El Dorado AVA

The El Dorado AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in El Dorado County, California, United States. Wine grape growers in the region produce a large diversity of varietals, notable varietals are Zinfandel, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah and there are significant plantings of Rhône varietals. Located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, vineyards are found primarily at elevations between 600 feet (183 m) and 3,500 feet (1,067 m) above sea level and some of the historic and revered vineyards are planted above 2,000 feet (610 m) elevation. The region benefits from the cool breezes that come off the mountains and push hot air off the vines and down to the valley. The soils of the region are magma based with high levels of acidity.

Established in 1983, The El Dorado American Viticultural Area (AVA, also referred to as an "appellation") includes those portions of El Dorado County bounded on the north by the Middle Fork of the American River, and on the south by the South Fork of the Cosumnes River. El Dorado is a sub-appellation of the 2,600,000-acre Sierra Foothills AVA — one of the largest appellations in California — which includes portions of the counties of Yuba, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne and Mariposa.

The El Dorado appellation is unique due to its high elevation and complex topography. El Dorado's mountain vineyards are perched at elevations high above the large, center state valleys, near sea level. The topography is impacted by cooling breezes off the High Sierra Nevada and the complex mountainous topography creates a diversity of micro-climates and growing conditions not found in other regions in the big central valley or coastal mountain settings. Coastal mountains may have vineyard elevations of 200-1,500 feet above sea level (up to 500 meters), where El Dorado wineries tend to start at 1,200 and elevate to 3,500 feet above sea level (1,000 meters) or even higher in some vineyards.

These micro climates provide ideal locations for growing a wide variety of grapes identified with the world's finest wine regions, including Bordeaux, the Rhône, Germany, Italy and Spain. El Dorado grows approximately 70 or more different varieties of grapes, ranging from Gewürztraminer, which does best in the higher and cooler portions of the county, to Zinfandel and Barbera, which ripen perfectly in warmer climates. A significant culture of Rhone varietals are cultivated in the El Dorado AVA for many decades already including significant plantings of Viognier, Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache grapes.

El Dorado is cooled by elevation rather than by the fog that is common to the coastal regions. This means the grapes receive more direct sunlight, thus ripening fully without retaining excess herbaceous characters or acidity that is out of balance with the fruit flavors. El Dorado's relatively cool fall temperatures also allow the grapes a long "hang time" for uniform ripening.

In conjunction with the climate, there are three basic soil types determining the characteristics of the region: fine-grained volcanic rock, decomposed granite and fine-grained shale. Varying in elevation and topography, each soil offers good drainage and the nutrients needed to encourage vines producing rich, deeply flavored grapes.

The unique combination of climate, soil and topography found in the El Dorado appellation produce wines of distinction, depth and density with a maturity unmatched in other regions. This is El Dorado's "terroir."