Trinity Lakes AVA

Trinity Lakes is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) spanning across Trinity County, in north-central California about 65 miles (105 km) south of the Oregon border. It was established on February 27, 2005 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by Mr. Keith Groves, co-owner of Alpen Cellars Winery and president of the Trinity County Grape Growers Association, to propose a new viticultural area named “Trinity Lakes.”
Trinity Lakes viticultural area encompasses the Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area composed of two man-made reservoirs, Trinity Lake and the adjoining smaller Lewiston Lake to its south, and a portion of the Trinity River basin below Lewiston Dam. The area covers about 96,000 acres (150 sq mi), of which 18 percent, 17,285 acres (27 sq mi), is lake surface water, while 1.5 percent, 1,440 acres (580 ha), is suitable land for viticulture. In 2005, 30 acres (12 ha) were cultivated vineyards within the area. Rugged, steep, timbered ridges and narrow agricultural valleys characterize the area. The lakes’ daytime cooling and nighttime warming effect moderates the agricultural valleys’ climate.
The boundary of the viticultural area begins north of Carrville at Derrick Flat, runs east across the Trinity River, continues south and southwest past Trinity and Lewiston dams and the town of Lewiston, and crosses the Trinity River near the mouth of Neaman Gulch. The boundary then runs north and northeast back past the two dams and the town of Trinity Center, returning to the beginning point at Derrick Flat. Trinity Lakes has two commercial wineries, Alpen Cellars and One Maple cultivating on five vineyards.