Marin County’s Gift of Wine
Filed Under Real Estate |
Geography and topography have settled Marin County in a position where temperatures are lower than those in Sonoma and Napa Counties although they are mere minutes away. Furthermore, Marin County’s terrain and weather patterns are must more similar to those of the southern French wine country of Burgundy than of those in its on State of California. For that reason, viticulture in Marin County and its production of wines can easily compete with the world class wines of Burgundy.
Marin County’s chill factor allows for an extended grape growing season with the fruit hanging longer on their vines which yields higher quality grapes. Marin County’s wine industry celebrates wines with more balance, outstanding natural acidity and many varieties of its wines have lower alcohol levels (usually at under fourteen percent) than those produced in the wineries of the nearby wine country.
Marin County is endowed with a mixture of soils that has just the right amount of fertility and nutrients to sustain grapevines, its unique terrain and its weather patterns provide Marin County’s wine industry with the great potential to produce a diverse range of wines, particularly the cool climate varieties that include the Pinot Noirs, the Rieslings and the more elegant Merlots.
According to several historical accounts, vitis vinifera grapes were introduced to Marin County when the San Rafael Mission was built in 1817. The local residents soon realized that the County’s very precipitous winters and extremely arid summers, the good assortment of fertile soils, the varied topography and plenty of California sunshine made it an ideal place to farm wine grapes. Very soon, just about every family in residence cultivated a small vineyard on its land.
Viticulture in Marin County was further slowed during the Prohibition of the 1920s and then it was even further slowed down in 1937 when the Golden Gate Bridge was opened to the public and all eyes turned to Marin County’s lands and housing, and viticulture was virtually forgotten.
Marin County’s wine industry was further thwarted by the Prohibition era of the 1920s and the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937 turned Marin County’s economic focus away from wine and to real estate and the housing market.
The Marin County Grape Growers Association has helped by encouraging and motivating its members to persist with their industrial endeavors. They meet every other week to acquire news about the industry, to brainstorm, to discuss and to inspire.
Marin County boasts approximately 200 acres of vineyard while Sonoma County has over 40,000 acres. It is obvious that viticulture in Marin County is indeed very small but it produces wines that are huge in quality.
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