Kanawha River Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in West Virginia, covering some 64,000 acres (26,000ha) of hilly land surrounding the Kanawha River. The AVA, northwest of the city of Charleston, is located within the boundaries of the Ohio River Valley AVA – the second largest AVA in the United States. Franco-American hybrid varieties do best in the appellation, but there are some small plantings of Vitis vinifera here as well.
West Virginia is known as the 'Mountain State', and the hilly topography in the Kanawha River Valley AVA has an important effect on the terroir here. Vineyards planted among the mountains benefit from constant winds that are funneled through the valleys, drying the canopy and reducing the risk of fungal vine diseases in West Virginia's humid subtropical climate. The Kanawha River, a tributary of the larger Ohio River, brings moderating influences to the vineyards throughout the year, reducing seasonal temperature variation and extending the growing season somewhat in the late summer.
Kanawha River Valley became an AVA in 1986, but the region has never developed a wine industry of any size. Currently, there are only a tiny handful of wineries within the AVA, most of them making wine under the larger Ohio River Valley or the state-level West Virginia appellations.
