The Madera AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

and

Madera County Madera County (), officially the County of Madera, is a county at the geographic center of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 156,255. The county seat is Madera. Madera County comprises the Madera, CA Me ...

, in central California.

Production

With a total area of , of which are planted to

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

grapes, this region in the heart of the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

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.

Uses

In years past, many of the grapes grown in Madera were used for the production of low-priced wines. Today, the grapes are shipped to producers of wines throughout the state, including Napa and Sonoma. The wineries located in the region produce award-winning wines from the large variety of grapes grown in the Madera AVA designation.

References

{{reflist American Viticultural Areas American Viticultural Areas of California Geography of Fresno County, California Geography of Madera County, California San Joaquin Valley 1984 establishments in California