Sonoma Mountain
Sub-AVA · Sonoma County · District 3
27 CFR 9.102 · established 1985-01-23 · last amended 1987-02-27
Heat class III · 1991-2020 normals
Climate normals in three numbers
, Apr 1 – Oct 31
7 GridMET cells cover this region
season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31
60 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
Sonoma County — not Sonoma Mountain
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What's in the ground
6.2
pH, 1:1 water
9.7cm
, whole profile
60cm
to
Well drained
, dominant condition
Distribution across 27 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar
Dominant
- 61.3%
- 27.2%
- 6.4%
- 1.6%
- 1.2%
27 map units · soil described over 99.4% of the region’s area · 0.6% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 97% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.
Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation
Loam
36% sand · 37% silt · 27% clay
Sandier than 21% of California appellations and clayier than 82%. 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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Producers
A curated roster, not a census — only source-verified entries appear, 2772 published across the atlas.
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 (226 words)
(c) Boundary. The Sonoma Mountain viticultural area is located in Sonoma County, California. The boundary is as follows: (1) The beginning point is the northern most point at which the 1600-foot contour line crosses the section line dividing section 22 from section 23, in Township 6 North, Range 7 West. (2) The boundary follows this section line north to the 800-foot contour line. (3) The boundary follows the 800-foot contour line westerly, easterly, and northerly to Bennett Valley Road. (4) The boundary follows Bennett Valley Road easterly to Enterprise Road. (5) The boundary follows Enterprise Road southeasterly to an unnamed stream, in Section 7, Township 6 North, Range 7 West, which crosses Enterprise Road near the point at which the road turns from an easterly to a southerly direction. (6) The boundary follows this stream easterly to the 400-foot contour line. (7) The boundary follows the 400-foot contour line southerly to the township line dividing Township 6 North from Township 5 North. (8) The boundary follows a straight line extension of this township line west to the 1200-foot contour line. (9) The boundary follows the 1200-foot contour line northwesterly to the range line dividing Range 6 West from Range 7 West. (10) The boundary follows this range line south to the 1600-foot contour line. (11) The boundary follows this contour line westerly to the beginning point.