Cheers from Wine Country! "Wine Country" could technically be any of a number of regions around the world, country, or even state. So which wine country? The Central Coast California Wine Region! This is another spin on an AVA Map, which is usually very topographical, showing the general shapes* of the nested AVAs within the San Francisco Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains sub-region AVA.
What the heck is an AVA?
AVA stands for American Viticultural Area. A federally-recognized region indicative of an Appellation of Origin used for wine labels. Basically, something about that area (ex. climate, geology, and/or elevation) makes it unique and impacts the grapes used for wine. If a wine label lists an AVA, at least 85% or more of the grapes used to make it came from within that AVA, and the wine was finished in that state (courtesy of The Wine Institute).
*Please note the boundaries are not exact!
Print Text: San Francisco Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains AVA Map | Also has each Nested AVA