Sierra Foothills AVA

{{Infobox Wine Region

| name = Sierra Foothills

| image = Sierra Foothills Vineyard 0001.jpg

| caption = Vineyards near Vallecito, California

| official name =

| other name =

| year = 1987{{cite journal |title=Sierra Foothills Viticultural Area |journal=Federal Register |date=1987-11-18 |volume=52 |issue=222 |pages=44103-44106 |url=https://www.ttb.gov/images/pdfs/Sierra_Foothills_final_rule.pdf |publisher=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury |format=27 CFR Part 9 [T.D. ATF-261; Notice No. 632] Final Rule}}{{PD-notice}}

| wine years = {{years ago|1840}}

| country = United States

| part of = California

| season = 100-300 days{{cite journal |title=Sierra Foothills Viticultural Area; California|journal=Federal Register |date=1987-05-26|volume=52 |issue=100 |pages=19531-19535 |url=https://www.ttb.gov/media/69086/download?inline |publisher=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury |format=27 CFR Part 9 [Notice No. 632] Proposed}}{{PD-notice}}

| climate region = Region II-III

| heat units =

| precipitation = {{cvt|20|in|mm|0}}

| soil = weathered igneous, volcanic, metamorphic & metasedimentary overlying granite

| total size = {{cvt|4200|sqmi|acre|0|order=flip}}

| planted = {{cvt|5700|acre|ha|0}}

| vineyards = 150

| grapes = Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Grenache, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Viognier, Zinfandel{{cite web|website=Wine Institute |date=2007 |url=http://www.wineinstitute.org/industry/consumer/appellations_other.php |title=The Appellations Of California Wine: Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, Delta, and Sierra Foothills |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010123659/http://www.wineinstitute.org/industry/consumer/appellations_other.php |archive-date=2007-10-10 |access-date=October 3, 2007}}

| varietals = 48{{cite web |title=Sierra Foothills (AVA): Appellation Profile |url=http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-region/Sierra-Foothills.html |website=Appellation America |publisher=Appellation America Inc. |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=2024}}

| wineries = 211

| wine produced =

| designation =

| comments =

}}

Sierra Foothills is a vast American Viticultural Area (AVA) encompassing portions of seven of the twelve California counties in the foothill "belt" of the Sierra Nevadas in north-central California, an interior range that extends about {{cvt|360|mi}} in a northwest-southeast orientation from Mt. Lassen to Walker Pass near Bakersfield. The viticultural area is approximately {{cvt|160|mi}} long and lies {{cvt|40|mi}} to the east of Sacramento. It was established on December 18, 1987 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after evaluating the petition filed by the Sierra Foothills Winery Association of Somerset, California for the establishment of a viticultural area named "Sierra Foothills" in portions of Yuba, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties.{{cite web |title="Sierra Foothills" Viticultural Area Petition |url=https://www.ttb.gov/media/69089/download?inline |website=TTB.gov |publisher=Sierra Foothills Winery Association |date=1985-07-08}}{{PD-notice}} Wine grapes were introduced to the area in the nineteenth century during the California Gold Rush of 1849. Over 280 vineyards/wineries are located within its boundaries.

History

The California Gold Rush spawned viticulture in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. Some of the prospectors possessed knowledge about grape tending and winemaking

and turned to a more settled way of life, planting orchards and vineyards, as placer mining diminished. In 1855, the State legislature passed a law which exempted from taxation all

newly planted grape vines for four years. The number of grape vines in El Dorado County jumped from 24,000 in 1856 to 77,500 1858; in Tuolumne County from 9,000 to 50,000 between 1857 and

1858. The first foothills winery was established in 1856 near Plymouth in Shenandoah Valley. This winery is the fourth oldest in the State of California. In 1861, the Son Francisco Bulletin featured a front page story titled "Vineyards in the Foothills."

The foothill counties ranked among California's major wine producers during the 1870's and 1880's. In The Wines of America, Leon Adams states that "by 1890, more than 100 wineries were operating at such locations as Nevada City, Colfax, Lincoln, Penryn, Auburn, Placerville, Coloma, California, Shingle Springs, California, Ione, Volcano, Jackson, San Andreas, Sonora, Columbia, and Jamestown."{{cite book |author1=Adams, Leon David |title=The Wines of America |date=1978 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |location=New York |isbn=978-0070003170 |page=[https://archive.org/details/winesofamerica0002edadam/page/232/mode/2up 232] |edition=2nd |url=https://archive.org/details/winesofamerica0002edadam}}

In the 1890's, viticulture had become established as a major industry. El Dorado County alone had approximately {{cvt|8000|acre}} of the {{cvt|10000|acre}} in vineyards at the peak of grape

growing in the foothills counties. However, the decline of gold mining at the turn of the century, followed by a loss in population, phylloxera vine disease, and Prohibition, contributed-to the eventual abandonment of all but a few vineyards. By 1930, vineyards were replaced by orchards of peaches and prunes. After the Repeal in 1933, wine grape growing re-surged in the valley lowlands. The viticulture in Yuba County has been associated with the Sacramento Valley because from the mid-1930's to the early 1980's wine grapes were not being cultivated in the foothills of Yuba County.{{harvnb|Balzer|Geis|1978|p=[https://archive.org/details/winesofcaliforni00balz/page/213/mode/2up 213]}}

Terroir

"Sierra Foothills" viticultural area encompasses Sierra Nevada's north-central foothill "belt", an interior range that extends about {{convert|360|mi|km|0}} in a northwest to southeast orientation from Mt. Lassen to Walker Pass near Bakersfield. The area is approximately {{convert|170|mi|km|0}} long from Yuba County to Mariposa County and lies {{convert|40|mi|km|0}} to the east of Sacramento with elevations ranging from {{convert|500|ft|m|0}} above sea level, e.g., Jackson Valley and Auburn Ravine, to {{convert|3500|ft|m|0}} in Mariposa County. In comparison with the North Yuba viticultural area which ranges in elevation from {{convert|1000|to(-)|2000|ft|m|0}}, the Sierra Foothills viticultural area fully encompasses the range in elevation for the North Yuba viticultural area. The area encompasses {{convert|4200|sqmi|acre|0}} and is one of the state's largest viticultural areas.

The characteristics which distinguish the Sierra Foothills viticultural area from surrounding areas are summarized as follows:

Name (viticulture found geographically in the foothills "belt" of the Sierra Nevadas);
History (origins dating to the Gold Rush of 1849);
Geology, topography, elevation and soils (the region is part of the Sierra Nevada geomorphic province, with different geology and soils than the Great Valley province and the High Sierras); and,
Climate, rainfall and temperature (the region has warm summer days and cool nights, with lower temperatures and higher rainfall than the Central Valley and higher temperatures and lower rainfall than the mountainous uplands of the Sierra Nevadas).

Vineyards

Sierra Foothills has {{convert|5700|acre|ha|0}} being cultivated for wine grapes in about 180 vineyard/wineries. The most common grape variety is Zinfandel, which accounts for {{convert|2300|acre|ha|0}}. Cabernet Sauvignon is planted on {{convert|600|acre|ha|0}}, and Syrah is planted to {{convert|560|acre|ha|0}}. The most common white grape variety is Chardonnay, planted to {{convert|289|acre|ha|0}}. Other grape varieties are grown in smaller quantities. Vineyards are generally planted in locations {{convert|1500|to(-)|3000|ft|m|-1}} above sea level.

There are over 200 wineries located within the Sierra Foothills. Many are small, boutique wineries, often family-owned. The first known planting in the Sierra Foothills was in the Coarsegold Gulch area during the Gold Rush period.{{California's Geographic Names|760}}