Local Terroir
The element that unites the terroirs of most Monterey County winegrowing areas is the influence of the frigid waters of Monterey Bay. At the northwest end of the county, the bay moderates temperatures all year and is a source of fog and humidity. During the growing season, it’s also the origin of brisk, cold winds that rush southward through the Salinas Valley. These factors give the Monterey AVA, and those AVAs nested within it relatively cool, temperate climates.
The lack of this influence differentiates those AVAs isolated from the bay, either by mountains or by distance. They are notably warmer with more dramatic diurnal shifts. This climatic difference means they focus on more robust grape varieties.
Regions closest to the bay, such as the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, are the coolest and, since their daytime temperatures rarely get extremely high, have the smallest diurnal shift. However, little risk of frost or rain during spring and fall means those areas have very long, sunny growing seasons,and are well-suited to cool climate varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which ripen more effectively than might be expected.
This also provides producers making wine with grapes from these areas a great deal of latitude with respect to style. It’s possible, for example, to make excellent Pinot Noir, from one vineyard and vintage, with alcohol under 13.5% or above 15%.
In contrast, AVAs isolated from the bay, such as Carmel Valley and San Antonio Valley, collect more heat during the day. This is ideal for relatively late-ripening grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, and even Touriga Nacional.
The Salinas River is a significant geographical feature within Salinas Valley, and is a source of irrigation water. However, it has little influence on vineyards. For the most part, they are situated well away from the river and sit on well-drained soils.
Location/Geography
19,200 total acres (7,770 ha) in western Monterey County, running southeast from the Monterey AVA. At its closest, Carmel Valley is about 10 miles (16 km) from the ocean. The vineyards lie within Carmel Valley and neighboring Cachagua Valley. There are approximately 300 (121 ha) planted acres.
Name Background
In 1603, during Spain’s second exploration of the area, they discovered and named the Carmel River. That river runs through the valley, since known as Carmel Valley.
Topography/Elevation/Water Sources/Geographic Features
Altitude ranges from 203 to 2,762 feet (62-842 m). The vineyards, especially in Cachagua Valley, are mostly at altitude.
Geology/Soil Composition
San Andreas fine sandy loam and Arroyo Seco gravelly sandy loam. Both are fairly well-draining and require some amount of irrigation.
Climate
Warm-summer Mediterranean Tularcitos Ridge, within the coastal mountain range, shelters the AVA from the Pacific Ocean. And, in many cases, vineyards are above the fog and thus particularly warm and sunny during the day, but diurnal shift can be 50° F (10° C) or more. Despite being Winkler Index Region I, with 2,317 degree-days, the all-day sun and lack of oceanic wind allows ripening of Bordeaux varieties, red and white. However, altitude and proximity to the ocean leads to annual rainfall of 16.5-22.5 inches (419-572 mm), roughly double that of areas further east.
Main Grape Varieties
About 70% of the planted acres consist of either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.
Location/Geography
In the Gavilan Mountains, 10 miles (16 km) along Hwy 146 from Soledad and Hwy 101. It straddles the Monterey-San Benito County line. Pinnacles National Park borders it on the northeast. Chalone is the southernmost San Benito County AVA. Chalone Vineyard is the only winery in this AVA. There are about 300 acres (121 ha) under vine.
Name Background
Named for a peak in the Gavilan range, in turn named for a Native American Tribe.
Topography/Elevation/Water Sources/Geographic Features
Undulating terrain at about 1,800 feet (549 m)
Geology/Soil Composition
Limestone and decomposed granite
Climate
Warm-summer Mediterranean. Generally cool overall, but heat summation varies annually, anywhere from Winkler Index Region I to Region IV. Daily high-low temperatures can fluctuate between 90 and 50° F (32° and 10° C).
This is a dry AVA, averaging less than 15 inches (38 cm) of rainfall annually.
Main Grape Varieties
Mostly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with Pinot Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Syrah.
Location/Geography
The AVA is located within the larger Monterey AVA and is south and southeast of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. Near the center of the AVA is the town of Greenfield.
Upon initial approval, Arroyo Seco comprised 18,240 acres (7,382 ha). It has been amended three times, adding and subtracting acreage and redrawing the boundary with the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. Total acres are now about 18,150 (7,345 ha). About 7,000 acres (2,383 ha) are planted.
The AVA is shaped somewhat like a kidney, with the concave side facing east, and a long tail running west from the middle of the opposite side. That tail runs through a canyon leading toward the ocean through the hills.
Name Background
There is a stream, called Arroyo Seco (Dry Creek), which flows through the area. The same name was associated with a Spanish land grant and the ranch created therein.
