Chalone AVA [shuh-LOHN]
Small 8,600-acre AVA located in Monterey County, California. It has only one winery—Chalone vineyard, which is in the hills southeast of Salinas and northeast of Soledad. In the 1990s Michael Michaud, general manager and winemaker at Chalone, bought land from Chalone and began to develop Michaud vineyard, to which he devoted full attention starting in 1998. So far he has not built a winery on the property. Because the Chalone area sits above the Salinas Valley fog, it has higher temperatures than the valley floor. The Chalone viticultural area falls into the region II or region III category (see Climate Regions of California), depending on a particular year’s weather. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the area’s major grapes, followed by Chenin Blanc, Pinot Blanc, and Syrah.
The New Wine Lovers Companion, 2nd Edition, by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Copyright © (1) 2003, 1995 by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Reprinted by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series, Inc.