Appellations Directory
Lodi
Alta Mesa
Alta Mesa is an AVA halfway between Sacramento and Lodi in California's Central Valley, falling under the larger Lodi AVA. Alta Mesa, meaning 'high table' in Spanish, is located on a flat plateau that is slightly elevated over the rest of Lodi.
Borden Ranch
Borden Ranch is an AVA that lies between the town of Lodi and the Sierra Foothills AVA in California. A wide variety of elevations and terrains makes it one of Lodi's most variable sub-AVAs. Well-structured red wines are made in the region, predominantly from Zinfandel, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, along with white wines made from Viognier and Albarino.
Clements Hills
Clements Hills is an AVA in the southeast of the larger Lodi AVA. It is bisected by the Mokelumne River, which runs through Lodi from the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Sierra Foothills are found to the east, and the town of Lodi lies to the northwest. The total area is 85,400 acres (34,560 hectares) of which 21,700 acres (8,781 hectares) are under vine.
Jahant
Jahant is a Californian AVA in the center of the larger Lodi region, just north of the town of Lodi itself. The unique pink-colored soil in Jahant and the relatively cool climate serve to distinguish it from the surrounding AVAs. It is recognised in particular for producing powerful, concentrated wines from Tempranillo.
Mokelumne River
Mokelumne River is an AVA covering the southwest portion of the larger Lodi AVA, including the town of Lodi itself. Mokelumne River is the historical heart of the Lodi appellation and is home to most of Lodi's wineries, which produce concentrated red wines from old-vine Zinfandel.
Tracy Hills
Tracy Hills is one of California's younger AVAs, created in 2006 after the Tulip Hill winery lobbied for the AVA's recognition. A small number of boutique winemakers produce a variety of wines in the AVA. No regional signature variety has emerged as yet. The vineyards are located about 55 miles (90km) east and south-east of San Francisco through the Livermore Valley. The zone straddles San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties.
Napa County
Altas Peak
Atlas Peak in Napa County, California, is the name of one of the county's highest points and the AVA which surrounds it. The peak reaches 811m (2663ft), falling only slightly short of Mount Vaca to the south-east and Sugarloaf Mountain at the northern edge of the Howell Mountain AVA. It lies on the western side of the Vaca Mountains, the range which separates the Napa and Sacramento valleys.
Coombsville
Coombsville AVA is an American Viticultural Area located within the Napa Valley AVA just east of the city of Napa. The appellation varies from near sea level at the Napa River on the west to 1,900 feet at the ridge of the Vaca Mountain Range. Proximity to San Pablo Bay contributes to the temperate climate of Coombsville.
Los Carneros
Los Carneros AVA is an American Viticultural Area which includes parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties in California, U.S.A.. It is located north of San Pablo Bay. The proximity to the cool fog and breezes from the bay makes the climate in Los Carneros cooler and more moderate than the wine regions farther north in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley. The cooler climate has made Los Carneros attractive for the cultivation of cooler climate varietals like Pinot noir and Chardonnay. Many of the grapes grown in Los Carneros are used for sparkling wine production.[2] Receiving its AVA status in 1983, the Carneros area was the first wine region in California to be defined by its climate characteristics rather than political boundaries.
Oakville
Oakville AVA is the result of sedimentary deposits from the hills that form Napa Valley. The soil is gravelly and sandy, with exceptionally good drainage. The portion of the AVA between State Route 29 and the Silverado Trail is a mix of clay and well-drained sandy loam.[3] Oakville AVA has a warm climate well-suited to wine grape production. Wind and fog arriving from San Pablo Bay can affect the morning and evening hours, but their effects are limited by the intervening Yountville Mounts.
Rutherford
Rutherford ranks among the very finest Napa Valley AVAs. It is located south of St Helena and immediately north of Oakville, at the heart of the Napa Valley winegrowing area. Located 12 miles (20km) north of Napa town, and half that distance again from San Pablo Bay, Rutherford summer days are also blessed with damp, cooling fog rising northwards up the valley from the Bay Area.
St. Helena
St. Helena AVA is an American Viticultural Area located within Napa Valley, centered on the town of St. Helena, California. The appellation covers 9,000 acres (3,642 ha) along the flat narrow land towards the northern end of the valley between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. Charles Krug, one of pioneers of Napa Valley winemaking, opened his winery here in 1861.
Yountville
Yountville is an AVA that surrounds the town of Yountville that lies partway between Napa town and the village of St Helena. Most of the vineyards are situated on the Napa Valley floor, although in the western part of the AVA, vines are planted on rocky, undulating slopes in the foothills of the Mayacamas mountains. Yountville is surrounded by some of Napa's most famous subregions: to the north lies Oakville, to the west Mount Veeder and to the east Stags Leap.
San Luis Obispo
Paso Robles
The Paso Robles AVA is still acknowledged for its heritage grape, Zinfandel, but has gained recognition from a wider range of grape varietals as well. In the 1950s and 1960s, growers began to plant Bordeaux varieties, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, in the area. Starting in the 1980s, there have been increased plantings of many Rhône varieties, including the first Syrah planted in California, as well as Viognier and Roussanne to name a few.
