Madera
AVA · Madera County · District 13 — 95.85% of this appellation; also in Fresno (4.13%)
27 CFR 9.92 · established 1984-12-12 · last amended 1987-02-27
Heat class V · 1991-2020 normals
Climate normals in three numbers
, Apr 1 – Oct 31
147 GridMET cells cover this region
season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31
17 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
Madera County — not Madera
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What's in the ground
7.4
pH, 1:1 water
14.0cm
, whole profile
131cm
to
Moderately well drained
, dominant condition
Distribution across 291 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar
Dominant
- 14.9%
- 13.0%
- 8.4%
- 8.0%
- 5.8%
291 map units · soil described over 98.1% of the region’s area · 2.1% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 49% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.
Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation
Sandy loam
63% sand · 22% silt · 14% clay
Sandier than 94% of California appellations and clayier than 8%. Each grey point is one appellation’s topsoil; appellations nest, so this is a distribution of places rather than of land.
Plus 4% 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
Madera County · District 13 — 95.85% of this appellation; also in Fresno (4.13%)
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Price per ton
Madera County · District 13 — 95.85% of this appellation; also in Fresno (4.13%)
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The appellation in federal law
The boundary, in the government’s own words (232 words)
(c) Boundaries. The Madera viticultural area is located in Madera and Fresno Counties, California. The beginning point is found on the “Fresno North,” 7 1/2 minute series U.S.G.S. map at the point where the San Joaquin River intersects the section line dividing sections 20 and 29, and sections 21 and 28, T. 12 S., R. 20 E.; (1) Then east approximately 6 miles following the section line and Shepherd Avenue to the intersection with Sunnyside Road; (2) Then north approximately 7 miles following Sunnyside Road and continuing along the section line to the point of intersection of section 16, 17, 20, and 21, T.11S., R 21E.; (3) Then west approximately 17.6 miles following the section line and continuing along Avenue 15 to the intersection with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad; (4) Then northwest following the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to Road 26; (5) Then north following Road 26 and continuing north in a straight line to the Chowchilla River in the “Raynor Creek” 7 1/2 minute series U.S.G.S. map, and in the “San Jose” scaled 1:250,000 U.S.G.S. map; (6) Then west following the Chowchilla River to the point where the Madera County-Merced County boundary diverges from the river; (7) Then southwest following the Madera County-Merced County boundary to the San Joaquin River; (8) Then following the San Joaquin River south and east returning to the point of beginning.