On Thursday, May 4, members of the Coomsbville Vintners and Growers gathered to celebrate the launch of the AVA’s Vinous Map. Vinous founder Antonio Galloni was on hand to debut the eighth Napa Valley map he created in partnership with famed wine cartographer Alessandro Masnaghetti. “The goal here was to do more than the standard vineyard maps,” Galloni said to the crowd. “Obviously, the inspiration here is the great maps of Burgundy that you see all over the place. And I thought California should have maps of that level and which are reference points.”

With each vineyard labeled in a different color, the maps are uniquely beautiful—and wildly useful. Galloni includes a brief history of the AVA, details about the soil types, and blurbs on the most important estate vineyards. While creating the map, Galloni spoke with vintners and winemakers and consulted wine geologist David Howell. Galloni was thrilled with his findings and believes the area is destined for distinction. “Rather than thinking of this as a conclusion,” he said, “I think this is just the beginning of exploration, and I'm much more excited about the stuff that we don't know.”

Guests enjoyed tastes of Coombsville’s latest and greatest and listened to a panel of winemakers discuss the AVA’s past, present, and future. Attendees were gifted Galloni’s excellent map, which readers can purchase on the Vinous website. Get your map today!

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