} The Lime Kiln Valley AVA is an

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know about th ...

located in the larger

Cienega Valley AVA The Cienega Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in western San Benito County, California, United States. It is part of the larger Central Coast AVA. The valley was once a major source of wine grapes for Almaden Vineyards befo ...

San Benito County San Benito County (; ''San Benito'', Spanish for "St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,209. The coun ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. This

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

spans and was granted AVA status in 1982. The soil in the region is composed of foundations of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

and

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

with sandy, gravelly

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand ( particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

above. The area has a wide

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak ...

of up to , with daytime temperatures in to range during the summer growing seasons. The AVA is home to old vines' Mourvedre plantings.

Enz Vineyard and Gros Verdot

The only vineyards in the Lime Kiln Valley AVA are owned by the Enz Family. Currently there are 40 acres of vineyards, including a 15-acre parcel of head-trained Mourvedre that was originally planted in 1922. In 2007, the Enz Vineyard first planted in 1895 and now growing grapes for Kenneth Volk Vineyards was discovered to be planted with the nearly extinct

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

variety

Gros Verdot Gros Verdot is a red French wine grape variety that was a historically important grape in the Gironde wine region of Bordeaux but plantings of the variety have been banned in the region since 1946J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Gr ...

instead of

Cabernet Pfeffer Cabernet can refer to several different things: Wine grape varieties * Cabernet Sauvignon, a hybrid of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon blanc, and one of the most popular wine grapes in the world * Cabernet Franc, a parent of Cabernet Sauvignon and ...

as originally thought.

References

American Viticultural Areas American Viticultural Areas of California Geography of San Benito County, California Lime kilns in the United States 1982 establishments in California {{wine-region-stub