Upper Lake Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Lake County, California. It was established on June 3, 2022 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by Terry Dereniuk, on behalf of the Growers of Upper Lake Valley, proposing a viticultural area named "Upper Lake Valley."[4] The AVA lies within the established multi-county North Coast AVA and partially intersects the established Clear Lake AVA. Upper Lake Valley encompasses approximately 17,360 acres (27sqmi) and, at the outset, 16 commercial vineyards were cultivating approximately 300 acres (120ha). At the time the petition was submitted, at least one additional vineyard was planned. Upper Lake Valley is elevated between 1,326 and 2,820 feet (404–860m) above sea level[3] in a series of valleys north of the unincorporated towns of Upper Lake and south of the Mendocino National Forest (Bachelor Valley, Middle Creek Valley, Clover Valley), and a stretch of Clear Lake's north shore which extends from Upper Lake in the west to the unincorporated community of Nice to the east. The Elk Mountain Valley appellation was originally proposed,[5] but after consultation with the TTB, it was abandoned in 2018 for the more encompassing Upper Lake Valley petition.[1] The Clear Lake AVA boundaries were slightly modified in order to fully encompass Upper Lake Valley appellation that lies in the Upper Lake Groundwater Basin on four water-bearing formations: Quaternary alluvium, Pleistocene terrace deposits, Pleistocene lake and floodplain deposits, and Plio-Pleistocene cache creek. The petition mentions that the basin "contains high levels of ammonia, phosphorous, chloride, iron, boron, and manganese". 56 percent of the area are made out of loam soil variations: Millsholm–Skyhigh-Bressa, Still–Lupoyoma, and Tulelake–Fluvaquentic–Haplawuolls. Constant, gentle winds keep grapes and leaf canopies cool and dry, and reduce the risk of mildew. Vineyards in the appellations are mostly planted on gentle slopes, favoring drainage.[1]
Only one bonded winery is contained within the Upper Lake Valley AVA, the Nice Wine Co., which was acquired in 2018 by Shannon Family of Wines.[6]
History
One of the earliest viticulturists in the area was Serranus Clinton Hastings, who reportedly farmed 125 acres (51ha) of vineyards (including 60 acres (24ha) of Zinfandel)[7] and had a 150,000 U.S. gallons (570,000L) capacity winery and distillery in 1886. He and his brothers eventually acquired more acreage in the region, but the winery ceased operation in 1900.[8][9]
In 1884, Charles M. Hammond, along with his brother Gardiner Jr., acquired 1,234 acres (499ha) in the "East Upper Lake precinct" and subsequently planted on his Mat Tel Vineyards estate 25 acres (10ha) of grapes, including "Black Burgundy", Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, "Sauvignon Vert" (probably Sauvignonasse) and Sémillon. Hammond had previously worked for Gustave Niebaum as a vineyard hand in Napa Valley for about a year. Charles Hammond's winery and distillery reportedly operated until 1915.[7] His brother Gardiner G. Hammond, Jr. sold his 640-acre (260ha) share in 1885 to viticulturist and orchardist William O. Edmonds.[10]
The local winegrower community mobilized in 1912 to fight a county-wide dry ordinance.[11] When Prohibition was passed, most vineyards were abandoned or replanted with orchards, notably walnuts, which remain a key crop in the area.
It's only in the 1970s that vineyards were replanted in the Upper Lake area, around the time Lake County started slowly reemerging as a winegrowing region.
At the time of the filing with the TTB, there were 16 winegrowers in the area, representing 300 acres (120ha). One of the largest vineyards in the area is the organically-farmed Elk Mountain Vineyard, planted with 30 acres (12ha) of Sauvignon blanc as well as 1 acre of Portuguese varieties.[5]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
