What's the Difference Between High Elevation and Low Elevation Wines?

In simple terms, wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grape juice. However, what ends up in the bottle is the result of many variables, including the grape or blend used and the various methods and techniques employed during the winemaking process. Wine is also impacted by a range of environmental factors, like the elevation at which the grapes are grown.

High-elevation wines

“High-altitude vineyards and low-altitude vineyards…produce wines with distinctly different characteristics, shaped by their unique terroir,” says winemaker Jamie Kutch.

At his boutique winery, Kutch Wines, the winemaker specializes in Pinot Noirs that explore a range of elevations, terroirs, and microclimates throughout the Sonoma Coast.

“At higher altitudes, vineyards are exposed to increased solar radiation and ultraviolet light,” says Kutch. “This elevated UV exposure can result in thicker grape skins, leading to wines with greater concentration, intensity, and depth of color. Additionally, the higher skin-to-juice ratio often contributes to more pronounced tannins and complex flavors. The increased exposure to sunlight at altitude also supports enhanced ripening, allowing for the development of vibrant fruit flavors while maintaining balanced acidity.”

Temperature plays an important role, though not always in ways you’d expect. Higher altitudes are typically cooler than lower ones, but the presence of fog can actually reverse that.

Danielle Cyrot, winemaker at Cade Winery, on Napa Valley’s Howell Mountain, says that fog, or a marine layer, can have a significant impact.

“Since our Howell Mountain vineyards are 1,400 feet or higher in elevation, they are above the fog line, whereas the valley floor [may be] covered in fog,” says Cyrot. “On those foggy days, our vineyards are in the sun and could be five degrees warmer than those on the valley floor. In essence, being above the fog gives the vines a few more hours of sunshine and heat to develop flavor and sugar in the grapes. It can be a big advantage in certain years, which could be the difference between a mediocre wine and a great wine.”

Valley floor wines

Great wines can be produced from lower-elevation vines, too.

To Kalon Vineyard, where some of the country’s most venerated Cabernets are grown, never rises above 200 feet above sea level. The top wines produced from that fruit are extremely expressive and age-worthy. To Kalon is an excellent example of how the direction a vineyard faces, its soil composition, drainage, and surrounding geology can affect grapes and the subsequent wines produced from them.

“Valley floor grapes tend to have bigger berries, and therefore slightly less tannin and color than higher elevation,” says Cyrot. “Valley floor grapes need longer macerations — the time the juice is in contact with the skins and seeds — to get everything out of those berries. The resulting wines are velvety and lush. They have a silky texture and mouthfeel that can be very appealing.”

Many factors can impact a wine’s character, however.

“I feel like wines often mimic their setting,” says Drew Herman, director of viticulture for Revana Vineyards in Napa Valley. “The valley floor is often warmer, with calmer winds [and] more available moisture. These factors result in plush wines that are generous with fruit character and often warm on the palate. Higher-altitude wines are much more exposed, which often results in something that seems more complex. They often have a rigid structure, sharp edges.”

It’s all about the region

What defines a higher-elevation vineyard depends on the region where it’s located. The differences in growing grapes many thousands of feet above sea level in Andes-influenced sites in Argentina, for example, can’t be overlooked when compared to the generally less extreme heights of California and Oregon.

“A Malbec from the lower regions of Mendoza has nothing in common with one from the higher zones of the Uco Valley,” says Luciano Bastias, winemaker at Corazón del Sol in Mendoza, Argentina. “They are totally different wines. In fact, they don't even seem to be the same varietal. However, there are so many variables that affect a vineyard and [to attribute those differences] only to altitude would not be fair. The mistake lies in trying to equalize them and seeking to make the same style of wine.”

The character of a wine is the result of where it’s grown, how the vines are farmed, the rootstock and clonal selection, when the grapes are picked, and the countless decisions that the grape grower and winemaker have to make. To attribute how a wine expresses itself to any single variable would be a vast oversimplification. But elevation plays an important role.

“There are some aspects of winemaking that will shape and guide a wine into a certain style or direction,” says Cyrot. “But again, the place the grapes are grown outweighs a lot of what we do in the winery.”

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