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50-599: Arroyo Grande Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in San Luis Obispo County , California approximately 12 miles (19 km) southeast of the county seat San Luis Obispo . Arroyo Grande Valley was recognized on February 5, 1990 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) as the state's 60th AVA based on the petition filed in 1987 by Don Talley of Talley Vineyards and William S. Greenough of Saucelito Canyon Vineyard for

100-462: A stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 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 the geographic pedigree of their wines, as wines from

150-419: A 400 feet (120 m) above sea level while the higher elevations from300 to 1,000 feet (91–305 m). Present grape plantings are on low hills near the valley floor. 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

200-493: A detailed chart of the coast. Passing by the range around December 14, he named the range Sierra de Santa Lucia in honor of Saint Lucy of Syracuse , for whom many Christians celebrate a feast day on December 13 . The first European land exploration of Alta California , the Spanish Portolá expedition , camped on the coast near Ragged Point in present-day San Luis Obispo County on September 13, 1769. The expedition

250-504: 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

300-484: A particular area can possess distinctive characteristics. Consumers often seek out wines from specific AVAs, and certain wines of particular pedigrees can claim premium prices and loyal customers. If a wine is labeled with an AVA, at least 85% of the grapes that make up the wine must have been grown in the AVA, and the wine must be fully finished within the state where the AVA is located. The boundaries of AVAs are defined by

350-409: A state or county appellation, at least 75% of the grapes used to make the wine must have been grown within the boundary of the appellation, and the wine must be fully finished within the state in which the appellation is located. Some states have more stringent rules, such as California , which requires 100% of the grapes used to make the wine be from California and that the wine be fully finished within

400-651: Is characteristic of the Ventana Wilderness region: steep-sided, sharp-crested ridges separating valleys. At the mouth of the Little Sur river are some of the largest sand dunes on the Big Sur coast. About 50 streams flow out of the mountains into the sea. A few of them, including the Big Sur and Little Sur Rivers, Big Creek, Garrapata Creek, and Salmon Creek, are large enough to support anadromous and resident fish. California State Route 1 runs along

450-597: Is just north of the Salmon Creek trailhead. The southernmost tree is about 15 feet (4.6 m) from Highway 1 at the approximate coordinates 35°49′42″N 121°23′14″W  /  35.82833°N 121.38722°W  / 35.82833; -121.38722 About 57 plants are only found in the Santa Lucia Mountains. This range is the only known habitat of the Vortriede's spineflower . The rock of

500-486: Is not always the case. See map on the right showing the outline of the Paso Robles AVA , California's largest in total area, and the eleven distinct AVAs contained within it. In 2018, the second session of the 115th Congress recognized the contribution of American Viticultural Areas to the economy. The Blunt-Merkley Resolution passed unanimously. It noted that an AVA allows vintners to describe more accurately

550-687: Is the southernmost native location of about 225 plant species including the coast redwood trees and the northernmost home for about 90 species. The southernmost naturally occurring grove of redwoods is found within the Big Sur region in the Southern Redwood Botanical Area , a 17 acres (6.9 ha) reserve located in the Little Redwood Gulch watershed adjacent to the Silver Peak Wilderness. It

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600-659: The Big Sur coast on the coastal slopes of the range, while U.S. Route 101 lies in the Salinas Valley to the East, and crosses the southern Santa Lucia Range over Cuesta Pass to reach San Luis Obispo . California State Route 41 crosses the range from Atascadero to Morro Bay and Route 46 crosses from Templeton to Cambria . The only other paved road across the Santa Lucia Range is Nacimiento-Fergusson Road , connecting Lucia to Jolon . Since at least

650-589: The Cole Ranch AVA in Mendocino County , California, at only 60 acres (24 ha). The Augusta AVA , which occupies the area around the town of Augusta, Missouri , was the first recognized AVA, gaining the status on June 20, 1980. There are currently 276 AVAs spread across 34 states, with over half (154) in California. An AVA may be located within one or more larger AVAs. For example,

700-539: The Pacific Coast Ranges System. The coastal side of the range rises directly from the shoreline, with oceanfront ridges rising directly 4,000 to 5,000 feet (1,200 to 1,500 m) to the crest of the coastal range. The crest of the range is never more than 11 miles (18 km) from the coast. Cone Peak is the steepest coastal elevation in the contiguous United States, rising nearly a mile (1,609 m) above sea level, only three miles (5 km) from

750-486: The Pacific Ocean are moist with growths of coast redwood , Douglas fir , ponderosa pine , Pacific madrone and the local endemic species such as Santa Lucia fir (Abies bracteata) and Gowen cypress (Cupressus goveniana var. goveniana) . The east side is drier, with chaparral and open woods of pine (including Coulter pine and gray pine ) and oak woodlands of several Quercus species. The range

800-517: The San Andreas and associated fault systems. The Palo Colorado and Church Creek faults are prominent features influencing the linear northwest–southeast alignment of primary drainages. The Palo Colorado-San Gregorio fault system transitions onshore at Doud Creek, about 7 miles (11 km) south of Point Lobos, exposing the western edge of the Salinian block. Stream canyons frequently follow

