The San Lucas 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

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is located at the southern end of

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley. The Salinas River (Califo ...

, shares an eastern border with the

Chalone AVA The Chalone AVA is an American Viticultural Area in the Monterey and San Benito counties of California, located in the Gabilan Mountains east of Soledad. The region is named for the nearby Chalone peaks. The region has limestone and decompose ...

, and is bordered on the west by the

Santa Lucia Range The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from t ...

foothills. The

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

has the largest

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak d ...

of any of California's AVAs. There is a current petition to designate the San Bernabe vineyard, located at the region's northern end, as its own AVA. The vineyard is currently the world's largest continuous vineyard.

References

American Viticultural Areas American Viticultural Areas of California Salinas Valley Geography of Monterey County, California 1987 establishments in California {{wine-region-stub