The Edna 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 in San Luis Obispo County

San Luis Obispo County, California

San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 south of the city of San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, California

San Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...

 and north of the town of Arroyo Grande

Arroyo Grande, California

Arroyo Grande is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 17,252 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Arroyo Grande is a small coastal town with historic, suburban, and rural elements located at...

. It is part of the larger Central Coast AVA

Central Coast AVA

The Central Coast AVA is a large American Viticultural Area that spans from Santa Barbara County in the south to the San Francisco Bay Area in the north. The boundaries of the Central Coast include portions of six counties. With around planted to wine grapes, Chardonnay accounts for more than...

. The valley is roughly bounded by Lake Lopez to the south and Islay Hill

Islay Hill

Islay Hill is a volcanic cone and is the southernmost of the nine major morros that make up the Nine Sisters. This chain of extinct volcanoes stretches from Morro Bay in San Luis Obispo County, California....

 to the north. It runs east to west bounded to the west by the Santa Lucia Mountains

Santa Lucia Mountains

The Santa Lucia Mountains or Santa Lucia Range is a mountain range in coastal California, running from Monterey southeast for 105 miles to San Luis Obispo. The highest summit is Junipero Serra Peak, in Monterey County...

. The valley is shadowed by volcanic

Volcano

2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

 mountains and characterized by black humus and clay

Clay

Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

-rich soils. Edna Vally has one of California’s longest growing seasons. The valley is kept cool by breezes from the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 and morning fog

Fog

Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...

. The AVA is most well known for its 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...

, Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

, and to a lesser extent Syrah. Grapes were originally planted here by Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 missionaries

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 in the early 19th century. The region saw a revival when new vineyards were planted in the early 1970s by Paragon and Chamisal Vineyards. Edna Valley wines are often grouped with those of the contiguous Arroyo Grande Valley AVA

Arroyo Grande Valley AVA

The Arroyo Grande Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in San Luis Obispo County, California. It is part of the larger Central Coast AVA. The long appellation benefits from it east-northeast orientation which allows the breeze from the Pacific Ocean to moderate the climate of the area...

.