American Viticultural Area
Santa Maria Valley
Established September 4, 1981
- What sets it apart
- Prevailing ocean winds give the valley cooler summers, warmer falls and cooler winters than the areas around it.
- Grapes you will find most
- Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Franc
- Named most often by the 33 listings here.
AVA boundaries: UC Davis Library AVA Project.
Santa Maria Valley is the oldest AVA in Santa Barbara County, established in 1981 and expanded in 2011. It is a funnel-shaped valley open to the Pacific, and it reaches across the county line into San Luis Obispo County.
Climate and soils
Prevailing ocean winds give the valley cooler summers, warmer falls and cooler winters than the areas around it. Soils are well drained, from sandy loam to clay loam. Elevations run from about 200 feet at the Santa Maria River to about 3,200 feet at Tepusquet Peak.
Facts on this page come from the TTB rulemaking: read the rule in the Federal Register
The facts
- Established
- September 4, 1981
- Regulation
- 27 CFR 9.28
- Final rule
- T.D. ATF-89, 46 FR 39811
- Lies within
- Central Coast
- Expanded
- 18,790 acres added on January 28, 2011 (T.D. TTB-88, 75 FR 81846)
Dates are the effective dates of the federal rules. Acreage is shown only where a rule states the total.
Wineries and tasting rooms in Santa Maria Valley
Also making Santa Maria Valley wine
Located elsewhere, with vineyards or wines from this AVA according to their own websites.
Named vineyards in Santa Maria Valley
29 vineyards, named by the wineries that farm or buy from them and by the federal rulings. Working farms, not places to visit; where we list the winery tied to one, it is linked.
- Addamo EstateSource
- Bien Nacido VineyardSource
- Casa Torres VineyardSource
- Cottonwood Canyon estate vineyardSource
- Flood Vineyard (Rancho Sisquoc)Rancho Sisquoc WinerySource
- Foxen Estate VineyardSource
- Goodchild VineyardLucas & Lewellen VineyardsSource
- High 9 VineyardLucas & Lewellen VineyardsSource
- Julia's VineyardCambria Estate WinerySource
- Katherine's VineyardCambria Estate WinerySource
- Le Bon ClimatSource
- Lucas & Lewellen vineyard (printed 'Lucas Lewellan')Source
- McMurray Vineyard (Rancho Sisquoc)Rancho Sisquoc WinerySource
- Murphy VineyardSource
- Nielson Vineyard (Nielsen)Source
- Old Adobe VineyardLucas & Lewellen VineyardsSource
- Presqu'ile VineyardPresqu'ileSource
- Rancho Ontiveros VineyardRanchos de OntiverosSource
- Rancho RealSource
- Rancho SisquocSource
- Rancho Viñedo VineyardRanchos de OntiverosSource
- Riverbench VineyardRiverbench Vineyard & WinerySource
- Runway VineyardSource
- Sierra Madre VineyardSource
- Solomon Hills VineyardSolomon Hills EstateSource
- Tepusquet VineyardCambria Estate WinerySource
- Tinaquaic VineyardFOXEN Vineyard & WinerySource
- Warner Henry Vineyard (Lumen Estate Vineyard)Lumen WinesSource
- Wild King VineyardLumen WinesSource