Santa Maria Valley AVA

Santa Maria Valley has a rich viticulture history in California. Grape-growing in the region dates back to the Mexican Colonial period of the 1830s. Modern viticulture in the Santa Maria Valley dates back to 1964 when more than 100 acres of vineyards were planted in the Santa Maria Valley. The new growers believed the area could grow wine grapes to rival the Napa Valley. By the mid-1970s, established vineyards increased cultivation to over {{convert|2000|acre|ha}}.{{cite book | author= Geraci, Victor W. |title=Salud! The Rise of Santa Barbara's Wine Industry | publisher= University of Nevada Press | date= March 1, 2004 |isbn=0-87-417543-7| pages= |ref=Geraci2004}}

The Santa Maria Valley is a natural funnel-shaped valley opening west to the Pacific Ocean. The elevation of the area ranges from approximately {{convert|200|ft|m|-1}} at the intersection of Highway 101 and the Santa Maria River to approximately {{convert|3200|ft|m|-1}} at Tepusquet Peak. The grapes that are grown within the area are on the valley floor at an approximate elevation of {{convert|300|ft|m|-1}} and on the slopes and rolling hillsides up to an elevation of {{convert|800|ft|m|-1}}.

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The Santa Maria Valley geography channels dense banks of morning fog from the Pacific Ocean that takes many hours to burn off, only to be replaced by chilly afternoon breezes. This “maritime fringe” climate lengthens the growing season and contributes to the eventual sugar/acid balance in the grapes from the region. Summer in the Santa Maria Valley is goose-bump season, with an average summer temperature of only {{convert|75|F|C}}.{{cite book | first=Karen | last=MacNeil | title=The Wine Bible | pages=[https://archive.org/details/winebible00kare/page/704 704-705] | publisher=Workman Publishing | date=2000-02-01 | isbn=978-1-56305-434-1 | url=https://archive.org/details/winebible00kare |ref=MacNeil2000}} This is a growing environment that is a Region I on the Winkler Scale. As with most of Santa Barbara County, annual rainfall is very low in the Santa Maria Valley. The AVA averages less than {{convert|14|in|mm}} in non-drought years. Vines typically require {{convert |20|-|30|in|mm}} of water per year for dry-farming, therefore, irrigation is essential.

The soils range in texture from sandy loam to clay loam and are free from adverse salts. Soil variation can be broadly categorized into four types. Three types are within the original Santa Maria Valley AVA: the Valley floor, the Solomon Hills, and the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains, northeast of the Santa Maria River. The fourth is the southern expansion area. Along the northern portion of the Santa Maria-Sisquoc River colluvial soils cover slope sides giving rocky freshness to grapes grown throughout. Towards the river side, soils become unconsolidated as mixed alluvial soils appear. The soils are mainly sand, sandy loam, and loam on the valley floor, but are mixed sandy, clay, shaly, and silt loams on mountain slopes. However, the soils in the expansion area are the same type as in the original Santa Maria Valley area. In the expansion area and on hills in the original viticultural area, the soils are sand, sandy, clay, and shaly loams.{{cite web |author1=Wakawaka, Hawk |title=Winegrowing Santa Maria Valley |url=https://wakawakawinereviews.com/2014/06/10/winegrowing-santa-maria-valley-a-hand-drawn-map/ |website=Wakawaka Wine Review |date=2014-06-10}}

Due to the cooler mesoclimates, the valley is renowned for producing some of California's finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. These are the appellation's two flagship varieties.{{cite web |title=Santa Maria Valley Wine |url=https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-santa+maria+valley |website=Wine-Searcher}}

File:Solomon Hills Rose (2).jpg

On January 28, 2011, the TTB granted a petition to expand the southern border of the Santa Maria Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA). This expansion was intended to align with the physical watershed boundary of the Santa Maria River. The revised boundary approximately follows the ridge line dividing the Santa Maria Valley from the Los Alamos Valley. It lies in northern Santa Barbara County, according to the boundary description and USGS maps, and is entirely within the Central Coast viticultural area. The expansion added {{convert|18790|acre|ha}}, nine vineyards, {{convert|255|acre|ha}} of commercial viticulture, and {{convert|60|-|200|acre|ha}} under viticultural development to the area increasing its total size to {{convert|116273|acre|ha}}.

{{Reflist}}

{{portal|California|Wine}}

• [https://sbcountywines.com/portfolio_page/santa-maria-valley-2/ Santa Maria Valley] Santa Barbara Vintners Association
• [https://www.ttb.gov/images/AVA/ TTB AVA Map]

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Category:American Viticultural Areas of San Luis Obispo County, California

Category:American Viticultural Areas of Santa Barbara County, California

Category:Valleys of San Luis Obispo County, California

Category:Valleys of Santa Barbara County, California

Category:1981 establishments in California