Topography/Elevation/Water Sources/Geographic Features
Much of the AVA is benchland, though some gives the appearance of being a valley floor. It generally slopes downward from the Santa Lucia and San Lucas foothills in the west toward the valley in the east. It drops from about 600 feet to less than 200 (183 to 61 m).
Arroyo Seco Creek provides the water for irrigation.
Geology/Soil Composition
Mocho, Lockwood, Arroyo Seco, Rincon, Elder, and Chular gravelly and sandy loams. Some of the “gravel” is actually quite large and referred to locally as “Greenfield potatoes.”
Climate
Warm-summer Mediterranean. Winkler Index Region II, with a range of 1,875 to nearly 2,800 degree-days (1,024-1,538° C), depending on the year and location. The area is cooled by breezes passing through the Salinas Valley from Monterey Bay. Perhaps surprisingly, the narrow canyon area in the west is warmer than the larger, eastern zone. This is because any cooling the canyon gets from the ocean is less than that the eastern area gets from the Monterey Bay winds from which the canyon is isolated.
Rainfall averages less than 10” (254 mm) per year, due to the rain shadow cast by the San Lucas Mountains.
Main Grape Varieties
In the cool areas, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Noir dominate. In the warmer zones, there’s Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah.
Location/Geography
A nearly 100-mile (161 km) long AVA that runs along the Salinas River from Monterey Bay in the north to San Luis Obispo County in the south. It comprises more than 40,000 planted acres (16,187 ha).
Nested within the Monterey AVA are the Arroyo Seco, Hames Valley, San Bernabe, San Lucas, and Santa Lucia Highlands AVAs.
Name Background
The name Monterey goes back to the 1602 exploration of the region by Spain. The AVA lies within Monterey County and also encompasses the town of Monterey.
Topography/Elevation/Water Sources/Geographic Features
The AVA includes flat, low-lying valley floor, gently sloping benches, and steep hillsides. Altitude ranges from sea level to more than 2,000 feet (610 m).
Irrigation water for most areas comes from the Salinas River.
Geology/Soil Composition
Lockwood shaly loam, Chualar loam, Placentia sandy loam, Rincon clay loam, Garey sandy loam
Climate
Warm-climate Mediterranean. Winkler Index Regions I-IV. In general, the AVA is coolest and foggiest near Monterey Bay, becoming steadily warmer and less humid moving to the south.
Average annual rainfall is 10 inches (254 mm).
Main Grape Varieties
The massive acreage includes both cool and warm climate grapes. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir dominate.
Location/Geography
The AVA comprises 32,639 acres (13,209 ha). It is roughly 10 miles (16 km) long and 5 wide (8 km) and straddles both Highway 101 and the Salinas River in southern Monterey County. In the north, it abuts the San Bernabe AVA. There are about 8,000 planted acres (3,238 ha).
Name Background
The name comes from Rancho San Lucas, established in 1841-1842 from a Mexican land grant.
Topography/Elevation/Water Sources/Geographic Features
The terrain is flat-to-rolling, with altitudes of 325-1,250 feet (99-381 m). Most of the vineyards are in the lower half of that range.
Geology/Soil Composition
Garey sandy loam, Oceano loamy sand, Lockwood shaly loam.
Climate
Warm-summer Mediterranean. Winkler Index Region II-IV. San Lucas is at the southern end of Salinas Valley and mostly beyond the reach of cold wind and fog from Monterey Bay. However, there is still cooling influence and the AVA is therefore cooler than San Antonio Valley which is to the southwest and wholly isolated from the bay. Daytime temperatures can be quite high. Diurnal shifts of 30-40° F (-1 to 4.4° C) are common.
Main Grape Varieties
Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling
Location/Geography
The AVA is an alluvial bench on the eastern face of the Santa Lucia Mountains, west of Foothill Road and looking down upon the Salinas Valley. The narrow wine region runs southeast, starting about 12 miles (19 km) south of Monterey Bay. There are upwards of 6,200 acres (2,509 ha) under vine.
Name Background
The name, which simply describes the location and terrain, has been associated with wine since at least 1990.
Topography/Elevation/Water Sources/Geographic Features
Little of the AVA is flat. Its degrees of slope vary, but vineyards can be found from 300 feet up to 1,400 (91 to 427 m).
Water for irrigation is provided by the Salinas River and wells.
