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California Wine Atlas

Gabilan Mountains

AVA · San Benito County · District 7 — 66.36% of this appellation; also in Monterey (33.64%)

27 CFR 9.288 · established 2022-08-15

Heat class III · 1991-2020 normals

Climate normals in three numbers

3,155°F-days

, Apr 1 – Oct 31

58 GridMET cells cover this region

III

65mm

season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31

22 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

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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 Gabilan Mountains

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What's in the ground

6.3

pH, 1:1 water

8.3cm

, whole profile

78cm

to

Well drained

, dominant condition

Distribution across 129 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar

6.3
2.4%
13.7%
available water
8.3cm
depth to restriction
78cm

Dominant

  • 44.1%
  • 13.3%
  • 7.7%
  • 7.0%
  • 5.8%

129 map units · soil described over 99.5% of the region’s area · 4.7% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 90% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.

Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation

CLAYSANDSILT

Sandy loam

65% sand · 22% silt · 14% clay

Sandier than 95% of California appellations and clayier than 6%. Each grey point is one appellation’s topsoil; appellations nest, so this is a distribution of places rather than of land.

Plus 15% 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 — 66.36% of this appellation; also in Monterey (33.64%)

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Price per ton

San Benito County · District 7 — 66.36% of this appellation; also in Monterey (33.64%)

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The appellation in federal law

The boundary, in the government’s own words (665 words)

(c) Boundary. The Gabilan Mountains viticultural area is located in Monterey and San Benito Counties in California. The boundary of the Gabilan Mountains viticultural area is as described as follows: (1) The beginning point is on the Hollister map at the intersection of the 1,520-foot elevation contour and an unnamed local road known locally as San Juan Canyon Road, southeast of the southernmost intersection of San Juan Canyon Road and Hillside Road. From the beginning point, proceed south, then southeasterly along the meandering 1,520-foot elevation contour to its intersection with a west-east flowing tributary of Bird Creek in Azalea Canyon; then (2) Proceed southeast in a straight line, crossing Azalea Canyon and the main channel of Bird Creek, to the intersection of the 1,520-foot elevation contour and a southeast-northwest flowing tributary of Bird Creek; then (3) Proceed generally southeasterly along the 1,520-foot elevation contour to its intersection with the eastern fork of an unnamed stream; then (4) Proceed southeast in a straight line, crossing onto the Mount Harlan map, to the intersection of the 1,600-ft elevation contour and the northernmost unnamed creek; then (5) Proceed generally south, then north along the 1,600-foot elevation contour to its intersection with a north-south trending tributary of Pescadero Creek; then (6) Proceed south in a straight line, crossing Pescadero Creek, to the 1,520-foot elevation contour; then (7) Proceed easterly along the meandering 1,520-foot elevation contour, crossing onto the Paicines map, and continuing along the 1,520-foot elevation contour as it meanders back and forth between the Mount Harlan map and the Paicines map, crossing Thompson Creek and continuing along the 1,520-foot elevation contour to its intersection with the eastern fork of an unnamed intermittent stream on the Paicines map north of Three Troughs Canyon; then (8) Proceed southeast in a straight line to a fork in a tributary of Stone Creek east of Three Troughs Canyon; then (9) Proceed east-southeast in a straight line, crossing onto the Bickmore Canyon map, to the intersection of an unnamed tributary of the San Benito River and the 1,520-foot elevation contour; then (10) Proceed southeasterly along the 1,520-foot elevation contour to a point north of the confluence of Willow Creek and the South Fork of Willow Creek; then (11) Proceed south in a straight line to the confluence of Willow Creek and the South Fork of Willow Creek; then (12) Proceed east in a straight line to State Route 25; then (13) Proceed southeasterly along State Route 25 to its intersection with the boundary of Pinnacles National Park; then (14) Proceed south, then east, then generally south along the boundary of Pinnacles National Park, crossing onto the North Chalone Peak map, to the intersection of the National Park boundary and the 1,520-foot elevation contour northeast of Mann Canyon; then (15) Proceed westerly along the 1,520-foot elevation contour to its intersection with CA-146; then (16) Proceed southwest in a straight line, crossing onto the Soledad map, to the fork in an unnamed intermittent creek running parallel to Fabry Road; then (17) Proceed northwest in a straight line, crossing over Stonewall Creek, the unnamed intermittent creek and its tributaries in Bryant Canyon, and a second unnamed intermittent creek, to the intersection of the 1,480-foot elevation contour and the northern terminus of a third unnamed intermittent stream; then (18) Proceed north in a straight line to the 1,520-foot elevation contour; then (19) Proceed southwest, then generally northwest along the meandering 1,520-foot elevation contour, crossing over the Mount Johnson map and back and forth between the Gonzales map and the Mount Johnson map to the intersection of the 1,520-foot elevation contour and an unnamed tributary of Chular Creek southeast of Espinosa Canyon on the Gonzales map; then (20) Proceed northwest in a straight line, crossing Chular Creek and Espinosa Canyon, to the 1,520-foot elevation contour; then (21) Proceed generally northwesterly, then northeasterly along the 1,520-foot elevation contour, crossing over the Mount Harlan, Natividad, San Juan Bautista, and Hollister maps, returning to the beginning point on the Hollister map.