Santa Clara Valley AVA
History
By the 1850s Santa Clara had more acres of vineyards than any other county in California. By 1883 the county had almost of vines and over 100 wineries, but over-expansion and phylloxera took a heavy toll and by 1902 over disappeared, mostly replanted to fruit trees such as prunes and apricots. By 1910 over half the wineries had disappeared.
Prohibition caused another boom in viticulture, with fruit being much in demand for home winemakers. By 1926 around were planted, but since then there has been a gradual decline. By 1997 a little over were planted; since then there has been a gradual resurgence.
The growth of the technology sector in the region saw the area christened as Silicon Valley, and older Almaden Valley vineyards were uprooted to make way for urban sprawl. Today the majority of the remaining vineyards are found between the Diablo Mountains in Contra Costa and the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Jose near Morgan Hill and Gilroy, with some in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains near Saratoga. As of August 2014, a collaboration between the cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and Santa Clara County, along with the , formed the "Santa Clara Valley Wine Trail" to connect the many wineries and aid in agritourism.
