Cienega Valley
Sub-AVA · San Benito County · District 7
27 CFR 9.38 · established 1982-08-19
Heat class II · 1991-2020 normals
Climate normals in three numbers
, Apr 1 – Oct 31
7 GridMET cells cover this region
season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31
19 mm of it in the , Sep 1 – Oct 31
Warm and cool vintages since 1980
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Rain across the season, and at harvest
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The boundary
Hovering a shaded region names it; a click opens its page.
Measured vineyard area
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Drought categories, year by year
San Benito County — not Cienega Valley
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What's in the ground
6.4
pH, 1:1 water
14.8cm
, whole profile
116cm
to
Well drained
, dominant condition
Distribution across 33 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar
Dominant
- 41.5%
- 20.5%
- 9.6%
- 7.8%
- 6.5%
33 map units · soil described over 94.6% of the region’s area · 8.1% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 74% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.
Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation
Sandy loam
59% sand · 23% silt · 18% clay
Sandier than 88% of California appellations and clayier than 19%. Each grey point is one appellation’s topsoil; appellations nest, so this is a distribution of places rather than of land.
Plus 6% rock fragments by volume, which the triangle does not describe — the three fractions are of the fine-earth material only.
Elevation, slope and aspect
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Bearing acreage by variety
San Benito County · District 7
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Price per ton
San Benito County · District 7
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The appellation in federal law
The boundary, in the government’s own words (466 words)
(c) Boundaries. The Cienega Valley viticultural area is located in San Benito County, California. The beginning point is the Gaging Station, located on U.S.G.S. map “Paicines Quadrangle” in the southeast portion of Section 21, Township 14 South, Range 6 East. (1) From the beginning point, the boundary follows the Pescadero Creek Bed in a southeasterly direction about 100 feet to the unimproved road and continues southwesterly on the unimproved road .5 mile to where it intersects with the south border of Township 14 South, Range 6 East, Section 21; (2) Thence in a straight line to the southwest portion of Section 28, Township 14 South, Range 6 East, where the 1400-foot contour line intersects the south border of Section 28; (3) Thence following the 1400-foot contour line through the following sections; Sections 28, 29, and 30, Township 14 South, Range 6 East; Section 25, Township 14 South, Range 5 East; Sections 30, 19, 20, and returning to 19, Township 14 South, Range 6 East, to a point where the 1400-foot contour line intersects with the section line between Sections 19 and 18, Township 14 South, Range 6 East; (4) Thence in a straight line due north to the intersection with the 1200-foot contour line in Section 18, Township 14 South, Range 6 East; (5) Thence following the 1200-foot contour line in a generally northwesterly direction to where it intersects with the north boundary of Township 14 South, Range 5 East, Section 10; then following this boundary line in a northwesterly direction to where this boundary intersects with the 1600-foot contour line; thence following the 1600-foot contour line in a generally northerly direction to where it intersects with the unimproved road; (6) Thence looping southward along the unimproved road and continuing on in an easterly direction past the designated “Spring” and then in a northeasterly direction parallel with the Gulch to the Vineyard School on Cienega Road; thence in a southeasterly direction on Cienega Road .4 mile to where the unimproved road intersects; thence traveling north and following the unimproved road in a northwesterly direction about 5. mile; then looping in an easterly direction .75 mile to the intersection of the unimproved road and branching in a southeasterly direction; (7) Thence crossing Township 13 South to Township 14 South and following the unimproved road to the intersection of the western border of Township 14 South, Range 6 East, Section 6; thence south to the northwest corner of Section 7; (8) Thence continuing in a straight diagonal line to the southeast corner of Township 14 South, Range 6 East, Section 7; thence from the southeast corner of Section 7 .25 mile west to where it intersects with an unimproved road; (9) Thence following this unimproved road in a southeasterly direction to the Gaging Station, the point of beginning.