The Chiles Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area

American Viticultural Area

An American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....

 located within Napa Valley AVA

Napa Valley AVA

Napa Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Napa County, California, United States. Napa Valley is considered one of the top wine regions in the United States...

. The Chiles Valley is nestled in the Vaca Mountains on the northeast side of Napa Valley. The appellation

Appellation

An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...

 has a warmer and more continental climate

Climate

Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...

 than other portions of Napa Valley. The cooling fog and winds that moderate temperatures in other parts of Napa Valley have difficulty reaching as far inland as Chiles Valley. The most planted grapes in Chiles Valley are Zinfandel

Zinfandel

Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in Puglia , where it was introduced in the 18th century...

, Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

, and Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...

. Chiles Valley was named after Joseph Ballinger Chiles

Joseph Chiles

Colonel Joseph Ballinger Chiles was an early California pioneer and guide.Born in Kentucky, Chiles moved to Missouri around 1830 and fought for the United States Army in the Seminole Wars. Widowed, he abandoned his children to join the Bartleson-Bidwell Party of 1841, the first wagon train to...

, who received the Rancho Catacula

Rancho Catacula

Rancho Catacula was a Mexican land grant in present day Napa County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Joseph Ballinger Chiles. The grant was located along Chiles creek in the Chiles Valley east of St. Helena.-History:...

Mexican land grant in the 1841.