North Coast AVA
| Wine region | |
Sonoma County vineyards | |
| Type | American Viticultural Area |
|---|---|
| Year established | 1983 |
| Years of wine industry | 203 |
| Country | United States |
| Part of | California |
| Other regions in California | Central Coast AVA, South Coast AVA, Sierra Foothills AVA |
| Sub-regions | List of North Coast AVAs |
| Climate region | Region I-IV |
| Heat units | 2,757 GDD units |
| Precipitation (annual average) | 24.8 to 62.2 in (630–1,580 mm) |
| Total area | 3 million acres (4,700 sq mi) |
| Grapes produced | Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignane, Chardonnay, Dolcetto, Gamay noir, Gewurztraminer, Lagrein, Malbec, Merlot, Muscat Canelli, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Pinot Meunier, Pinot noir, Sangiovese, Sauvignon blanc, Semillon, Syrah, Valdiguie, Verdelho, Viognier, Zinfandel |
| No. of wineries | 1,337 |
North Coast is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the state of California that encompasses grape-growing regions in six counties located north of San Francisco: Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, and Solano. County names in the United States automatically qualify as legal appellations of origin for wine produced from grapes grown in that county and do not require registration with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the Treasury Department.
The multi-county wine appellation was established on September 21, 1983, as the nation's 42nd and the state's 26th AVA by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by the California North Coast Grape Growers Association (CNCGGA) proposing a viticultural area encompassing six Northern Californian counties known as "North Coast."
This vast appellation encompasses over 3 million acres (4,700 sq mi) and includes many smaller sub-appellations that all share the common trait of weather affected by the fog and breezes from the Pacific Ocean.