850-690: The San Andreas Fault from an original position. It is predominantly Mesozoic granitic and pre- Cretaceous metamorphic rocks . There is some Cretaceous sedimentary rock of the Great Valley Sequence , considerable Miocene marine sediments, and some other Cenozoic sediments. Units west of the Sur-Nacimiento Fault are dominated by rocks of the Franciscan Assemblage . The basement rocks of

900-660: The Santa Clara Valley AVA and Livermore Valley AVA are located within the boundaries of the San Francisco Bay AVA , which is itself located within the Central Coast AVA . In such cases, the wine may be labeled with any of the relevant AVAs, but winemakers generally label wines with the most specific AVA allowed for each wine. Smaller AVAs are often perceived to be associated with smaller production and higher quality wines, though this

950-718: The Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), a component of the United States Department of the Treasury . The TTB defines AVAs at the request of wineries and other petitioners . Prior to the TTB's creation in 2003, the Treasury’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) received and handled petitions for viticultural areas, wine production and labeling. Section 4.25(e)(2) of the regulations (27 C.F.R. § 4.25(e)(2)) outlines

1000-770: The 1930s, accounts of encounters with Dark Watchers or Los Vigilantes Oscuros have been associated with the Santa Lucia Range, described as shadowy figures which watch hikers from atop mountain ridges. The Lost Padre Mines of the Carmel Mission have become part of local folklore, with their legacy recounted through various accounts, including those within Randall Reinstadt's works such as Ghosts, Bandits, and Legends of Old Monterey, Carmel and Surrounding Areas and Tales and Treasures of California Missions. These narratives suggest that indigenous communities held knowledge of abundant gold deposits concealed within

1050-711: The Mission San Luis Obispo vineyard was estimated to be 40 acres (16 ha) and the Mission San Miguel vineyards were 18 acres (7.3 ha). 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

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1100-866: The Pacific Ocean. The range's northern section runs parallel to the southern section of the Diablo Range , part of the Inner South Coast Ranges, which lies to the east across the Salinas Valley . The range's highest summit is Junipero Serra Peak , 1,784 metres (5,853 ft) in Monterey County and the Los Padres National Forest . The first European to document the Santa Lucias was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542 while sailing northward along

1150-719: The Santa Lucia Range contain Mesozoic Franciscan and Salinian Block rocks. The Franciscan complex is composed of greywacke sandstone and greenstone , with serpentinite bodies and other Ultramafic rocks present. Small areas of marble and limestone lenses form resistant outcrops that are prominent landscape features, often white to light gray in color. The Salinian block is made up of highly fractured, and deeply weathered meta-sediments, especially biotite schist and gneiss , intruded by plutonic (granitic) rocks such as quartz diorite and granodiorite. Both formations have been disrupted and tectonically slivered by motion on

1200-677: The Santa Lucias is dominated by granitic basement of the Salinian Block , between the San Andreas Fault and Sur-Nacimiento Fault . The core of the Salinian block formed as part of the same batholith which forms the core of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Peninsular Ranges of Baja California . It was separated from the North American Plate and transported north by the action of

1250-482: 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

1300-464: The coast on a Spanish naval expedition. Cabrillo originally named the southern portion of the range the Sierras de San Martín , as he was passing the area on November 11, the feast day for Saint Martin . He named the northern part Sierras Nevadas because there was snow on it. The present name for the range was documented in 1602 by Sebastián Vizcaíno , who had been tasked by the Spanish to complete

1350-537: The establishment of the "Arroyo Grande Valley" viticultural area in San Luis Obispo County. The 16 miles (26 km) long, approximately 67 square miles (42,880 acres) valley appellation benefits from its east-northeast orientation allowing the breeze from the Pacific Ocean to moderate the climate of the area. The valley is divided by a fog line produced by the cool maritime layer where Zinfandel , Petite Sirah and Rhône varietals are grown on

1400-446: 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

1450-679: The higher elevations near Lopez Lake and the cooler mid-valley vineyards being home to Chardonnay and Pinot noir . 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

1500-428: 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 20 inches (508 mm) with about 80 percent of the rain falling between December and March. During

1550-472: The mountains near Cayucos on December 7, 1987 after a gunman killed both pilots, causing the aircraft to crash. A total of 43 people were killed with no survivors. The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA , an American Viticultural Area and producer of California wine , is located on the southeastern slopes of the mountains, above the Salinas valley. Like the well known Santa Ana winds of Southern California or

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1600-454: The mountains' close proximity to the Pacific Ocean cause moisture to be deposited on the west-facing slopes, creating a suitable environment for conifers. This creates a rain shadow over Salinas Valley to the east, which is considerably drier. The higher peaks receive some snowfall during the winter. The climate is classified as dry summer subtropical , or Mediterranean . Rainfall varies from 16 to 60 inches (41 to 152 cm) throughout

