Long Valley-Lake County AVA

Long Valley-Lake County
Wine region
TypeAmerican Viticultural Area
Year established2023
Years of wine industry143
CountryUnited States
Part ofCalifornia, North Coast AVA, Lake County
Other regions in California, North Coast AVA, Lake CountyGuenoc Valley AVA, Clear Lake AVA, Benmore Valley AVA, High Valley AVA, Big Valley District-Lake County AVA, Kelsey Bench-Lake County AVA, Red Hills Lake County AVA, Upper Lake Valley AVA
Climate regionRegion III
Heat units3,378 GDD units
Precipitation (annual average)27–33 inches (686–838 mm)
Soil conditionstuffaceous, diatomaceous sands and silts, limestone, gravel, intercalated volcanic rocks
Total area7,605 acres (12 sq mi)
Size of planted vineyards150 acres (61 ha)
No. of vineyards5
Varietals producedChardonnay, Pinot noir, Sauvignon Blanc
No. of wineries3

Long Valley-Lake County is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in eastern Lake County, California elevated above the eastern shores of Clear Lake. The appellation was established as the nation's 268th, the state's 148th and the county's tenth AVA on July 5, 2023, by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by Terry Dereniuk, owner of Terry Dereniuk Consulting, Don Van Pelt of Cache Creek Vineyards and Clay Shannon of Shannon Family of Wines, on behalf of Long Valley wine grape growers, proposing the viticultural area named “Long Valley-Lake County."

Additionally, TTB expanded the boundary of the established 14,000-acre (22 sq mi) High Valley viticultural area by approximately 1,542 acres (2 sq mi) in order to create a contiguous border with the Long Valley–Lake County viticultural area and, therefore, modified the boundary of the North Coast viticultural area to eliminate a partial overlap with the 7,605-acre (12 sq mi) Long Valley–Lake County viticultural area. At the outset, the Long Valley contained 3 wineries and 5 commercial vineyards, which cultivated approximately 149 acres (60 ha). The plant hardiness zone ranges from 8b to 9b.