The Fair Play AVA is an American Viticultural Area in El Dorado County, California, United States. It is entirely contained within the boundaries of the El Dorado AVA and the Sierra Foothills AVA. The boundaries of the Fair Play AVA include rolling hills at elevations between 2,000 feet (610 m) and 3,000 feet (914 m) above sea level, making it the California appellation with the second highest average elevation after the Squaw Valley-Miramonte appellation. The soils are decomposed granite as part of the Sierra Nevada Foothills region, and the area is within the Cosumnes River watershed. The most popular red wine grape variety is Zinfandel, although varieties popular in southern Rhone Valley France and Italy, such as Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Barbera are the common varietals. White wine is less popular in this AVA, but significant plantings of Viognier and Grenache Blanc, along with Chardonnay are most common. [2]
| Wine region | |
 Fair Play vineyards (adjoining properties) | |
| Type | American Viticultural Area |
|---|---|
| Year established | 2001, 2015 [1] |
| Country | United States |
| Part of | California, El Dorado AVA, Sierra Foothills AVA |
| Size of planted vineyards | 350 acres (1 km2)[2] |
| Grapes produced | Barbera, Black Muscat, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Malbec, Merlot, Mourvedre, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Pinot noir, Pinotage, Sangiovese, Sauvignon blanc, Souzao, Syrah, Tempranillo, Tinta Cao, Touriga Nacional, Viognier, Zinfandel[2] |
| No. of wineries | 24+ |
Wineries
editAs of January 2019, American Winery Guide lists 32 wineries as being within the Fair Play AVA:[3]
The Fair Play Winery Association shows 25 active member wineries with most of them listed below. [4]
- Bumgarner
- Busby Vineyard & Winery
- C.G. DiArie Vineyard and Winery
- Cantiga Wineworks
- Cedar Creek Ranch & Vineyards
- Cedarville Vineyard
- Charles B. Mitchell Vineyards
- Château d’ Estienne
- E16 Winery
- Element 79 Vineyards
- Fleur De Lys Winery
- Gold Mountain Winery & Lodge
- Golden Leaves Vineyard & Winery
- Gwinllan Estate
- Iverson Winery
- Mastroserio Winery
- Mediterranean Vineyards
- Mellowood Vineyards
- MV Winery - Miller Vineyards
- Oakstone Winery
- Perry Creek Winery
- Sentivo Vineyards & Winery
- Shadow Ranch Vineyard
- Skinner Vineyards & Winery
- Toogood Estate Winery
- Vista del Mirador Winery
- Windwalker Vineyards
References
edit- ^ Expansion of the Fair Play Viticultural Area Archived 2009-09-07 at the Wayback Machine Title 27: Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Part 9 — American Viticultural Areas; Subpart C — Approved American Viticultural Areas. Retrieved Jan. 4, 2008.
- ^ a b c Appellation America (2007). "Fair Play (AVA): Appellation Description". Retrieved Jan. 4, 2008.
- ^ "Fair Play Wineries". American Winery Guide. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
- ^ "Fair Play Winery association". Fair Play Winery Association. Retrieved 2023-11-12.