American Viticultural Area · CA
Petaluma Gap
Petaluma Gap is a federally-designated American Viticultural Area in CA, established in 2017. The map below shows its official TTB boundary alongside nearby AVAs.
The Petaluma Gap boundary is highlighted. Nearby AVAs are rendered in gray — click any of them to view that AVA's page.
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Established
2017
Size
~203,000
acres
State
CA
Climate
Cool maritime
Signature varietals
Boundary recorded in 27 CFR Part 9 · Source: TTB
About the Petaluma Gap AVA
Petaluma Gap, designated 2017, was the first AVA in the United States defined explicitly by wind. The "gap" is a literal geographic feature: a low break in the coastal range west of San Pablo Bay that allows cool ocean air to rush inland through the early afternoon, dropping daytime temperatures sharply and producing wines with notably high natural acidity.
The AVA spans portions of Sonoma and Marin counties and overlaps geographically with Sonoma Coast. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the signature varietals, with Syrah increasingly important as growers identify sites where the wind exposure produces a savory, peppery Northern Rhône-leaning style. Petaluma Gap is a textbook example of why AVA boundaries can't be derived from political or river-basin geography — the relevant boundary is the path of the wind.
Nearby AVAs
Other American Viticultural Areas closest to Petaluma Gap — useful when a vineyard sits inside more than one AVA at once.
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Free for wineries, regional associations, and wine-education sites — the interactive Petaluma Gap boundary map above, in a single iframe.
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