Mt. Harlan AVA

Mt. Harlan is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in San Benito County, California. It lies within the Gabilan Mountains viticultural area and the state’s vast multi-county Central Coast AVA. It was established on December 15, 1990 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) after reviewing the petition submitted by Josh Jensen of Calera Wine Company proposing a viticultural area known as "Mt. Harlan." The Mt. Harlan viticultural area lies inland at elevations of 1,800 to 2,200 feet (550–670 m) approximately twenty-five miles (40 km) east of Monterey Bay and nine miles (14 km) south of the city of Hollister. Mt. Harlan is a prominent 3,274 feet (998 m) peak, and is in the upper elevations of the short Gabilan Mountain Range (also known as Gavilan), whose watershed serves as the boundary line between San Benito and Monterey counties. The eastern border of the Mt. Harlan viticultural area nearly abuts the established viticultural areas of "Cienega Valley," "Lime Kiln Valley" and "San Benito," but remains independent. The combined effects of unique soil composition, elevation and microclimate upon the production of grapes grown in the Mt. Harlan viticultural area distinguishes it from the other viticultural areas in San Benito County which lie at lower elevations. The vineyards on Mt. Harlan belong to one commercial winery, Josh Jensen's Calera Wine Company. "Calera," is the Spanish word for "lime kiln", as the reminder of the local limestone quarries a century ago. A historic, well-preserved 30 feet (9.1 m) tall masonry lime kiln stands on one of Calera's vineyard properties.