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California Wine Atlas

Upper Lake Valley

AVA · Lake County · District 2

27 CFR 9.286 · established 2022-06-03

Heat class III · 1991-2020 normals

Climate normals in three numbers

3,092°F-days

, Apr 1 – Oct 31

14 GridMET cells cover this region

III

165mm

season rain, Apr 1 – Oct 31

49 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

Lake County — not Upper Lake Valley

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What's in the ground

6.4

pH, 1:1 water

19.5cm

, whole profile

132cm

to

Well drained

, dominant condition

Distribution across 46 · mean ◆, median │, p10–p90 bar

6.4
1.6%
25.0%
available water
19.5cm
depth to restriction
132cm

Dominant

  • 16.3%
  • 12.8%
  • 12.8%
  • 11.4%
  • 8.4%

46 map units · soil described over 95.0% of the region’s area · 3.6% is water, rock outcrop or other non-soil · 50% of the described area has a restrictive layer within the profile.

Sand, silt and clay, against every other appellation

CLAYSANDSILT

Loam

33% sand · 42% silt · 25% clay

Sandier than 12% of California appellations and clayier than 73%. Each grey point is one appellation’s topsoil; appellations nest, so this is a distribution of places rather than of land.

Plus 13% 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

Lake County · District 2

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Price per ton

Lake County · District 2

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The appellation in federal law

The boundary, in the government’s own words (558 words)

(c) Boundary. The Upper Lake Valley viticultural area is located in Lake County, California. The boundary of the Upper Lake Valley viticultural area is as described as follows: (1) The beginning point is on the Lakeport map at the intersection of Lyons Creek and the western shore of Clear Lake in Section 31, T15N/R9W. From the beginning point, proceed south in a straight line to an unnamed light-duty road known locally as Lafferty Road; then (2) Proceed west along Lafferty Road to its intersection with an unnamed secondary highway known locally as Lakeshore Boulevard; then (3) Proceed north on Lakeshore Boulevard to its intersection with an unnamed light-duty road known locally as Whalen Way; then (4) Proceed west on Whalen Way to its intersection with State Highway 29; then (5) Proceed north on State Highway 29, crossing onto the Upper Lake map, to the intersection of the highway and the southern boundary of Section 13, T15N, R10W; then (6) Proceed west along the southern boundary of Sections 13 and 14 to the intersection of the southern boundary of Section 14 with the 1,600-foot elevation contour; then (7) Proceed in a generally northwesterly direction along the meandering 1,600-foot elevation contour to its intersection with an unnamed, unimproved road in Section 17, T15N/R10W; then (8) Proceed north in a straight line, crossing Scotts Creek, to the 1,600-foot elevation contour in Section 8, T15N/R10W; then (9) Proceed northeasterly, then southeasterly along the 1,600-foot elevation contour to its intersection with an unnamed 4-wheel drive road in Section 9, T15N/R10W; then (10) Proceed northwest in a straight line to the marked 2,325-foot elevation point on Hell's Peak; then (11) Proceed southeast in a straight line to the intersection of the 1,600-foot elevation contour and the southern boundary of Section 30 along the Mendocino National Forest boundary, T16N/R9W; then (12) Proceed southeast along the meandering 1,600-foot elevation contour to its third intersection with the Mendocino National Forest boundary, along the eastern boundary of Section 31, T16N/R9W; then (13) Proceed south, then west along the Mendocino National Forest boundary to its intersection with the 1,600-foot elevation contour along the northern boundary of Section 5, T15N/R9W; then (14) Proceed southeasterly along the meandering 1,600-foot elevation contour, crossing onto the Bartlett Mountain map, to the intersection of the 1,600-foot elevation contour and the Mendocino National Forest boundary along the eastern boundary of Section 9, T15N/9RW; then (15) Proceed south, then east along the Mendocino National Forest boundary to its intersection with the 1,600-foot elevation contour along the northern boundary of Section 15, T15N/R9W; then (16) Proceed south, then northwest along the meandering 1,600-foot elevation contour, crossing onto the Upper Lake map, and continuing southeasterly along the 1,600-foot elevation contour crossing back and forth between the Bartlett Mountain map and the Upper Lake map, to the intersection of the 1,600-foot elevation contour and an unimproved 4-wheel drive road in Section 21, T15N/R9W; then (17) Continue southeast along the 1,600-foot elevation contour, crossing onto the Lucerne map, to the intersection of the 1,600-foot elevation contour and an unimproved 4-wheel drive road in Section 36, T15N/R9W; then (18) Proceed south in a straight line to the shoreline of Clear Lake; then (19) Proceed northeasterly along the shoreline of Clear Lake, crossing onto the Lakeport map, and continuing southwesterly along the shoreline, crossing Rodman Slough, to return to the beginning point.