1650-750: The north-westerly trending fault lines, rather than descending directly to the coast. The Salinian block is immediately south of the Monterey Submarine Canyon , one of the largest submarine canyon systems in the world, which is believed to have been an ancient outlet for the Colorado River. The region is also traversed by the Sur-Hill fault, which is noticeable at Pfeiffer Falls in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park . The 40 feet (12 m) waterfall were formed when

1700-642: The northwest, the Los Padres National Forest straddles the north leg boundary, the Santa Maria Valley AVA lies to the southeast of Arroyo Grande Valley, and the Pacific Ocean communities of Oceano , Grover City and Arroyo Grande abut its southwestern border. 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 and Mission San Miguel Arcángel . The size of

1750-538: 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 3 miles (5 km) directly east of the Pacific Ocean at Grover City . The principal stream in the area is the Arroyo Grande Creek which meanders approximately 12 miles (19 km) in a southwesterly direction from

1800-517: The origin of their wine, while helping vintners to build and enhance the reputation and value of the wines produced. AVAs also allow consumers to attribute a given quality, reputation, or other characteristic to a wine made from grapes grown in an AVA. AVAs also help consumers identify what they purchase. Santa Lucia Mountains The Santa Lucia Range is part of the Outer South California Coast Ranges , in

1850-429: The procedure for proposing an AVA and provides that any interested party may petition the TTB to establish a grape-growing region as an AVA. Section 9.12 of the TTB regulations (27 C.F.R. § 9.12) prescribes the standards for petitions for the establishment or modification of AVAs. Petitions to establish an AVA must include the following: Once a petition is accepted as complete, the TTB may choose to seek public input on

1900-478: The proposal and at its sole discretion may approve the proposed AVA. Before the AVA system, wine appellations of origin in the United States were designated based on state or county boundaries. All of these appellations were grandfathered into federal regulations and may appear on wine labels as designated places of origin in lieu of an AVA, such as Sonoma County . In order for a wine to be labeled with

1950-402: The range. Most of the precipitation falls during the winter on the higher mountains in the north. During the summer, fog and low clouds are frequent along the coast up to an elevation of 2–3,000 feet. Surface runoff from rainfall is rapid, and many streams dry up entirely in the summer, except for some perennial streams in the wetter areas in the north. The western slopes of the range facing

2000-674: 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. The Arroyo Grande Valley terrain varies from shallow and moderately deep, moderately sloping to extremely steep and well drained. Soils on

2050-635: 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

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2100-665: The state. Washington requires 95% of the grapes in a Washington wine be grown in Washington, although notably the Columbia Valley AVA , Columbia Gorge AVA , and Walla Walla Valley AVA are shared with Oregon. AVAs vary widely in size, ranging from the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA , at more than 19 million acres (29,900 square miles (77,000 km )) across four states ( Illinois , Iowa , Minnesota , and Wisconsin ), to

2150-440: The stream flowed over the hard gneiss of the Salinian block and encountered the softer Santa Margarita Sandstone. The falls were formed when the softer sandstone was worn away. The interior canyons are typically deep and narrow, and even in the summer sunshine only reaches many of the canyon bottoms for a few hours. The land is mostly steep, rocky, semi-arid except for the narrow canyons, and inaccessible. The Little Sur River canyon

2200-403: The summer growing season, the sun shines more than 90 percent of the day. Temperatures of 100 °F (38 °C) occur nearly every year. Average maximum readings for July are in the 90's and range from about 92 °F (33 °C) at higher elevations to 98 °F (37 °C) at lower elevations with occasional highs ranging from 110 to 115 °F (43–46 °C). Fog in the summer keeps

2250-450: 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. 35°10′46″N 120°31′27″W  /  35.179553°N 120.5240826°W  / 35.179553; -120.5240826 This wine region article is

2300-538: The untamed terrain of the Santa Lucia Mountains. As legends of these riches were passed down over time, the Lost Padre Mines attracted attention. Versions of these legends appear to have originated from long-time residents of Carmel Valley . The stories if ghosts may be attributed to descendants of and the last residents of the native people who remained hidden deep in the mountains after the missions failed. Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 crashed in

2350-433: 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 30 °F (−1 °C) below daytime highs. The Arroyo Grande Valley, as a whole, is slightly warmer than the Santa Maria Valley viticultural area to

2400-593: 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 which is uplifted oceanic and continental crust formed over 100 million years ago. Within the viticultural area are four vineyards where 1,250 acres (506 ha) are planted in wine grapes and eleven bonded wineries consider Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah as

2450-717: 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 . This winery identifies itself as being from Arroyo Grande Valley. Arroyo Grande Valley extends 16 miles (26 km) lying on

2500-596: Was forced to bypass the inaccessible coast and travel inland through the San Antonio Valley. The rough trail required much improvement by the scouts, and it was September 24 before the party emerged from the mountains at the San Antonio River near today's settlement of Jolon . They traveled north through the Salinas Valley before arriving at Monterey Bay, where they founded Monterey and named it their capital. Like other Pacific Coast Ranges ,

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