Ben Lomond Mountain is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in

Santa Cruz County, California Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the Sa ...

located on the coastal edge of the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...

. It was recognized on January 8, 1988 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (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 ...

after evaluating the petition submitted by Mr. Michael R. Holland to establish a viticultural area to be known as "Ben Lomond Mountain." It lies within the boundaries of the multi-county Central Coast and the Santa Cruz Mountains viticultural areas. Ben Lomond Mountain viticultural area encompasses approximately where nine separate vineyard operations were established with approximately under vine. In addition, two other vineyards are in the development stages with a proposed planting of .

History

Commercial winegrowing began in the Ben Lomond Mountain region in 1883 with the foundation of the Ben Lomond Wine Company by F.W. Billings. The Ben Lomond Wine Company, under the management of Billings' son-in-law, J.F. Coope, brought the Ben Lomond Mountain wines out of the obscurity of the remote mountain area to stand with other quality wines in California. In 1887, Coope wrote "Ben Lomond (Mountain) as a wine district is yet in its infancy and is struggling to establish a name for itself in that industry. The wine yield of 1886 for Ben Lomond Wine Company was 280,000 gallons, chiefly Riesling, part of which was grown (by the Ben Lomond Wine Company), while a part was purchased (from neighboring vineyards)." By 1891, approximately of wine cultivation were on Ben Lomond Mountain. The Ben Lomond Mountain wine industry declined after the turn of the century. By the end of World War II, only the Locatelli Ranch vineyard and the Quistorff vineyard remained. Both had been abandoned by the mid-1960's.

Viticultural Renaissance

During the 1970's Ben Lomond Mountain experienced a viticultural renaissance in and around the town of

Bonny Doon Bonny Doon is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, California. It is situated northwest of the Santa Cruz, California, city of Santa Cruz, considered part of the South Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), southern San Francisco Bay Area or ...

. In 1972, the

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Agricultural Extension Service released a study of climatologically prime growing areas for several commercial crops, including wine grapes. This study, entitled "California's Central Coast: Its Terrain, Climate, and Agro-Climate. Implications," established Ben Lomond Mountain as being a prime growing region for wine grape production. This report stirred the interest of several individuals in the region. Since then, nine separate vineyard operations have been established within the Ben Lomond Mountain viticultural area. The mountainous terroir ranges in altitudes from above sea level, placing it above the

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 ...

that rolls in 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 ...

, ensuring long hours of sunlight and extended growing season.

References

American Viticultural Areas of Santa Cruz County, California 1988 establishments in California {{wine-region-stub