Thursday Virtual Happy Hour: The Oak Knoll District AVA in Napa Valley

We are continuing a four-week exploration of various AVAs within Napa Valley. The idea is to find a bottle of wine made from grapes grown within the AVA. You can choose any varietal or blend that you want. If ou can't find something within your budget, try something within Napa Valley in general.

Oak Knoll District (officially the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley) is an AVA in the southern reaches of California's Napa Valley. Its location near San Pablo Bay means it is one of Napa's cooler AVAs, and is known for its remarkably bordelais red wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec. The AVA covers 8,300 acres (3,360ha) of the valley floor immediately north of Napa township and the Carneros AVA. Oak Knoll District borders Yountville and Stags Leap District to the north, and Mount Veeder covers the Mayacamas mountains above.

Here, average summer temperatures are several degrees cooler compared to the likes of St Helena and Calistoga, mostly thanks to the cooling fog and breezes from San Pablo Bay 15 miles (25km) to the south. With a warm spring and a cool summer, the growing season here can span more than eight months and run into October, giving grapes ample time to ripen fully and develop complexity, while not losing critical acidity.

The Bordeaux grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec hold sway among Oak Knoll District's red wines. Chardonnay is the pick of the white grapes here, and benefits just as much from the extended growing season as the reds do. Prestigious wineries from outside the AVA now regularly buy in Oak Knoll District fruit for their whites, valuing it for its balance of sugar and acidity, which is rarely found in this part of California.

We have a choice of videos to watch including:

1. https://youtu.be/y9Mbco4BybQ?si=0H- Si6mAYz358MJW - OAK KNOLL DISTRICT AVA - MagicTime Wine Channel (3:11)
2. https://youtu.be/u313P0N058E?si=aCLfw-ddfBFij_on - Trefethen 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate, Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley - Wine Express (3:54)
3. https://youtu.be/E3gNVEFF79k?si=zS1NdDQ1SGzPukSA - 2017 John Anthony Vineyards Oak Knoll District Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley - John Anthony Vineyards (3:33)

So, pick up a bottle and watch a couple of videos. Let us know what you’re drinking and eating, and, if possible, the region from which your wine comes. Do you have any comments (positive or negative) about the videos? And, as always, tell us what’s going on in your life - what's happening with you, how you're feeling about things, updates, successes, challenges - as much or as little as you’re willing to disclose. We are in this together. And - thank goodness - we have wine!

Cheers!!