Arroyo Seco is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Monterey County, California, southeast of Monterey Bay. The appellation encompasses 18,240 acres (29 sq mi) in the valley adjacent to the Arroyo Seco Creek with approximately 8,500 acres (3,440 ha) of cultivation. The region's proximity to the Pacific Ocean produces the maritime climate, and is best suited for those cool climate grape varieties.
Willamette Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) which lies in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The AVA is the wine growing region which encompasses the drainage basin of the Willamette River. It stretches from the Columbia River in the north to just south of Eugene in the south, where the Willamette Valley ends; and from the Oregon Coast Range in the west to the Cascade Mountains in the east. At 5,360 square miles, it is the largest AVA in the state, and contains most of the state's wineries; approximately 908 as of 2021.
Columbia Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) which lies within the Columbia River Plateau, through much of central and southern Washington state, with a section crossing the state boundary into northern Oregon south of the Columbia River. The viticultural area includes the drainage basin of the Columbia River and its tributaries through much of Washington. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury on December 13, 1984 after evaluating the petition filed by Drs, Walter Clore and Wade Wolfe of Prosser, Washington on behalf of Washington’s oldest and largest winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle, and by William Blosser of the Sokol Blosser Winery, Dundee, Oregon. Allen Shoup, president of Chateau Ste. Michelle, understood the importance of obtaining appellation status to grow the reputation of the Northwest viticulture industry.
Yakima Valley is the first American Viticultural Area (AVA) established within Washington state, gaining the recognition on May 4, 1983. Within the vast Columbia Valley AVA, Yakima Valley appellation cultivates more than 53,000 acres (21,448 ha) giving the region the largest concentration of wineries and vineyards in the state. The most widely planted varietals in the area are Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot gris, and Syrah. Nearly 40% of Washington's annual wine production is made from Yakima Valley grapes. In addition to grapes, the Yakima Valley is also home to several fruit orchards growing apples, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears and plums. Around the town of Zillah, there is the Zillah Fruit Loop driving tour through the area's orchards and vineyards. The area is also home to nearly 80% of the US hop production. In July 2024, the Yakima Valley was named best wine region in the U.S. by readers of USA Today.
The Niagara Escarpment AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Niagara County, New York along the Niagara Escarpment. Certified by the United States Department of the Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau on October 11, 2005, it covers an area of 18,000 acres (7,284 ha).
Idaho wine refers to wine produced in the state of Idaho. Idaho has a long history of wine production with the first vineyards in the Pacific Northwest being planted here in the 1860s. Grapes were first planted in the state by French immigrants Louis Desol and Robert Schleicher, and Jacob Schaefer from Germany before grapes were ever planted in Washington and Oregon. Idaho wines were receiving national recognition before Prohibition crippled the industry and shutdown production. In fact, Idaho issued a state prohibition in 1916 before the 18th Amendment was enacted in 1920 and repealed in 1933. The state’s viticulture industry was not revived until the 1970s when first grape vines were planted in the Snake River Valley toward its southernmost area. Today, Idaho's viticulture is its fastest growing agricultural industry.
Paso Robles is the third American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County, California. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury on November 3, 1983 based on a petition submitted by Martin Brothers Winery. The area encompasses 609,673 acres (953 sq mi) with approximately 18,500 acres (7,487 ha) cultivated with wine grapes known for their heritage varietal Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Rhône-style wines.
Central Coast is a vast American Viticultural Area (AVA) that spans along the Central California Pacific coastline from the San Francisco Bay Area south through Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. It was established on November 25, 1985 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by Taylor California Cellars, a winery in Gonzales, California, to establish the "Central Coast" viticultural area. The boundaries of the Central Coast, which have been expanded twice, includes portions of six counties where approximately 100,000 acres (40,469 ha) cultivated with Chardonnay being more than half of the varietal. Within the multi-county AVA are numerous established appellations that share the same maritime climate produced by the Pacific Ocean.
Clear Lake is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Lake County, California. It was established on June 7, 1984 by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by three of the grape-growers and winery owners located in an area surrounding the watershed of Clear Lake in southwestern Lake County. The petition requested the viticultural area to be named "Clear Lake."
Red Hills Lake County is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Lake County, California and was established by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) on September 10, 2004. Part of the Mayacamas Range, the region lies along the southeastern shores of Clear Lake, separating Excelsior Valley to the east from Big Valley to the west. The hills lie at the foot of Mount Konocti, a volcano which last erupted 11,000 years ago, but which is still regarded as active. The terrain is rolling hills with elevations between 1,400 feet (430 m) and 3,000 feet (910 m) above sea level. Red Hills receives an average of 25 to 40 inches (635–1,016 mm) of rainfall annually.
Sta. Rita Hills is an American Viticultural Area located in Santa Barbara County, California. From its creation in 2001 through 2006, the wine appellation was officially named Santa Rita Hills AVA. The formal name change was the result of a protest by and subsequent negotiations with Vina Santa Rita, a very large Chilean wine producer that was concerned about the AVA name diluting its international brand value. The name change took effect on January 5, 2006, with a yearlong period for producers in the AVA to change their wine labels. In 2016, TTB expanded the approximately 33,380 acres (52 sq mi) “Sta. Rita Hills” viticultural area by approximately 2,296 acres (4 sq mi).
