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California Wine Atlas

Fiddletown

AVA · Amador County · District 10

27 CFR 9.81 · established 1983-10-04 · last amended 1987-02-27

Heat class IV · 1991-2020 normals

Also part ofSierra Foothills

Climate normals in three numbers

3,543°F-days

, Apr 1 – Oct 31

8 GridMET cells cover this region

IV

199mm

season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31

56 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

This boundaryClick to open

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

Measured vineyard area

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Drought categories, year by year

Amador County — not Fiddletown

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What's in the ground

5.9

pH, 1:1 water

9.7cm

, whole profile

82cm

to

Well drained

, dominant condition

Distribution across 49 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar

5.9
3.1%
18.1%
available water
9.7cm
depth to restriction
82cm

Dominant

  • 41.1%
  • 25.6%
  • 7.2%
  • 6.9%
  • 4.7%

49 map units · soil described over 82.6% of the region’s area · 28.5% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 98% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.

Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation

CLAYSANDSILT

Loam

43% sand · 39% silt · 18% clay

Sandier than 54% of California appellations and clayier than 22%. Each grey point is one appellation’s topsoil; appellations nest, so this is a distribution of places rather than of land.

Plus 26% 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

Amador County · District 10

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Price per ton

Amador County · District 10

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The appellation in federal law

The boundary, in the government’s own words (220 words)

(c) Boundaries. The Fiddletown viticultural area is located in Amador County, California. The boundaries are as follows: (1) From the beginning point at the north boundary where Fiddletown Shenandoah Road crosses Big Indian Creek in Section 28, Township 8 N, Range 11 E, proceed in a southwesterly direction following Big Indian Creek through the southeast corner of Section 29, crossing the northwest corner of Section 32 to where it meets Section 31; (2) Then in a southerly direction follow the Section line between Sections 31 and 32, Township 8 N, Range 11 E, and Sections 5 and 6, 7 and 8, Township 7 N, Range 11 E, to where the Section line meets the South Fork of Dry Creek; (3) Then following the South Fork of Dry Creek in an easterly direction crossing the lower portions of Sections 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and into Township 8 N, Range 12 E, at Section 7 and across Section 7 to where it meets Section 8; (4) Then north following the Section line between Sections 7 and 8, 5 and 6 into Township 8 N, Range 12 E, between Sections 31 and 32, to Big Indian Creek; and (5) Then following Big Indian Creek in a northwesterly direction through Sections 31, 30, 25, 26 and 27, returning to the point of beginning.