Dunnigan Hills is an AVA located in the north-west of Yolo County, within California's larger Central Valley wine region. Its gently rolling topography and Mediterranean climate make it well suited to the production of bright, full-bodied wines made from Chardonnay, Syrah and Tempranillo.
Most vines in the Dunnigan Hills AVA are planted on low, rolling hills about 400ft (120m) above sea level. These hills are just north-west of the town of Woodland, on the west bank of the Sacramento River. A few miles to the south is the town of Davis, home of the world-famous University of California, Davis, campus and its wine-related faculties.
©Crew Wine Company
The hills here are typified by soils that consist mostly of free-draining gravelly loams, excellent for the production of quality wine grapes. A lack of water in the soil reduces vigor in the vines and leads to lower yields of more-concentrated fruit. Lower down, the valleys offer silt or clay loams over sandstone and are less desirable for quality grape growing.
The Mediterranean climate produces warm, dry days and cool nights, which help to preserve the grapes' natural acidity. Light, cool winds that blow up the Sacramento Delta further cool the vines. All of these conditions help to lengthen the growing season and give the option of growing a wide variety of grapes.
While several producers make wine with grapes from the Dunnigan Hills, only two producers have ever set up shop within the AVA boundaries. The more notable was R.H. Phillips, which was established in 1984 and grew to more than 1500 acres (605ha). Founded by the AVA's pioneers Karl and John Giguiere, who grew up on a farm in the area, the winery was eventually bought by Constellation, at one time the world's largest wine company. In 2009, Constellation moved the R.H. Phillips winemaking facility (which also produced wines for the Toasted Head brand) to its Woodbridge facility in Lodi, 50 miles (80km) to the south. The original R.H. Phillips vineyards are still maintained today, but the wines are made in Lodi.
Today, the only active winery in the AVA is the Crew Wine Company, founded in 2005 by the Giguiere family.
