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The Differences Between Mountain and Valley Wines, Explained
Elevation is the most obvious influence on wines made from grapes grown in these areas. It also impacts factors like fog, topography, soil type and diurnal range, or difference in day and night temperatures.
The most obvious ways mountain wines announce themselves in the glass is by mouthfeel and tannin texture, Wineburg says.
“As a gross generalization, mountain tannins are tighter, stronger, with a lot of length and need more time in barrel and bottle to develop,” she says. “Valley floor tannins are plush, dense, but without the length.”