The Central Coast AVA
The Central Coast region is my favorite region in California. There are a few reasons for this. It is a relatively close drive for us. It includes lots of coastline, and the variety of wines is spectacular.
The area runs from San Francisco Bay, south to Santa Barbara, along the coast, west of the Inland Valleys.
Diversity of varieties and styles is abundant, with vineyards influenced by the coast and inland regions with a more continental climate.
The many regions of the Central Coast
Here, you will find the Livermore Valley, Monterey County, Paso Robles, San Benito County, San Francisco Bay, San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County, Santa Clara Valley, and Santa Cruz Mountains.
There are over 40 AVAs and a wide array of varieties in this region. The climate and soils vary; many different varieties thrive depending on your location!
Central Coast North – Livermore Valley, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey & San Benito
Beginning in the North, you find the Livermore Valley, which sits inland in Alameda County, and the San Francisco Bay AVA that covers much of Conta Costa, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sana Cruz, San Francisco, and Solano Counties.
Santa Clara and Santa Cruz sit south of there, followed by beautiful Monterey and San Benito County.
Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo
As you head south, you come to Paso Robles before hitting San Luis Obispo, SLO wine country.
The ideal way to explore here is to balance land and sea.
On any trip to Paso, we make sure to take a drive west on 46 to the Pacific Coast Highway to Harmony. Sunsets over the lush green hills in the spring are heaven. From there, head north on the Pacific Coast Highway to Cambria, San Simeon (watch for the Zebra), past Hearst Castle and the Elephant Seas, and up the winding cliffside road to Ragged Point. Walk the park and get your legs back for the winding drive back.
Vineyard Drive is my favorite in Paso, but the entire region is covered in beautiful wineries. Downtown, you will also find tasting rooms, restaurants, and the park, which is perfect for relaxing if there is not a fantastic event to attend.
Heading south from Paso, take the 101 to San Luis Obispo. Enjoy the city of SLO, and then explore the wineries along 227. Then, make your way back to the sea. The Avila Beach area has tasting rooms and mineral springs.
Take the 101 South, then to Santa Maria, and catch the end of the SLO wineries before heading into Santa Barbara County.
Santa Barbara
If you continue south, you will reach Santa Barbara. This bit of land on the California coast has been gradually moving and turning for 18 million years. The valleys now run east to west, allowing the Pacific breezes to sweep into the valley. This allows for a change in the coastal influence as you move inland, so cool climate varieties thrive to the west. As you move inland, the climate is warmer, moving to Rhône varieties and, finally Bordeaux-style wines, like Cabernet Sauvignon.
We will spend the next couple of days exploring this region!
More from Crushed Grape Chronicles on the regions and AVAs on the Central Coast
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
Check out our book series, “Tempting Spoonfuls” available through Amazon!
Inspired by the flavors and aromas in wines, these books create “tempting spoonfuls” of flavors to pair with wines.
“Tempting Spoonfuls – Pairing single bites with glorious wines” – Our first book paired wines from boutique wineries on the west coast, in California, Oregon, and Washington, with delicious spoonfuls.
This book is 60 pages, 18 recipes, lots of beautiful photos, and insights into some fantastic small wineries!
“Tempting Spoonfuls – small bites paired with wines from around the Globe” – This book takes us around the globe to explore 12 wine regions, a wine from the region, and then gives you a recipe for a pairing!
A slightly larger book at 104 pages, this time you learn about pairing with a type of wine from a region. Rather than a specific bottle, you can look for a style of wine from a region and feel confident that it will go well with the recipe pairing we provide. We give you 12 recipes, each to pair with a wine.
The goal is to make your mouth water and encourage you to create your own “Tempting Spoonfuls.”
Leave a Reply