Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
California’s reference high-elevation cool-climate AVA. Ridge Vineyards’ Monte Bello vineyard at 2,000-2,700 feet is the editorial center.
About Santa
Santa Cruz Mountains AVA is California’s most editorially significant cool-climate mountain AVA — a coastal range south of San Francisco where elevation (1,000-2,800 feet) and Pacific Ocean cooling create growing conditions dramatically different from the warmer inland California zones. The AVA produces serious wines from both Bordeaux-style (Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet, Mount Eden Cabernet) and Burgundy-style (Mount Eden Chardonnay, Rhys Pinot Noir, Big Basin Pinot Noir) grape categories — unusual flexibility for a single AVA. Ridge Vineyards’ Monte Bello vineyard at 2,000-2,700 feet elevation is the AVA’s editorial center; the 1971 Monte Bello finished second in the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting against First Growth Bordeaux. Other foundational producers include Mount Eden Vineyards (continuous since 1945, oldest producing vineyard in the AVA), Bonny Doon (Randall Grahm’s influential Rhône-style work), and Rhys Vineyards.
Terroir & regulation
Principal producers
- Ridge Vineyards
- Mount Eden Vineyards
- Rhys Vineyards
- Big Basin
Editorial notes
Monte Bello Cabernet ages 25-40 years from strong vintages. The 1971, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2012 vintages are landmarks. Mount Eden has continuous production since 1945, making it the oldest active vineyard site in the AVA.