appellation America puts the Spotlight on the Monterey Winegrowing Regions.

NAPA, Calif. -- AppellationAmerica.com announced today the beginning of a month-long Editorial Spotlight on the winegrowing regions of Monterey County. This Spotlight will celebrate the first wines from the nine distinct appellations within the county to be advanced to Best-of-Appellation[TM] standing, resulting from Appellation America's unique new terroir-focused wine evaluation program.

The Monterey story is all about diversity. "Monterey County is a rich ecological mosaic which is delineated exceptionally well by the official AVA mapping," reports oenologist Clark Smith, Appellation America's lead evaluator.

From the pinnacles of Chalone to the sea-level riverbed of Monterey (Salinas) and the elevated valleys of San Antonio, San Lucas, Hames and San Bernabe, or up the benchlands of Santa Lucia Highlands and Arroyo Seco, and over the mountain down through the coastal crevice of Carmel Valley, the diverse character of the wines reflect the lay of the land. "These wines are loaded with Somewhere-ness," was the sentiment expressed repeatedly by participants in the evaluations spread over several days.

Also evident throughout the evaluation process were the patterns of evolving technologies, both viticultural and oenological, employed by growers and winemakers responding to these diverse growing conditions. The Best-of-Appellation[TM] (BOA) Evaluation Program requires that participating wineries submit detailed information on the technology practices they employ in the vineyard and the winery. "We are not only profiling the regional character of the wines, we're aiming to identify the sources of that character," explains Clark Smith to the observers invited to the evaluation table.

On the technology front, Monterey is also marked by its diversity, ranging to artisan producers to some of America's largest vineyard operations, with high quality, appellation-defining wines coming from both ends of the spectrum. Dave Muret, spokesman for the Santa Lucia Highlands Growers Association summed it up: "The BOA process is more than just another awards competition; it's about specifically identifying the characteristics for each appellation. This Best-of-Appellation[TM] program puts real teeth into the concept of terroir in New World vineyards."

About Appellation America

Appellation America is a communications and publications enterprise serving the North American wine industry through promotion of our growing number of distinct winegrowing regions.