Snipes Mountain is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in the Yakima Valley of Washington state. It was established by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury on January 21, 2009 as the state's 10th AVA. It is the second smallest AVA in the state, after the Red Mountain AVA, and has one of the state's longest viticultural histories. The 4,145 acres (6 sq mi) appellation is a sub-AVA of the Yakima Valley AVA and the Columbia Valley AVA. It is located above and between the towns of Sunnyside and Granger around Outlook, Washington, in the southeast corner of the Yakima Valley.
Lake Chelan is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Washington state. The appellation lies about 112 miles (180 km) northeast of Seattle located in north-central Washington's Lake Chelan Valley and is a sub-appellation of the vast Columbia Valley AVA. It lies east of the Puget Sound viticultural area and north or west of the other Washington State viticultural areas. It borders the Columbia Valley viticultural area on is eastern side and does not include any portion of other Washington viticultural areas except the Columbia Valley AVA.
Naches Heights is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Yakima County, Washington. The AVA was recognized officially by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau {TTB), Treasury on January 13, 2012 after reviewing the petition submitted by R. Paul Beveridge, owner of Wilridge Winery and Vineyard, to establish the viticultural area named "Naches Heights." The AVA is located entirely within the vast Columbia Valley AVA with the city of Yakima to the southeast in a valley at a lower elevation. The Naches Heights appellation encompasses 13,254 acres (21 sq mi) and contains 105 acres (42 ha) of commercial vineyards either producing or expecting to produce wine grapes in the foreseeable future. Additionally, it is the first AVA in Washington state to be fully sustainable, with all 7 vineyards practicing in either biodynamic or LIVE certification. At the recognition date, only 37.2 acres (15 ha) were under vine, making the AVA the smallest planted wine region in Washington.
Lewis-Clark Valley is Idaho's third American Viticultural Areas (AVA) officially established by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury on May 20, 2016. It borders the northern part of the established Columbia Valley AVA. The region encompasses 479 square miles with nearly 100 acres (40 ha) under vine throughout the Lewis-Clark Valley between the Clearwater and mid-Snake Rivers and their tributaries. About 72%, 219,838 acres (343.497 sq mi), is located in Idaho with the rest in Washington. The topography consists primarily of deep, V-notched canyons, low plateaus, and bench lands formed by the two rivers. There were 3 wineries within the appellation, as well as 16 commercially-producing vineyards with elevations approximately below 2,000 feet (610 m). Lewis-Clark Valley boundaries forced the realignment of the existing Columbia Valley viticultural area by expanding into its area based on topography, climate and soil conditions. The realignment more accurately separated the terroir differences between the two appellations. Roughly about 72% of Lewis-Clark Valley is located in Idaho and the rest in Washington.
Petaluma Gap is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) established on January 8, 2018 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury. The area spans 202,476 acres (316 sq mi) stretching through an 30 miles (48 km) inland valley from the Pacific coast at Bodega Bay southeast to Highway 37 at Sears Point on San Pablo Bay straddling the border of northern Marin and southern Sonoma counties. The AVA lies entirely within the North Coast AVA and partially in the Sonoma Coast AVA with eighty commercially-producing vineyards cultivating 4,000 acres (1,619 ha) and nine bonded wineries. The wind gap in its coastal mountain range funnels cooling breezes and fog east from the Pacific Ocean through the city of Petaluma to San Pablo Bay. A persistent afternoon breeze causes lower grape yields and longer hang time contributes to the AVA vintages' unique flavors and fruit characteristics which defines their character and distinction.
Santa Barbara County wine is an appellation that designates wine made from grapes grown mostly in Santa Barbara County, California which is located approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of Los Angeles County. County names in the United States automatically qualify as legal appellations of origin for wine produced from grapes grown in that county and do not require registration with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the Treasury Department. TTB was created in January 2003, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or ATF, was extensively reorganized under the provisions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
Goose Gap is the 19th American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Washington, United States. It encompasses the local region surrounding Goose Mountain in Benton County between Kiona to the west, and Richland along the Columbia River to the east. The viticultural area was formally established on August 2, 2021, by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by geologist/vintner, Alan Busacca, on behalf of the Goose Gap Wine Grower's Association, proposing the viticultural area "Goose Gap". The area is a sub-appellation entirely within the Yakima Valley and the expansive Columbia Valley AVAs sandwiched on a northwest–southeast axis between neighboring viticultural areas Red Mountain and the minute Candy Mountain.
Appalachian High Country is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located mainly in North Carolina with sections in Tennessee and Virginia. The approximately 2,400 square miles viticultural area encompasses all or portions of the following counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, and Watauga Counties in North Carolina; Carter County and Johnson Counties in Tennessee; and Grayson County in Virginia. The appellation was recognized on February 28, 2016 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury as the country's 239th, North Carolina's 5th, Tennessee's 2nd and Virginia's 8th AVA after reviewing the petition from Johnnie James, owner of Bethel Valley Farms, on behalf of members of the High Country Wine Growers Association, proposing the establishment of the viticultural area named "Appalachian High Country."
Appalachian High Country is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located mainly in North Carolina with sections in Tennessee and Virginia. The approximately 2,400 square miles viticultural area encompasses all or portions of the following counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, and Watauga Counties in North Carolina; Carter County and Johnson Counties in Tennessee; and Grayson County in Virginia. The appellation was recognized on February 28, 2016 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury as the country's 239th, North Carolina's 5th, Tennessee's 2nd and Virginia's 8th AVA after reviewing the petition from Johnnie James, owner of Bethel Valley Farms, on behalf of members of the High Country Wine Growers Association, proposing the establishment of the viticultural area named "Appalachian High Country."
