Arroyo Grande Valley AVA
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Arroyo Grande Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in
San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra fou ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
approximately southeast of the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...
. It was established on January 3, 1990 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF),
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
as the state's 60th AVA based on the 1987 petition submitted by Don Talley, of Talley Vineyards, and William S. Greenough, of Saucelito Canyon Vineyard, proposing the viticultural area named "Arroyo Grande Valley." The long, approximately
valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...
benefits from its east-northeast orientation allowing the breeze from the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
to moderate the climate of the area. The valley is divided by a
fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...
line produced by the cool maritime layer where
Zinfandel Zinfandel (also known as Primitivo) is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kašt ...
, Petite Sirah and Rhône varietals are grown on the higher elevations near Lopez Lake and the cooler mid-valley vineyards being home to
Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...
and
Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...
. On April 8, 2022, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved the designation of the expansive San Luis Obispo (SLO) Coast AVA overlapping the boundaries of Edna Valley and Arroyo Grande Valley viticultural areas because they share common features. However, these two previously established areas still have unique characteristics to retain their viticultural area distinctions within SLO Coast. Edna Valley lies immediately to the northwest, the
Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...
straddles the north leg boundary, the Santa Maria Valley AVA lies to the southeast of Arroyo Grande Valley, and the
Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...
al communities of Oceano, Grover City and Arroyo Grande abut its southwestern border.


History

Viticulture history in the San Luis Obispo region dates back to 1804 when Mission grapes vineyards were planted at the county’s historic landmarks,
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa () is a Spanish mission founded September 1, 1772 by Father Junípero Serra in San Luis Obispo, California. The mission was named after San Luis, obispo de Talosa (Saint Louis, bishop of Toulouse, France). Th ...
and Mission San Miguel Arcángel. The size of the Mission San Luis Obispo vineyard was estimated to be and the Mission San Miguel vineyards were . The mission at San Luis Obispo farmed the bottom lands in the valley from 1780 until 1842 when the Mexican governor granted "Rancho Arroyo Grande" to Zefarino Carlon. Arroyo Grande translates to “wide riverbed” in Spanish. Today, the names "Arroyo Grande" and "Arroyo Grande Valley" can be found on many maps of the area. In 1870s, Henry Ditmas was originally a sheepherder settling in Arroyo Grande Valley. After a severe drought, he moved his herd to the Sierra Nevadas where a spring snowstorm killed most of the flock. Ditmas eventually filed a government claim for 560 acres adjoining Ranchita Arroyo Grande; he named it Rancho “Saucelito” for its many bordering willow trees as “Saucelito” means "willow trees." The land was cleared and Henry planted Zinfandel and Muscat grapevines imported from Europe and purchased locally according to the Ditmas family. This is the first documented planting of Zinfandel in the upper Arroyo Grande Valley. Commercial vineyards were first planted in 1880 in Saucelito Canyon. “Saucelito” meaning willow trees. The oldest winery in San Luis Obispo County, St. Remy, was also established in Saucelito Canyon in 1880 and produced wines until
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
. This winery identifies itself as being from Arroyo Grande Valley.


Terroir


Topography

Arroyo Grande Valley extends lying on a northeast-southwest axis whereas both Edna Valley and Santa Maria Valley are oriented on a northwest-southeast axis. The northeast-southwest orientation of Arroyo Grande Valley promotes a prevailing southwesterly winds and some protection from northwest winds. This feature distinguishes the Arroyo Grande Valley from the other areas of the county, yet shares many climate characteristics similar to neighboring Edna Valley AVA to the northwest. The Arroyo Grande area is west of the Santa Lucia mountain range and experiences the moderating coastal influences. The western boundary of the viticultural area is about directly east of the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
at Grover City. The principal stream in the area is the Arroyo Grande Creek which meanders approximately in a southwesterly direction from the spillway of Lopez Lake to the Pacific Ocean. The viticultural area includes substantially all the drainage of the Arroyo Grande Creek including the (upper) Arroyo Grande Creek. Feeding waters into the Arroyo Grande Creek are Tar Spring Creek, Los Berros Creek and Lopez Lake into which flow the (upper) Arroyo Grande Creek, Wittenberg Creek and the creek in Lopez Canyon. Tributaries to the (upper) Arroyo Grande Creek are Phoenix Creek and Saucelito Creek. The valley floor ranges from sea level to a above sea level while the higher elevations from. Present grape plantings are on low hills near the valley floor.


Climate

The primary characteristic distinguishing Arroyo Grande Valley from neighboring areas is its climate. The climate ranges from high Region I to Region II as classified by University of California, Davis’ Winkler scale. The climate, during the growing season, is influenced by the close proximity of the Arroyo Grande Valley to the Pacific Ocean. The valley experiences a long dry moderate summer season and a mild winter season. The marine air produces frequent morning and evening fog which distinguishes the area from inland areas of San Luis Obispo County which are not as open to the ocean and have much higher summer temperatures and colder winter temperatures. The climate during the months of March, April and May is dominated by a strong onshore air flow bringing cold winds which delay early season growing and fruit set of the grapevines. Because the Arroyo Grande Valley is shielded by the mountain range on the northwest side, the effects of the onshore air flow are moderated. The average rainfall is with about 80 percent of the rain falling between December and March. During the summer growing season, the sun shines more than 90 percent of the day. Temperatures of occur nearly every year. Average maximum readings for July are in the 90's and range from about at higher elevations to at lower elevations with occasional highs ranging from . Fog in the summer keeps the valley cool and would designate it as a Region I. The fog usually burns back in the late morning hours, which gives a gentle warming in the afternoon, ideal for good grape quality. The climate of the area is characterized by cool summer night temperatures, often dropping up to below daytime highs. The Arroyo Grande Valley, as a whole, is slightly warmer than the Santa Maria Valley viticultural area to the south, and somewhat cooler than the Edna Valley and Paso Robles viticultural areas to the north, as determined by the average total number of GDD during the growing season. Arroyo Grande Valley usually gets more precipitation each year than the Santa Maria Valley and Paso Robles areas. Edna Valley, to the immediate northwest, usually gets just slightly less precipitation than Arroyo Grande Valley.


Soil

The Arroyo Grande Valley terrain varies from shallow and moderately deep, moderately sloping to extremely steep and well drained. Soils on the valley floor are very deep, generally level to moderately sloping, somewhat poorly drained and well drained silty clay loam and sandy clay loam. The land is composed of sedimentary and volcanic soils over a layer of bedrock known as the
Franciscan Complex The Franciscan Complex or Franciscan Assemblage is a geology, geologic term for a late Mesozoic terrane of heterogeneous rock (geology), rocks found throughout the California Coast Ranges, and particularly on the San Francisco Peninsula. It was n ...
which is uplifted oceanic and continental crust formed over 100 million years ago.


Industry

Within the viticultural area are four vineyards where are planted in wine grapes and eleven bonded wineries consider Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah as the top grapes. Don Talley of Talley Vineyards and William S. Greenough of Saucelito Canyon Vineyard submitted the petition to the ATF in 1987 for the establishment of the "Arroyo Grande Valley" viticultural area in San Luis Obispo County.


References

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External links


San Luis Obispo Guide

TTB AVA Map
American Viticultural Areas of San Luis Obispo County, California Valleys of San Luis Obispo County, California Arroyo Grande, California 1990 establishments in California