The Blue Grand Canyon is the dominant influence on our viticultural regions in Monterey County.  

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The Blue Grand Canyon
Fast Facts

• Beneath the surface of the Monterey Bay is an enormous canyon that is sixty miles long and
  two miles deep. This is the Blue Grand Canyon.

• This submarine canyon is the largest and deepest on the west coast and the only one that closely approaches shore. This is the only submarine canyon of this size next to any major viticulture region.

• Monterey Canyon is as big and as deep as the Grand Canyon of Arizona.

• The seasonal water flow along the Monterey coastline is made up of the California Current and the Davidson Current. The combination of these two dominant forces provides Monterey County with its unique weather patterns. 

• The Deep Sea averages about 13,000 feet in depth and its temperature 40 degrees. The Blue Grand Canyonreaches the Deep Sea at 12,000 feet. The surface temperature of the Monterey Bay at the shoreline is 50 degrees.

• The Monterey Bay is a prime upwelling zone, meaning deep nutrient-rich cold water near the
  bottom is driven to the surface by the combination of winds, the contour of the coastline and the rotation of the earth.

The Blue Grand Canyon is the dominant influence on our viticultural regions in Monterey County.

• It is cold-50 degrees at the coastline.

• It determines the growing areas for premium grapes.

• It provides the longest growing season in California.

• It determines the amount of rainfall we receive.

• It provides a constant and predictable weather pattern over the grape growing areas that can easily be explained in terms of the Thermal Rainbow.

• It is the largest and deepest water canyon on the west coast and the only one that defines a major wine region.