American Viticultural Area · CA
Santa Maria Valley
Santa Maria Valley is a federally-designated American Viticultural Area in CA, established in 1981. The map below shows its official TTB boundary alongside nearby AVAs.
The Santa Maria Valley boundary is highlighted. Nearby AVAs are rendered in gray — click any of them to view that AVA's page.
At a glance
Established
1981
State
CA
Climate
Cool maritime
Signature varietals
Boundary recorded in 27 CFR Part 9 · Source: TTB
About the Santa Maria Valley AVA
Santa Maria Valley was California's first AVA, approved September 1981 — just ahead of Napa Valley. The valley runs east–west, an unusual orientation that funnels marine air directly inland from the Pacific roughly 25 miles to the west. Daytime temperatures rarely exceed 80°F even in midsummer, making this one of the coolest growing regions in California despite being well south of the San Francisco Bay area.
The cool maritime climate suits Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. Bien Nacido Vineyard, planted in 1973, is among the most-cited single-vineyard names in California and supplies fruit to dozens of producers under custom labels. Santa Maria Valley sits inside the larger Central Coast AVA and is geographically adjacent to several Santa Barbara County AVAs that share the cool east–west valley geography.
Nearby AVAs
Other American Viticultural Areas closest to Santa Maria Valley — useful when a vineyard sits inside more than one AVA at once.