Geology/Soil Composition
Chualar loam, Arroyo Seco gravelly sandy loam
Climate
Warm-summer Mediterranean, Winkler Index Region I with 2,286 (1252° C) degree-days. The AVA’s location in the northern part of the Salinas Valley exposes it to very cool, brisk breezes. Wind speeds in the late afternoon can reach 25 miles (40 km) per hour. Between the wind, altitude and lack of scorching afternoon sun—due to screening by the Santa Lucia range—the AVA rarely gets very hot. Daytime temperatures generally remain between 60 and 80° F (15.5-26.5° C) during the growing season.
Annual rainfall is 10-15” (254-381 mm)
Main Grape Varieties
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
Location/Geography
Hames Valley is a 10,240 acre (4,143 ha) AVA entirely nested within the southern portion of the Monterey AVA. Hames Valley AVA is bordered on the west by the San Antonio Valley AVA and on the east by the Salinas River and Highway 101. Its southern end is about 5 miles (8 km) north of the San Luis Obispo County line. The AVA includes roughly 2,200 vine acres (890 ha).
Name Background
The region is named after John Hames, a significant landowner there in the nineteenth century.
Topography/Elevation/Water Sources/Geographic Features
The AVA is a 7-mile (11 km) long, east-west valley within the Santa Lucia range. Hames Creek runs along the valley floor, then connects with the Salinas River. Altitudes in the AVA range from 472 to 1,289 feet (144-393 m), but most vineyards are below 800 (244 m).
Geology/Soil Composition
75% of the soil is Lockwood shaly loam. Chamise shaly loam and Nascimento silty clay loam make up most of the balance.
Climate
Warm-summer Mediterranean, Winkler Index Region III-IV, generally experiencing between 3,200 and 3,500 degree-days (1,760-1,927° C).
For two reasons, Hames Valley receives little of the Monterey Bay wind which cools most of Salinas Valley. Hames Valley is very far south, so the airflow has already warmed and slowed. And Hames Valley runs east-west, rather than north-south, so the Santa Lucia Mountains block wind as well. There are still some late-afternoon winds though and a 50° diurnal shift is common. Rainfall is 10-12 inches (254-305 mm) per year. Irrigation is required.
Main Grape Varieties
Robust red grapes, such as Bordeaux, Rhône and Portuguese varieties
Location/Geography
A 24,796-acre (10,035 ha) AVA in southern Monterey County, 60 miles south of the bay, just west of the Salinas River and Highway 101. The southeastern border of the AVA abuts the San Lucas AVA, which was amended when creating San Bernabe. The AVA is nested entirely within the Monterey AVA. It includes about 5,000 vine acres (2,023 ha).
Name Background
Origin of the name is unknown, but its use for that area was noted by a Spanish missionary in 1776.
Topography/Elevation/Water Sources/Geographic Features
Rolling, sandy hills from 266 to 1,670 feet (81-509 m). Vines are mostly situated below 800 feet (244 ha).
Reservoirs provide irrigation water.
Geology/Soil Composition
Extremely well-draining Oceano-Garey eolian soils made up of very fine, wind-deposited sand particles.
Climate
Warm-summer, Mediterranean, Winkler Index Region II-III. The AVA is influenced by Monterey Bay winds, more so than San Lucas AVA to the south but less than AVAs to the north. Diurnal shift averages 30° F (-1° C).
Annual precipitation is about 13 inches (330 mm).
Main Grape Varieties
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot
Location/Geography
A 150,400 acre (60,864 ha) region in southwestern Monterey County, wholly outside of the Monterey Valley AVA. Less than 1,000 of those acres are planted to grapes.
Name Background
In 1771, Father Junipero Serra named the river which runs through the valley “El Rio de San Antonio.” The mission he established there was called “Mission San Antonio de Padua.”
Topography/Elevation/Water Sources/Geographic Features
San Antonio Valley is a basin within the Santa Lucia Mountains. The AVA includes altitudes from 850 to 2,350 feet (259-716 m).
Geology/Soil Composition
There are 40 soil series within the AVA, most of them alluvial. The dominant series in vineyard areas are Arbuckle gravelly loam, Nacimiento silty clay loam, Lockwood shaly loam, and Chamise shaly loam. (The Santa Lucia Mountains are made largely of shale.)
Climate
Warm-summer Mediterranean, Winkler Index Region III with more than 3,000 degree-days (1,649° C). Annual rainfall is about 14 inches (356 mm).
Mountains isolate the valley from both oceanic and Salinas Valley winds. So, while still Mediterranean in nature, the lack of maritime moderation means the area gets hotter during the day and colder at night than other AVAs in Monterey County and San Luis Obispo County. It is also less humid than those other AVAs. The valley’s situation leads to a more peaky growing season too—quite cool in the spring and fall, but with a strong accumulation of degree days during summer.
Main Grape Varieties
Red Bordeaux, Rhône, and Port varieties