American Viticultural Area · CA
Russian River Valley
Russian River Valley is a federally-designated American Viticultural Area in CA, established in 1983. The map below shows its official TTB boundary alongside nearby AVAs.
The Russian River Valley boundary is highlighted. Nearby AVAs are rendered in gray — click any of them to view that AVA's page.
At a glance
Established
1983
State
CA
Climate
Cool maritime
Signature varietals
Boundary recorded in 27 CFR Part 9 · Source: TTB
About the Russian River Valley AVA
Russian River Valley was designated in 1983 and quickly became the reference point for cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in California. The cool comes from breaks in the coastal mountains — most importantly the Petaluma Gap and the Russian River cut — that channel Pacific fog inland nearly every summer night. Daytime warms; nights chill sharply. The diurnal swing is the AVA's defining variable and the reason Pinot retains acidity here that it loses just a few miles east.
The smaller Green Valley of Russian River Valley sub-AVA, in the southwest corner, is the coolest portion of the AVA. Russian River Valley overlaps geographically with portions of Sonoma Coast and Northern Sonoma, so a vineyard inside Green Valley may be legitimately labeled under three or four AVAs simultaneously — each subject to the 85% rule.
Nearby AVAs
Other American Viticultural Areas closest to Russian River Valley — useful when a vineyard sits inside more than one AVA at once.