The California Central Coast appellation runs more than 250 miles along the Pacific Coast, spanning 10 counties and some 30 designated American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) from the San Francisco Bay to Santa Barbara County.
The sprawling California wine region covers a variety of microclimates and terrains, but they generally all share the cooling effect of the Pacific Ocean. This has a major impact on the growing conditions on the entire Central Coast, providing an agreeable setting for a wide range of grape varieties in this part of California wine country.
In recent years, the Central Coast has attracted more and more winegrowers who likely will continue to carve new AVAs out of the large Central Coast area. Among the most promising winegrowing regions along the Central Coast are the Santa Cruz Mountains, southwest of San Jose; and Monterey, a little farther south.
