Santa Clara Valley
AVA · Santa Clara County · District 6 — 89.77% of this appellation; also in San Benito (5.22%), Alameda (5%)
27 CFR 9.126 · established 1989-03-28
Heat class III · 1991-2020 normals
Climate normals in three numbers
, Apr 1 – Oct 31
121 GridMET cells cover this region
season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31
25 mm of it in the , Sep 1 – Oct 31
Warm and cool vintages since 1980
loading vintages…
Rain across the season, and at harvest
loading vintages…
The boundary
Hovering a shaded region names it; a click opens its page.
Measured vineyard area
loading crop mapping…
Drought categories, year by year
Santa Clara County — not Santa Clara Valley
loading drought monitor…
What's in the ground
6.7
pH, 1:1 water
23.9cm
, whole profile
165cm
to
Well drained
, dominant condition
Distribution across 345 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar
Dominant
- 10.5%
- 6.6%
- 6.1%
- 4.1%
- 3.9%
345 map units · soil described over 98.2% of the region’s area · 35.1% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 26% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.
Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation
Clay loam
37% sand · 35% silt · 28% clay
Sandier than 25% of California appellations and clayier than 85%. Each grey point is one appellation’s topsoil; appellations nest, so this is a distribution of places rather than of land.
Plus 7% rock fragments by volume, which the triangle does not describe — the three fractions are of the fine-earth material only.
Elevation, slope and aspect
loading terrain…
Producers
A curated roster, not a census — only source-verified entries appear, 2772 published across the atlas.
Bearing acreage by variety
Santa Clara County · District 6 — 89.77% of this appellation; also in San Benito (5.22%), Alameda (5%)
loading acreage…
Price per ton
Santa Clara County · District 6 — 89.77% of this appellation; also in San Benito (5.22%), Alameda (5%)
loading crush report…
The appellation in federal law
The boundary, in the government’s own words (854 words)
(c) The boundaries of the proposed Santa Clara Valley viticultural area are as follows: (1) The beginning point is at the junction of Elephant Head Creek and Pacheco Creek (approx. .75 mile southwest of the Pacheco Ranger Station) on the Pacheco Peak, Calif. U.S.G.S. map. (2) From the beginning point the boundary moves in a northerly direction up Elephant Head Creek approx. 1.2 miles until it intersects the 600 foot elevation contour line; (3) Then it meanders in a northwesterly direction along the 600 foot contour line approx. 55 miles until it intersects Vargas Road in the northwest portion of Sec. 25, T4S/RlW on the Niles, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (4) Then it travels in a northwesterly direction approx. .6 mile to the intersection of Morrison Canyon Road in the eastern portion of Sec. 23, T4S/RlW; (5) Then it follows Morrison Canyon Road west approx. 1.5 miles to Mission Boulevard (Highway 238) at Sec. 22, T4S/RlW; (6) Then it moves northwest on Mission Boulevard (Highway 238) approx. .6 mile to the intersection of Mowry Avenue just past the Sanatorium at Sec. 22, T4S/RlW; (7) It then goes in a southwesterly direction on Mowry Avenue approx. 3.6 miles to the intersection of Nimitz Freeway (Highway 880) (depicted on the map as Route 17) at Sec. 5, T5S/RlW, on the Newark, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (8) It then moves along the Nimitz Freeway (Highway 880) in a southeasterly direction for approx. 9 miles to the intersection of Calaveras Boulevard (Highway 237) at Milpitas on the Milpitas, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (9) Then it follows Highway 237 in a westerly direction approx. 7.2 miles to intersection of Bay Shore Freeway (Highway 101) at Moffett Field on the Mt. View, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (10) Then in a northwest direction follow Bay Shore Freeway (Highway 101) for approx. 6.5 miles to the intersection of the San Francisquito Creek (Santa Clara County/San Mateo County boundary) at Palo Alto T5S/R2W, on the Palo Alto, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (11) Then it heads west on San Francisquito Creek (Santa Clara County/San Mateo County boundary) approx. 7 miles until it converges with Los Trancos Creek (Santa Clara County/San Mateo County boundary) near Bench Mark 172, approx. 100 feet east of Alpine Road; (12) It travels south approx. 4 miles along Los Trancos Creek (Santa Clara County/San Mateo County boundary) until it intersects the 600 foot elevation contour line at El Corte De Madera, approx. .5 mile north of Trancos Woods on the Mindego Hill, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (13) It moves along the 600 foot elevation contour line in a southeasterly direction approx. 10 miles to Regnart Road at Regnart Creek on the Cupertino, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (14) It goes northeast along Regnart Road, approx. .7 mile to the 400 foot elevation contour line (.3 mile southwest of Regnart School); (15) It travels along the 400 foot elevation contour line southeast approx. 1.4 miles to the north section line of Section 36, T7S/R2W at Blue Hills, CA; (16) The boundary goes east on the section line approx. .4 mile to Saratoga Sunnyvale Road (Highway 85); (17) It travels south on Saratoga Sunnyvale Road (Highway 85) approx. 1 mile to the south section line of Section 36, T7/8S R2W; (18) Then it goes west on the section line approx. .75 mile to the first intersection of the 600 foot elevation contour line; (19) It follows the 600 foot elevation contour line southeast approx. .75 mile to Pierce Road south of Calabazas Creek; (20) It then travels south on Pierce Road approx. .4 mile to the first intersection of the 800 foot elevation contour line; (21) Then it runs southeast approx. 28 miles on the 800 foot elevation contour line to the east section line of Sec. 25, T10S/R2E/R3E approx. .5 mile north of Little Arthur Creek on the Mt. Madonna, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (22) Then it goes south on the section line approx. .5 mile to the 800 foot elevation contour line approx. .2 mile south of Little Arthur Creek; (23) Then it goes southeast along the 800 foot elevation contour line approx. 2.7 miles to Hecker Pass Road (Highway 152) approx. 1.25 miles east of Hecker Pass on the Watsonville East, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (24) The boundary goes northeast on Hecker Pass Road (Highway 152) approx. .75 mile to the intersection of the 600 foot elevation contour line just west of Bodfish Creek; (25) It travels southeast along the 600 foot elevation contour line approx. 7.3 miles to the first intersection of the western section line of Sec. 30, T11S/R3E/R4E on the Chittenden, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (26) Then it follows south along the section line approx. 1.9 miles to the south township line at Sec. 31, T11S/T12S, R3E/R4E; (27) It moves in an easterly direction along the township line approx. 12.4 miles to the intersection of T11S/T12S and R5E/R6E on the Three Sisters, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (28) Then it goes north along R5E/R6E range line approx. 5.3 miles to Pacheco Creek on the Pacheco Creek, Calif. U.S.G.S. map; (29) Then it moves northeast along Pacheco Creek approx. .5 mile to Elephant Head Creek at the point of beginning.