Pacheco Pass
AVA · Santa Clara County · District 6 — 62.37% of this appellation; also in San Benito (37.63%)
27 CFR 9.88 · established 1984-03-12
Heat class III · 1991-2020 normals
Climate normals in three numbers
, Apr 1 – Oct 31
4 GridMET cells cover this region
season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31
27 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
Santa Clara County — not Pacheco Pass
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What's in the ground
7.1
pH, 1:1 water
28.5cm
, whole profile
163cm
to
Well drained
, dominant condition
Distribution across 33 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar
Dominant
- 30.7%
- 18.6%
- 12.9%
- 12.7%
- 11.6%
33 map units · soil described over 93.2% of the region’s area · 8.4% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 29% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.
Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation
Silt loam
26% sand · 50% silt · 24% clay
Sandier than 3% of California appellations and clayier than 63%. 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
Santa Clara County · District 6 — 62.37% of this appellation; also in San Benito (37.63%)
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Price per ton
Santa Clara County · District 6 — 62.37% of this appellation; also in San Benito (37.63%)
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The appellation in federal law
The boundary, in the government’s own words (130 words)
(c) Boundary—(1) General. The Pacheco Pass viticultural area is located in California. The starting point of the following boundary description is the crossing of Pacheco Creek under California Highway 156, about 4 miles north of Hollister Municipal Airport, in San Benito County, California. (2) Boundary Description. (i) From the starting point northwestward along Pacheco Creek to the intersection with the straight-line extension of Barnheisel Road. (Note. This is an old land grant boundary and appears on the U.S.G.S. map as the western boundary of an orchard.) (ii) From there in a straight line northeastward to the intersection of Barnheisel Road and California Highway 156. (iii) From there northward along Highway 156 to California Highway 152 (“Pacheco Pass Highway”). (iv) Then northward along Pacheco Pass Highway to the 37° latitude line.