Sta. Rita Hills AVA
| Wine region | |
| Type | American Viticultural Area |
|---|---|
| Year established | 2001 2006 Abbrev 2016 Expansion: |
| Years of wine industry | 55 |
| Country | United States |
| Part of | California, Central Coast AVA, Santa Barbara County, Santa Ynez Valley AVA |
| Other regions in California, Central Coast AVA, Santa Barbara County, Santa Ynez Valley AVA | Ballard Canyon AVA, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara AVA, Los Olivos District AVA |
| Growing season | 309 days |
| Climate region | Region I |
| Soil conditions | Loams, sandy loams, silt loams, and clay loams based on large percentages of dune sand, marine deposits, recent alluvium, river wash, and terrace deposits |
| Total area | 35,520 acres (56 sq mi) |
| Size of planted vineyards | 2,700 acres (1,093 ha) |
| No. of vineyards | 60 |
| Grapes produced | Barbera, Chardonnay, Dolcetto, Dornfelder, Grenache, Mission, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Viognier, Zinfandel |
| No. of wineries | 12 |
| Comments | As of 2025 |
Sta. Rita Hills is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Santa Barbara County, California within the vast Santa Ynez Valley landform. The area was established as the nation's 144th, the state's 86th and the county's third appellation on May 31, 2001 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by J. Richard Sanford (Sanford Winery) and drafted by Wesley D. Hagen (Vineyard Manager of Clos Pepe Vineyards), signed by 22 people, 14 of whom are local wine grape growers, proposing a viticultural area encompassed by, but separate from, the Santa Ynez Valley appellation to be named "Santa Rita Hills."
According to the petition, there was currently two wineries and seventeen vineyards cultivating 500 acres (202 ha) within Santa Rita Hills with two additional vineyards being developed. From its designation in 2001 through 2005, the approximately 30,720 acres (48 sq mi) was officially named Santa Rita Hills. The 2006 formal name abbreviation was the result of a protest by and subsequent negotiations with Vina Santa Rita, a very large Chilean wine producer that was concerned about the AVA name diluting its international brand value. The name change took effect on January 5, 2006, with a yearlong period for producers in the AVA to change their wine labels.
In 2016, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) expanded the then 33,380 acres (52 sq mi) Sta. Rita Hills viticultural area by approximately 2,296 acres (4 sq mi). The USDA plant hardiness zone range is 9b to 10b.