The Altus AVA is an
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...
located in the
Arkansas River Valley
The Arkansas River Valley, also known as the Arkansas Valley, is a region in Arkansas defined by the Arkansas River in the western part of the state. Generally defined as the area between the The Ozarks, Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, the River V ...
in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
near the town of
Altus
Altus or ALTUS may refer to:
Music
*Alto, a musical term meaning second highest musical or vocal type
* Altus (voice type), a vocal type also known as countertenor
Places
* Altus, Arkansas, US
** Altus AVA, a wine-growing region near Altus, Ark ...
in
Franklin County. The wine region is entirely contained within the
Arkansas Mountain AVA, which is in turn contained within the larger multi-state
Ozark Mountain AVA. The Altus region is a
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
above the
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...
to the south and below the
Boston Mountains
The Boston Mountains is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Part of the Ozarks, the Boston Mountains are a deeply dissected plateau. The ecoregion is steepe ...
to the north. The soil is
gravel
Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gr ...
and
loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...
, with a high
acid
An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...
ity. Five wineries in the area produce nearly of wine per year.
References
External links
TTB AVA Map
American Viticultural Areas of Arkansas
Geography of Franklin County, Arkansas
1984 establishments in Arkansas
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