The Santa Clara Valley wine region has a rich and storied history dating back over 250 years. Despite facing numerous challenges, including phylloxera, Prohibition, and the Great Depression, the region’s dedicated farmers persevered, continually innovating and striving to produce the finest quality wines. Their tireless efforts have solidified Santa Clara Valley’s reputation as California’s first premium wine-producing region, home to numerous world-class, award-winning wines.
Historical records indicate that wild grapes thrived in the valley as early as the 18th century, when Spanish explorers discovered Vitis Californica climbing the trees along the creeks and streams. In 1798, the first European cuttings (Mission grapes) were planted at the historic Mission Santa Clara by Franciscan monks, believed to be California’s first successful vines. Their first wine was produced in 1802 as sacramental wine.
By the 1820s, Mission Santa Clara’s vineyard had flourished to just over 2 acres, yielding enough grapes to supply San Francisco’s Mission Dolores with grapes to begin making their own wine. This marked the beginning of the region’s wine production legacy.
©Ph. Wineries of Santa Clara Valley
During the 1849 gold rush, European immigrants from France, Italy, Germany, and Spain recognized the region’s potential and began establishing hundreds of acres of vines using grapes well known in their homelands. By the early 1850s, Santa Clara Valley had more acres of planted vines and vineyards than any other county in California.
In 1852, founder Etienne Theé planted California’s first vineyards with vines from his home in France, naming it Almaden Vineyards after a local mine in the Los Gatos area. This pioneering effort laid the foundation for the region’s wine industry.
©Ph. Wineries of Santa Clara Valley
Over 100 wineries were recorded by 1883, with more than 15,000 acres of planted vines. In 1895, Santa Clara Valley wineries were producing over 5 million gallons of wine and shipping it across the United States and overseas. The region’s wine production reached its peak, earning it the nickname “California’s Burgundy.”
Around 1895, phylloxera attacked local vines, destroying approximately 75% of the vineyards in just five years. Farmers replanted most of the land with fruit and nut trees. This setback, however, did not deter the region’s viticulturists from their passion for wine production.
©Ph. Wineries of Santa Clara Valley
When Prohibition hit in 1920, very few wineries survived legally by producing sacramental wine for religious purposes. The dream and desire of certain farmers to return to a viticulture-centric region brought an energized and aggressive resurgence in the planting of vineyards and the birth of many wineries in the 1940s.
In 1989, the Santa Clara Valley was declared an American Viticultural Area (AVA) and also contains two sub-appellations – Pacheco Pass AVA and San Ysidro District AVA. Today, the Santa Clara Valley is home to over 50 wineries of every size and shape, from long-established century-year old family operations to relatively small newcomers.
©Ph. Wineries of Santa Clara Valley
The region’s inland location, 17 miles east of the Pacific Ocean, offers a unique microclimate with excellent exposure and conditions for vineyards to thrive. The variety of aspects and topography, ranging from 100 to 800 feet above sea level, creates an ideal environment for growing a diverse range of grape varieties.
The climate of the Santa Clara Valley is classified as Mediterranean, but the temperatures are fairly high due to the influence of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The region enjoys warm days and temperate evenings, cooled by sea breezes and fog from San Francisco Bay. Temperatures vary from 43°F to 80°F and are rarely below 35°F or above 100°F.
During the summer, the cool temperatures and prevailing moderate to strong, west and northwest offshore winds move into the San Francisco Bay area at low elevations, affecting the Santa Clara Valley mainly in the late afternoon and early evenings. Surface winds enter the south part of the valley via the Coyote Narrows and pass through Pajaro Gap, with prevailing wind direction from the north over most of the southern portion of the valley.
©Ph. Wineries of Santa Clara Valley
The most popular red/white varieties planted in Santa Clara Valley are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel.
The growing season between killing frosts is fairly long, ranging from 250 to 300 days. The area falls into climate region II (cool) with a heat summation of 2,700 degree days. Heavy frosts do not occur in the viticultural area, although temperatures can get below freezing in winter. With the oceanic influences, the growing season can extend, and the grapes slowly reach their phenolic ripeness while retaining a good level of acidity.
The soils of the region are generally composed of gravelly silt, clay, and sandstone. Those deep soils with good drainage are excellent for vines.
The Santa Clara Valley floor consists chiefly of a number of confluent alluvial fans and flood plains formed by deposits from the numerous streams that enter the valley from both mountain systems. An imperceptible alluvial divide at Morgan Hill separates the drainage of the valley into a north-flowing system and a south-flowing system. The former drains into San Francisco Bay at the north end of Santa Clara County, and the latter leads to the Pajaro River south of Gilroy and eventually flows into Monterey Bay.
The oldest rocks found within eastern Santa Clara Valley are the Franciscan-Knoxville. Group of Upper Jurassic age. These rocks form the largest single geologic unit in the area. Along the margins of the Santa Clara Valley, Pliocene strata are exposed, and the valley floor itself is composed of an accumulation of Quaternary clay, sand, and gravel. The Santa Clara Valley ranges in elevation from 100 to 800 feet above sea level, compared to the Santa Cruz Mountains and Diablo Range which surround the valley on the west and east sides, respectively.
©Ph. Wineries of Santa Clara Valley
In 2008, the Wineries of Santa Clara Valley (WSCV) became a non-profit 501(c)3 Corporation. It is made up of member wineries who grow and produce wines that are grown in the Santa Clara Valley. The association also includes associate members who are vineyard owners, individuals, and businesses in the product and service industry.
The WSCV’s purpose is to support the Santa Clara Valley wine region by promoting the wineries, wine culture, wine tourism, and heritage of our AVA. They strive to positively invest and contribute to their community and land. The organization provides scholarships and grants to be used by qualified aspiring viticulturists, wine educators, and wine stewards seeking to further their education and advance in their chosen fields.
The viticulture history of Santa Clara Valley is a testament to the resilience and innovation of the region’s farmers. From the early days of Mission grape plantings to the present day, the region has consistently produced world-class wines. The unique combination of climate, geology, and community engagement has solidified Santa Clara Valley’s reputation as California’s first premium wine-producing region.
