The Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County

Santa Clara County, California

Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...

, 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...

. The area served an important role in the early history of California wine

California wine

California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state...

 and was home to the pioneer winemakers Paul Masson

Paul Masson

Paul Masson was an early pioneer of California viticulture and successful popularizer of Californian sparkling wine.-Biography:...

 and Charles Lefranc. The growth of the technology sector in the region saw the area christened as Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...

 with vineyards being uprooted to make way for urban development. Today the majority of the remaining vineyards are found west of the Santa Cruz Mountains

Santa Cruz Mountains

The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California, United States. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south,...

 near San Jose

San Jose, California

San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

. The AVA is home to two smaller AVAs, Pacheco Pass AVA

Pacheco Pass AVA

The Pacheco Pass AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the Santa Clara and San Benito counties of California. It is part of the larger San Francisco Bay AVA. The pass is a long corridor between the San Francisco Bay area to the west and the San Joaquin Valley to the east. State Route...

 and San Ysidro District AVA

San Ysidro District AVA

The San Ysidro District AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Santa Clara County, California. It is part of the larger Santa Clara Valley AVA and is located in the foothills of the Diablo Range. San Ysidro District is significantly cooler than other parts of Santa Clara Valley. Cooling...

.