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California Wine Atlas

Rockpile

Sub-AVA · Sonoma County · District 3

27 CFR 9.173 · established 2002-02-28

Heat class III · 1991-2020 normals

Climate normals in three numbers

3,386°F-days

, Apr 1 – Oct 31

15 GridMET cells cover this region

III

220mm

season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31

85 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

Sonoma County — not Rockpile

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What's in the ground

5.9

pH, 1:1 water

12.9cm

, whole profile

87cm

to

Well drained

, dominant condition

Distribution across 38 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar

5.9
2.7%
23.1%
available water
12.9cm
depth to restriction
87cm

Dominant

  • 31.8%
  • 31.6%
  • 12.9%
  • 5.8%
  • 5.6%

38 map units · soil described over 99.3% of the region’s area · 0.6% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 99% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.

Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation

CLAYSANDSILT

Loam

45% sand · 32% silt · 23% clay

Sandier than 65% of California appellations and clayier than 56%. Each grey point is one appellation’s topsoil; appellations nest, so this is a distribution of places rather than of land.

Plus 16% 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

Sonoma County · District 3

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Price per ton

Sonoma County · District 3

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The appellation in federal law

The boundary, in the government’s own words (512 words)

(c) Boundary. The Rockpile viticultural area is located in northwestern Sonoma County, California. The boundary encircles the Rockpile Ranch area, located west of Lake Sonoma. The point of beginning is the intersection of Rockpile Road and the Section 15 east boundary line, T 10 N, R 11 W (Warm Springs Dam Quadrangle); (1) Then proceed straight north to the 800-foot contour line, Section 10, T 10 N, R 11 W (Warm Springs Dam Quadrangle); (2) Then proceed west along the 800-foot contour line through Sections 10, 9, 4, 5, and 32 to the Section 31 east boundary line, T 11 N, R 11 W (Warm Springs Dam and Cloverdale Quadrangles); (3) Then proceed west along the 800-foot contour line in Section 31, following the line as it reverses from the west to the east direction, returning to the east boundary of Section 31, T 11 N, R 11 W (Cloverdale and Big Foot Mountain Quadrangles); (4) Then proceed along the 800-foot contour line east through Section 32 and northwest through Sections 33, 32, 29, 30, 25, 24, 23, 14, 15, 22, 21, and 20 to the east boundary line of Section 19, T 11 N, R 12 W (Cloverdale and Big Foot Mountain Quadrangles); (5) Then proceed west, north, south and east along the meandering 800-foot contour line, in a loop, crossing the southwest and northwest headwaters of Galloway Creek, and returning to the east boundary line of Section 19, T 11 N, R 12 W (Big Foot Mountain Quadrangle); (6) Then proceed straight north to the Mendocino-Sonoma county boundary line, then follow the county line straight west to the R 13 and 12 W line, and continue straight south to the 1,600-foot contour line in the Section 19 southwest corner, T 11 N, R 12 W (Big Foot Mountain Quadrangle); (7) Then proceed southeast along the meandering 1,600-foot contour line to the Section 29 west boundary line, and continue straight south to the T 11 and 10 N boundary line, R 12 W (Big Foot Mountain Quadrangle); (8) Then proceed east along the T 11 and 10 N boundary line to the Section 1 west boundary line, R 12 W (Big Foot Mountain Quadrangle); (9) Then proceed south along the Section 1 west boundary line, turning east at the Section 1 south boundary and continue east to the northwest corner of Section 8, T 10 N, R 11 W (Big Foot Mountain, Tombs Creek and Warm Springs Dam Quadrangles); (10) Then proceed south along the west boundary of Section 8, turning east at its southwest corner, and continue east to the 876-foot elevation marker, T 10 N, R 11 W (Warm Springs Dam Quadrangle); (11) Then proceed straight south approximately 2,000 feet to the 800-foot contour line, T 10 N, R 11 W (Warm Springs Dam Quadrangle); (12) Then follow the 800-foot contour line as it meanders west, southeast, southwest, and east to the Section 14 west boundary, and then straight north, returning to the point of beginning at Rockpile Road, T 10 N, R 11 W (Warm Springs Dam Quadrangle).