South Coast
AVA · San Diego County · District 16 — 66.7% of this appellation; also in Orange (23.69%), Riverside (9.5%)
27 CFR 9.104 · established 1985-11-21
Heat class IV · 1991-2020 normals
Climate normals in three numbers
, Apr 1 – Oct 31
567 GridMET cells cover this region
raw 4 km GridMET would say V
season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31
22 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
San Diego County — not South Coast
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What's in the ground
6.6
pH, 1:1 water
11.1cm
, whole profile
89cm
to
Well drained
, dominant condition
Distribution across 612 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar
Dominant
- 21.5%
- 6.8%
- 4.0%
- 4.0%
- 3.2%
612 map units · soil described over 89.5% of the region’s area · 17.5% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 75% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.
Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation
Sandy loam
56% sand · 27% silt · 17% clay
Sandier than 83% of California appellations and clayier than 17%. Each grey point is one appellation’s topsoil; appellations nest, so this is a distribution of places rather than of land.
Plus 9% 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
San Diego County · District 16 — 66.7% of this appellation; also in Orange (23.69%), Riverside (9.5%)
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Price per ton
San Diego County · District 16 — 66.7% of this appellation; also in Orange (23.69%), Riverside (9.5%)
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The appellation in federal law
The boundary, in the government’s own words (216 words)
(c) Boundary—(1) General. The South Coast viticultural area is located in California. The starting point of the following boundary description is the northern intersection of the Orange County line with the Pacific Ocean (on the Long Beach map). (2) Boundary Description. (i) From the starting point generally northeastward, eastward, and southeastward along the Orange County line, to the intersection of that county line with the township line on the northern border of Township 7 South (in Range 6 West; on the Santa Ana map). (ii) From there eastward along that township line to its intersection with the northern boundary of the Temecula viticultural area described in § 9.50; at this point, the Temecula viticultural area boundary coincides with the boundary of the Cleveland National Forest (on the Wildomar Quadrangle map). (iii) From there following the northern boundary of the Temecula viticultural area, at and near its northernmost point, generally northeastward, eastward, and southeastward until the Temecula viticultural area boundary again intersects the township line on the northern border of Township 7 South (in Range 4 West; thus all of the Temecula viticultural area is included inside of South Coast viticultural area). (iv) Then eastward, along the township line on the northern border of Township 7 South, to the San Bernardino Meridian (on the Santa Ana map).