The San Benito County AVA, an inland portion of California's Central Coast wine region, lies wedged between the Gabilan mountain ranges (to the west) and the southern end of the Diablo Mountains (to the east). It is home to a small cluster of sub-AVAs (Mount Harlan, Cienega Valley, Lime Kiln Valley, San Benito and Paicines), located mostly at its lower-lying northern end.
San Benito County has a relatively moderate climate, particularly in the northern half where the majority of its vineyards are located. Pacific winds find their way to the San Benito river valley from Monterey Bay and through gaps in the Gablian ranges, cooling and refreshing the vines on hot summer days.
Vines were first planted here in the 1850s by a French immigrant named Theophile Vache, who established a vineyard in the Cienega Valley. From the 1950s onwards, many San Benito vineyards were bought by the giant Almaden winery, but that changed when the company was sold to Constellation Brands in the 1980s. Blossom Hill (also owned by an international conglomerate wine company) retains a large acreage here, although none of the wines bear the San Benito AVA title.
Unusually for a viticultural area this close to the equator (36 degrees north), the key grape varieties are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, best known as the heart and soul of Burgundy. By contrast, Burgundy's main vineyard area lies at a latitude of 47 degrees north. If the two regions were aligned on Burgundy's longitude, they would be separated by 700 miles (1125km), and San Benito would be located in the deserts of Algeria, north Africa. However, the Pacific Ocean brings significant cooling effects to vineyards the length and breadth of western California.
