Sipping Silicon Valley

Historically, Santa Clara Valley south of San Francisco was known for orchards, farms, and vineyards (today it has just 1,500 acres of grapes, mainly cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay). But by the 1950s, it was already becoming known more for something more than almonds, tomatoes, prunes, apricots, plums, and vines—namely transistors and semi-conductors. In 1971, the term “Silicon Valley,” was coined by Don Hoefler, who used the phrase as the title of a series of articles in Electronic News. The term Silicon Valley gained widespread use in the early 1980s, when the IBM PC and numerous related hardware and software products were introduced to the consumer market. Silicon is used to create most semiconductors commercially.

Which grape, besides sauvignon blanc, is grown in the Sancerre region?

A. Chenin Blanc

B. No other grapes are grown; Sancerre can only be made from sauvignon blanc

C. Pinot Noir

D. Auxerrois

Yes, red Sancerre exists and it’s made from pinot noir. Although, most Sancerre today is made from sauvignon blanc grapes, that was not always the case. Before the phylloxera epidemic in the 19^th century, the leading grapes in Sancerre were chasselas (a white grape also grown in Switzerland) and pinot noir. After phylloxera, growers replanted with sauvignon blanc (a high vigor variety) and by the 1930s, it was the area’s dominant grape. Pinot noir was also replanted after phylloxera, and today is experiencing a resurgence in Sancerre.

“For a long time Sherry was a victim of changing tastes, with fortified wines, like sweet wines, having fallen out of style around the time Churchill was born. The category has come back in vogue lately, partly because of its affinity for complex foods, and also because anything grandmothers approve of inevitably ends up becoming hip again.”

—Adam Leith Gollner, Saveur, February 2018

Sipping Silicon Valley

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