San Joaquin Valley
Diablo Grande
Diablo Grande is one of California's smallest and most remote AVAs. It is located in the west of Stanislaus County, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of San Jose, within the larger Central Valley wine region of California. Its immediate neighbor to the east is Salado Creek, another lesser-known AVA of the Central Valley. Mount Diablo is one of many peaks in the Pacific Coast Ranges, and offers sweeping views of the Bay Area from its summit 3,964 feet (1,178 meters) above sea level.
Fresno
Fresno County as might be expected, covers all vineyards within the boundaries of Fresno County, right in the middle of California. Award-winning wines have been made from Fresno County vineyards from Syrah, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Barbera and Tempranill. The Rhone Valley's Viognier is the only white grape of any note, and produces rich, powerful, aromatic wines.
Madera
Madera AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in both Fresno County and Madera County, in central California. With a total area of 230,000 acres (93,078 ha), 38,000 acres (15,378 ha) of which are planted to wine grapes, this region in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley region of the Central Valley produces 10% of all wine grapes grown in the state of California. Modern grape growing practices have shown that this region can produce very high quality wines. The region has seen tremendous growth and success due to the shift from high-volume production to high-quality production.
Lemoore
Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's)[5] is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located 7.5 miles (12 km) west-southwest of Hanford,[7] at an elevation of 230 feet (70 m).[5] It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Shenandoah Valley — California
Amador
Amador County is an American Viticultural Area in the heart of California's once-thriving gold-mining country. In total there are about 3700 acres (1500 hectares) of vineyards, some of which can claim to be the oldest continuously farmed vines in the USA. Most vineyards in Amador County are planted at altitudes of 1200–2000 feet (365–609m) on sun-drenched hillsides. Many vineyard properties are relatively small (under 30 acres / 12ha) and worked by hand.
El Dorado
El Dorado AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in El Dorado County, California, United States. Wine grape growers in the region produce a large diversity of varietals, notable varietals are Zinfandel, Barbera, and Syrah and there are significant plantings of Rhône varietals. Located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, vineyards are found at elevations between 1,200 feet (366 m) and 3,500 feet (1,067 m) above sea level and some of the best vineyards are planted above 2,000 feet (610 m) elevation. The region benefits from the cool breezes that come off the mountains and push hot air off the vines and down to the valley. The soils of the region are magma based with high levels of acidity.
Fiddletown
The Fiddletown AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Amador County, California, United States. The region was first settled in 1849, during the California Gold Rush. Settlers who stayed in the area eventually planted grape vines, which became abundant by the end of the nineteenth century. Most of the vineyards in the Fiddletown AVA are located in the south and west portion of the region, at elevations between 1,500 feet (457 m) and 2,500 feet (762 m) above sea level. About 20% of the wine produced in Amador County comes from Fiddletown AVA.
Solano County
Suisun Valley
Suisun Valley is a region in the California Coast Ranges that is bordered on the east side by the Blue Ridge of the Vaca Mountains, and on the west side by the Howell Mountains, which are also called the St. George Range. The valley is located almost entirely in Solano County with a northern terminus near the county line with Napa County, and a southern terminus at Suisun Bay in the estuary where the Sacramento River enters San Francisco Bay. Elevations on the valley floor range from 100 to 200 feet (30 to 61 m) above sea level, rising steeply to 1,122 feet (342 m) at Okell Hill on the north side, and to 2,162 feet (659 m) on the west side at Twin Sisters, a twin summit that is the high point of the Howell Mountains, as well as a prominent landmark in the valley.
Sonoma
Alexander Valley
Alexander Valley is one of the key winegrowing areas in California's Sonoma County. It is one of the warmer parts of Sonoma, with vineyards stretching from the edges of the Russian river up into the foothills of the Mayacamas mountains that separate Sonoma from Napa. The AVA covers the land along a 20-mile (33-km) stretch of the Russian river between the Mendocino County border and the city of Healdsburg. South of Healdsburg, where the fog-influenced climate is much cooler, the Russian River Valley AVA takes over, while Dry Creek Valley lies across the hills to the west. The separate but overlapping Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak AVA lies at the northern end of Alexander Valley.
Chalk Hill
Chalk Hill the AVA is located in the hills above the town of Windsor, partway between Santa Rosa and Healdsburg. Knights Valley and Alexander Valley lie just to the north, while the much larger Russian River Valley occupies the land to the south and west. Chalk Hill has around 650 hectares (1600 acres) of land under vine, and just a handful of producers, including Chalk Hill Estate and Rodney Strong Vineyards.
Sonoma Valley
Sonoma Valley is located in the county's southeastern corner, and effectively mirrors the shape and orientation of Napa Valley just across the Mayacamas Mountains. Northern Sonoma is much larger and more complex than Sonoma Valley, both geologically and viticulturally speaking. It encompasses no fewer than 10 AVAs, including the famous and substantial Russian River Valley and Alexander Valley.
Russian River
Russian River Valley, one of the United States' top-ranked wine regions, is located at the heart of Sonoma County, California.The river rises in the hills of Mendocino County, and flows southwards for 110 miles (180km) until Healdsburg, where it turns south-westwards towards the Pacific Coast. It is along this final 25-mile (40km) stretch that the first Russian River Valley vineyards began springing up in the late 1970s, and where the finest are still located today.