The Santa Ynez 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 winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...
located in
Santa Barbara County,
California and was established on May 16, 1983 by the
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
It is part of the larger
Central Coast AVA, and contains the greatest concentration of
wineries in Santa Barbara County. The
valley is formed by the
Purisima Hills
The Purisima Hills are a northwest-to-southeast trending low mountain range of the Outer Southern California Coast Ranges, located in Santa Barbara County, California. They divide the Santa Ynez Valley on the south from the Los Alamos Valley on t ...
and
San Rafael Mountains to the north and the
Santa Ynez Mountains to the south creating a long, east-west corridor with very cool temperatures on the coast that become progressively warmer inland. The
Santa Ynez River flows east to west on the valley floor toward the
Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, the Santa Ynez Valley contains four other established viticultural areas:
Sta. Rita Hills on its western boundary;
Ballard Canyon and
Los Olivos District occupying the center region; and
Happy Canyon on the eastern border.
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 French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
is the most planted
grape variety in the cooler, western portion of the valley while
Rhône varieties thrive in the eastern locales.
See also
*
Rhône Rangers
The Rhone Rangers are a group of American winemakers who promote the use of grape varieties from the Rhône Valley. They are mostly based on the West Coast, particularly California, and have created a not-for-profit organization for the promot ...
*
Jalama Wines
Jalama Wines is a California wine estate producing various Rhône style blends and varietal wines. The winery is located in Lompoc, California, 45 minutes north of Santa Barbara and the vineyard, located near Jalama Beach, is the westernmost v ...
References
External links
Santa Ynez Wine Country AssociationSanta Ynez ValleySanta Barbara Vintners Association
TTB AVA Map
American Viticultural Areas of California
American Viticultural Areas of Southern California
Geography of Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Ynez Valley
American Viticultural Areas
1983 establishments in California
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