The Fresno County AVA, as might be expected, covers all vineyards within the boundaries of Fresno County, right in the middle of California. Award-winning wines have been made from Fresno County vineyards from Syrah, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Barbera and Tempranillo. The Rhone Valley's Viognier is the only white grape of any note, and produces rich, powerful, aromatic wines. Another interesting visitor from the south of France is Carignan. Although only planted in tiny quantities here, it has proved well-suited to the Fresno terroir.
Fresno County takes its name from Fresno Creek; Fresno being the Spanish name for the Mountain Ash trees which grow so abundantly here. The county was created in 1956 from parts of Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties, modern-day Fresno's neighbors.
According to the national census in 2000, the county has a total area of just over 6,000 square miles (15,500 km2). A very dry county, just 0.09% of its surface area is taken up by water; quite a stark contrast to counties around the Bay Area (Napa, Sonoma, Contra Costa and Sacramento, for example).
Traditionally, this very warm Californian region was better known for growing grapes for raisins rather than wine production. However, vines planted near the San Joaquin river, where conditions are noticeably cooler, are now producing wines.
Fresno is home to California State University, Fresno ('Fresno State' for short), with its internationally acclaimed viticulture and oenology program. Fresno State was the first US university to have an on-campus commercial winery.
Engelmann Cellars is the main winery in the Frenso area, and some noteworthy wines come from the Fresno State university winery itself.
