The Chiles Valley District is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County, California and a sub-region within Napa Valley AVA. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on April 19, 1999 after the ATF received the petition from Mr. Volker Eisele, owner of the Volker Eisele Vineyard and Winery proposing a new viticultural area in Napa County to be known as "Chiles Valley District." The Chiles Valley is nestled in the

Vaca Mountains The Vaca Mountains are a mountain range in Napa and Solano Counties, California that is one of the California Coast Ranges. They represent the easternmost of the Inner Coast Ranges in north−central California, and divide the Suisun Valley on ...

above the northeast side of the Napa Valley. 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 a cooler

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

than the main Napa Valley floor due to elevations of as well as a cooling breeze from the Pacific Ocean. The most planted grapes in Chiles Valley are Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc.

History

Chiles Valley was named after Joseph Ballinger Chiles, who received the Rancho Catacula Mexican land grant in the 1841. The area was historically a local source for

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

, which was mined by residents in the area as of the 1881.

Gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywal ...

has also been found in the southern end of the valley. In August 2020, Chiles Valley was evacuated due to the Hennessey Fire, which resulted in the burning of over in five counties, including in Chiles Valley.

References

American Viticultural Areas of the San Francisco Bay Area Vaca Mountains Geography of Napa County, California 1999 establishments in California American Viticultural Areas {{wine-region-stub