Skip to content
California Wine Atlas

Cienega Valley

Sub-AVA · San Benito County · District 7

27 CFR 9.38 · established 1982-08-19

Heat class II · 1991-2020 normals

Sub-appellationsLime Kiln Valley
Elsewhere in San BenitoPaicinescompare with Paicines
Also part ofCentral Coast

Climate normals in three numbers

2,944°F-days

, Apr 1 – Oct 31

7 GridMET cells cover this region

II

56mm

season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31

19 mm of it in the , Sep 1 – Oct 31

Warm and cool vintages since 1980

loading vintages…

Rain across the season, and at harvest

loading vintages…

The boundary

This boundaryClick to open

Hovering a shaded region names it; a click opens its page.

Measured vineyard area

loading crop mapping…

Drought categories, year by year

San Benito County — not Cienega Valley

loading drought monitor…

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

6.4
2.2%
17.9%
available water
14.8cm
depth to restriction
116cm

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

CLAYSANDSILT

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

loading terrain…

Bearing acreage by variety

San Benito County · District 7

loading acreage…

Price per ton

San Benito County · District 7

loading crush report…

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.