Santa Maria Valley AVA

The Valley of Santa Maria is an American Viticultural Area, or AVA for short, which can be found in the counties of San Luis Obispo and Northern Santa Barbara, in the state of California, USA.

History

The appellation we just mentioned is a very old one in California, the oldest in fact. The grapes used to grow here in the 1830’s, when the Mexicans had the area. During the 1960’s, quality vineyards were brought here and they supplied wineries from the entire state. In the last half a century, those vineyard areas expanded and now they occupy over 7500 acres.

Geography

The shape of the valley is that of a natural funnel and it opens to the west, towards the Pacific Ocean. The area’s elevation goes from 200 ft and rises to 3200 ft, at the Tepusquet Peak. If you’re looking for the places where the grapes are growing, they can be found between the elevations of 300 ft, which is on the floor of the valley, and the slopes of the hills, with a maximum elevation of 800 ft. As for the soils which can be found here, you will find anything from clay loam to sandy loam and they don’t have any adverse salts in them.

Climate

Because the ocean is where the valley opens, the sea fog can come in without opposition during the night and engulf the vineyards that are lying low. Sometimes this fog can stay until the middle of the day and it contributes to the creation of a growing environment that is cool and very good for this type of activity. In this valley, grapes have a season of growing that is long, with little rainfall, which means that the grapes have plenty of time to get the flavor that will make for a great wine later on.