Happy trails!

Exciting things are happening at Wine I Like! So much so that I'm taking the rest of April off from posting to concentrate on other things I have going on. I'll be attending the Wine Spectator Grand Tasting in San Francisco and then doing some Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino wine tasting later this month. I look forward to posting on these excursions in May - until then, happy trails!

Sta. Rita Hills- here we grow again?

If you follow California Central Coast wine appellations, by now you've surely read about the proposed expansion of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA here in Santa Barbara County. Living close to the situation, it gives me a chance to put a face to a name, so to speak.

A sub-AVA of the larger Santa Ynez Valley, Sta. Rita Hills was established in 2001 to differentiate the cold, windy and fog-swept valleys between Purisima, Santa Rita, and Santa Rosa Hills running west-east between the towns of Lompoc & Buellton. Soils here contain diatomaceous earth in some locations and clay loam in others. The common markers of the wines here are earthy & well-structured Pinot Noir, bright mineral-driven citrus Chardonnay and dark savory Syrah.

The area in question for expansion is the eastern boundary along Highway 246. The hills here along the boundary take a turn southward effectively cutting off the upper valley of the AVA from areas east. From there, driving east toward Buellton the valley flattens and widens into the larger and warmer Santa Ynez Valley, where the grape varietals move away from the Burgundian and toward the Rhône.

The ownership of the Pence Ranch vineyard is petitioning the TTB for the change, contending that the site displays soils, climate, and varietals common to the AVA. That vineyard is located just over the hill along 246 east of the boundary. They grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, designating the AVA Santa Barbara County rather than Santa Ynez Valley. Two other vineyards- John Sebastiano just to the west and Rio Vista to the southeast straddle the boundary. None of the above vineyards were in existence at the time of the establishment of the AVA.

Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe Vineyards led the effort to establish the AVA and is the voice of the opposition to change it. The Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance is also opposed to the change. The argument is that the southward hills dissecting Highway 246 at the east boundary is an essential line of demarcation for fog and the most extreme of the ocean influence, and that by redrawing the boundary further east into the “Buellton Flats” the natural geographic barrier is lost and the ability to further expand the AVA eastward into warmer areas is gained – potentially diluting what is one of the smallest and most unique AVA’s in California.

Similarly, an expansion of the Russian River AVA was approved in 2011. There, a huge business interest (Gallo) successfully expand an already huge AVA against vehement local opposition to include some of their vineyard holdings. The Russian River Valley is a great brand name but was already a huge area with different microclimates and a wide variety of wines produced. The difference here is that the business interests are much smaller, and the AVA is a sub-AVA of the larger Santa Ynez Valley. It would be like trying to expand the Green Valley AVA within the Russian River Valley, or the Yamhill-Carlton AVA within the Willamette Valley.

It’s an interesting dynamic. Personally, I tend to think conservatively about redrawing lines on such a finite area. Either way I look forward to get a better sense of both the pros and cons as the petition develops.