SIERRA FOOTHILLS AVA

The Sierra Foothills AVA (established in 1987) is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) similar to the terms Appellation, Origin Controlle, etc. used to identify world class wine regions that earn national recognition. These Sierra Foothills run along the western slope of California's Great Sierra Nevada range home to such world-renown icons as Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe, the lower 48's tallest -Mt. Whitney, Olympic Winter Games site - Squaw Valley and host of the fabled 1849 Gold Discovery and subsequent Gold Rush. Wine grapes were introduced to the area in the nineteenth century during the California Gold Rush the Sierra Foothills could boast more wineries than Napa and Sonoma combined. When the Gold Rush slowed and the new populations relocated to San Francisco, the proximity of Napa and Sonoma with their lazy rivers to facilitate transportation for wine's heavy barrels and bottled goods gave way to Napa and Sonoma's wine boom. The Sierra Foothills quietly settled down to a slower country wine life which almost disappeared after phylloxera hit followed by Prohibition. Wine grape growers in the Shenandoah Valley carried on nonehteless as did California 4th oldest winery - D'Agostini Winery.

The 1970s brought a wave of New Wine Pioneers whose start-ups in Amador, Calaveras and El Dorado counties spurred on a wine rennaisance that has lasted over three decades and continues today. The number of wineries grew from less than 5 in 1975 to nearly 200 wineries today located within the boundaries of the AVA.