Upper Lake Valley

Upper Lake Valley AVA
Wine region
TypeAmerican Viticultural Area
Year established2022[1]
Years of wine industry140
CountryUnited States
Part ofLake County, Clear Lake AVA
Other regions in Lake County, Clear Lake AVABig Valley District-Lake County AVA, Clear Lake AVA, Guenoc Valley AVA, High Valley AVA, Long Valley-Lake County AVA, Red Hills Lake County AVA[2]
Climate regionIII
Soil conditionsMillsholm–Skyhigh-Bressa (loams and clay loams), Still–Lupoyoma (loams and silt loams), Tulelake–Fluvaquentic–Haplawuolls (silty clay loams)
Total area17,360 acres (7,025 ha)[1]
Size of planted vineyards300 acres (121 ha)[1]
No. of vineyards16[1]
Varietals producedSauvignon blanc,[3] Muscat, Tempranillo

Upper Lake Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Lake County, California, established in June 2022 and encompassing 17,360 acres (70.3 km2).[1] The appellation lies between 1,326 feet (404 m) and 2,820 feet (860 m)[3] in a series of valleys north of the unincorporated towns of Upper Lake and south of the Mendocino National Forest (Bachelor Valley, Middle Creek Valley, Clover Valley), and a stretch of Clear Lake's north shore which extends from Upper Lake in the west to the unincorporated community of Nice to the east. The Elk Mountain Valley AVA designation was originally suggested,[4] but after consultation with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), it was abandoned in 2018 for the more encompassing Upper Lake Valley appellation.

Situated within the Clear Lake AVA (which boundaries were slightly modified in order to fully encompass the proposed AVA), the Upper Lake Valley appellation lies in the Upper Lake Groundwater Basin on four water-bearing formations: Quaternary alluvium, Pleistocene terrace deposits, Pleistocene lake and floodplain deposits, and Plio-Pleistocene cache creek. The petition mentions that the basin "contains high levels of ammonia, phosphorous, chloride, iron, boron, and manganese". 56 percent of the area are made out of loam soil variations: Millsholm–Skyhigh-Bressa, Still–Lupoyoma, and Tulelake–Fluvaquentic–Haplawuolls.[1]

Constant, gentle winds keep grapes and leaf canopies cool and dry, and reduce the risk of mildew. Vineyards in the appellations are mostly planted on gentle slopes, favoring drainage.[1]

Only one bonded winery is contained within the Upper Lake Valley AVA, the Nice Wine Co., which was acquired in 2018 by Shannon Family of Wines.[5]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. "T.D. TTB-182: Establishment of the Upper Lake Viticultural Area and Modification of the Clear Lake Viticultural Area Boundary". Code of Federal Regulations. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  2. ^ "Lake County Appellations". Lake County Winegrape Commission.
  3. ^ a b "Upper Lake Valley AVA". Lake County Winegrape Commission.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Elk Mountain Vineyard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Shannon Ridge Family of Wines purchases Nice Wine Co". Lake County News. June 18, 2018. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024.