Monterey boasts one of the most dramatic meetings of land and sea on Earth. And these same scenic elements that make Monterey among the world’s favorite vacation destinations also combine to create conditions perfect for growing wine grapes.

It is no accident that wines listing Monterey County on the label as their source are among the world’s finest. In very few places will you find such an optimum synthesis of location, soil, and climate - the raw materials necessary to every successful vineyard. It is impossible for even the most talented, experienced vintner to craft a truly great wine without first having truly great grapes to work with.

Whether hailing from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Australia, or California, the one common theme in every world-class wine is their “sense of place.” The French term this reflection of locale “terroir, ” literally “ground or soil.” Simply put, it means that the wine’s character speaks directly to the place it was grown.

In Monterey County, after five plus decades of commercial winegrowing, certain areas and microclimates have been identified as being uniquely suited to raising specific grapes. The Federal government officially sanctions the effort to identify truly one-of-a-kind winegrowing districts through its system of “American Viticultural Areas” or “AVAs.” When appearing on a label, these legal place names impart to the consumer important information and guarantees about the wine’s origin. By law, to use one of these official site designations, 85% of that bottle’s grapes must have been grown within the AVA’s boundaries. (use label shot with AVA highlighted, as in the first video) These American Viticultural Areas can be fairly large and broad, like “Napa Valley.” Or they can be very small in size and focus, such as our local “Chalone” AVA, encompassing only a few acres and vineyards. But for every winemaker, the very building blocks of their craft begin with where the grapes were grown.

Monterey County now encompasses eight smaller AVAs, in addition to the larger, overall “Monterey” appellation. Understanding the swift rise to international prominence of the Monterey wine industry lies in a careful examination of the special properties of these distinct growing districts. How each officially designated region defines itself through its soils, climate, topography, viticultural practices, and people provides the key to “what’s in the bottle.”

From Carmel Valley and the Santa Lucia Highlands in the north to San Bernabe and San Antonio Valley in the south, the story of Monterey’s AVAs is one of science and experience married to inspiration and art. The very essence of this incredibly beautiful region deliciously captured in a bottle…Wines that have an identity, a character, a sense of place…

Another key element in defining Monterey County is the Blue Grand Canyon.  The Blue Grand Canyon is the dominant influfence on our viticultual regions in Monterey County.

Blue Grand Canyon slide link

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.