Unique land & Geology
Created over millions of years
Creating the Sta. Rita Hills AVA
The Beginnings
The first vineyard in our region, Sanford & Benedict, was planted in 1971. But, it was not until 1997 that Wes Hagen and his group of merry marauders could be seen tromping through the hills of our valley taking soil samples, studying elevation levels, and compiling data on degree days.
Spearheaded by Richard Sanford, Bryan Babcock, Rick Longoria and other local SRH pioneers, the Alliance spent time studying maps, discussing boundaries and gathering data to submit an AVA Petition in late 1997.
In 2001, AVA status was granted.
APPELLATION statics
An Alliance Formed in 1997
The Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance was formed in 1997 to unify growers and winemakers in the Western Santa Ynez Valley.
30,720 acres
Comprise the total area within the Alliance’s AVA
Acres of vineyards within the 30,720 total acres in the region
3,000 Planted
Planted with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, & 18 other cool climate grape varieties
60 vineyards
Millions of years ago…
Our AVA Geology
The miracle of the region’s microclimate began about 20 million years ago during the Miocene Epoch, as marine sediment was deposited deep under the Pacific Ocean.
Due to tectonic plate movements, mountains rose out of the ocean in a north-south orientation and our valley was formed through the shifting and moving of these moutains.
Over a timespan of twelve million years, the mountains broke from the plate and turned clockwise, creating the most clearly delineated transverse range, from Alaska to Chile, on the Pacific Coast.
The combination of a purely East/West maritime throat, poor marine-based soils, elevated calcium in the soil and the Pacific’s cooling influence through fog, wind and moderating summer heat combine to form one of the world’s best cool-climate viticulture areas for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Explore the valley
AVA Boundries
The boundaries of the Sta. Rita Hills appellation were chosen carefully to include all locales between the Santa Rosa Hills and the Purisima Hills that matched our criteria for hillside Pinot Noir and Chardonnay viticulture.
Being one of the smaller AVAs in California, the eastern edge of Sta. Rita Hills is about four miles west of Highway 101 in Buellton and continues to the western boundary, about two miles east of Highway 1 in Lompoc.
The southern boundary is the north side of the Santa Rosa Hills, with the northern boundary the south side of the Purisima Hills. Those areas outside of the appellation boundaries (West of the AVA boundary and South of Lompoc into Salsipuedes) were believed to be distinct from the geographical and climatic features that define the Sta. Rita Hills AVA.
Interested in Becoming a Member?
An Alliance Formed in 1997
Fill out the form below to contact our alliance to find out if you might be a good fit for our membership.
Please note that our membership is dependent on business services and location.