Paulsell Valley
AVA · Stanislaus County · District 12
27 CFR 9.285 · established 2022-06-03
Heat class V · 1991-2020 normals
Climate normals in three numbers
, Apr 1 – Oct 31
18 GridMET cells cover this region
season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31
24 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
Stanislaus County — not Paulsell Valley
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What's in the ground
6.6
pH, 1:1 water
8.6cm
, whole profile
67cm
to
Well drained
, dominant condition
Distribution across 94 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar
Dominant
- 33.1%
- 22.9%
- 9.2%
- Raynor7.6%
- Paulsell7.2%
94 map units · soil described over 98.4% of the region’s area · 1.8% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 84% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.
Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation
Clay loam
37% sand · 33% silt · 30% clay
Sandier than 26% of California appellations and clayier than 88%. Each grey point is one appellation’s topsoil; appellations nest, so this is a distribution of places rather than of land.
Plus 18% 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
Stanislaus County · District 12
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Price per ton
Stanislaus County · District 12
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The appellation in federal law
The boundary, in the government’s own words (518 words)
(c) Boundary. The Paulsell Valley viticultural area is located in Stanislaus County, California. The boundary of the Paulsell Valley viticultural area is as described in the following paragraphs: (1) The beginning point is on the Knights Ferry map at the intersection of Willms Road, Kennedy Road/Sonora Road, and State Highway 108/State Highway 120. From the beginning point, proceed southeasterly along Willms Road for 7.2 miles, crossing over the Keystone map and onto the Cooperstown map, to the intersection of Willms Road and Warnerville Road at the Warnerville Cemetery; then (2) Proceed west, then south along Warnerville Road for a total of 0.5 mile to its intersection with Crabtree Road at the railroad tracks west of the town of Warnerville; then (3) Proceed in a southerly direction along Crabtree Road for 6.7 miles to its intersection with the canal known locally as the Modesto Main Canal; then (4) Proceed westerly along the canal, crossing onto the Paulsell map, and continuing along the canal for a total of 1.6 miles to the Modesto Reservoir; then (5) Proceed along the eastern shore, then northern shore, of the Modesto Reservoir for 12.9 miles to the fifth intersection of the shore with an unnamed, intermittent creek at the northernmost point of the reservoir; then (6) Proceed southwesterly in a straight line to the northern terminus of Reservoir Road; then (7) Proceed south-southwest along Reservoir Road for 2.2 miles to its intersection with the 200-foot elevation contour; then (8) Proceed northwest in a straight line for 1.2 miles to the intersection of Hazeldean Road and Tim Bell Road; then (9) Proceed north along Tim Bell Road for 3.1 miles to its intersection with Claribel Road south of the town of Paulsell; then (10) Proceed west along Claribel Road for 2.4 miles, crossing Cashman Creek, to the intersection of the road with the 260-foot elevation contour; then (11) Proceed north in a straight line for 2 miles to the intersection of Warnerville Road and the 300-foot elevation contour east of Cashman Creek; then (12) Proceed northeast in a straight line, crossing onto the Knights Ferry map and continuing for a total of 1.1 miles to the intersection of Fogarty Road and a railroad track; then (13) Proceed east in a straight line for 0.9 mile to Paulsell Lateral; then (14) Proceed northerly along Paulsell Lateral for 2.4 miles to its intersection with Cashman Creek; then (15) Proceed northwest in a straight line for 1.3 miles to State Highway 108/State Highway 120; then (16) Proceed northeast in a straight line for 2.4 miles to the third intersection of State Highway 108/State Highway 120 with the 300-foot elevation contour; then (17) Proceed southeast along State Highway 108/State Highway 120 for 1 mile to its intersection with the 260-foot elevation contour; then (18) Proceed northeasterly along the 260-elevation contour for 1.4 miles to its intersection with Sonora Road southeast of Knights Ferry; then (19) Proceed southeast along Sonora Road for 0.1 mile to its intersection with Kennedy Road; then (20) Proceed northeast, then east, then south along Kennedy Road/Sonora Road for 0.4 mile, returning to the beginning point.