The Central California valley wine region lies east of San Francisco Bay in the central California valley and runs south through the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys to Bakersfield.

Viticulture in California’s vast interior valley, nestled between the state’s coastal mountain range and the Sierra Nevada, is actually two valleys: the Sacramento Valley in the north and the San Joaquin Valley in the south, which includes the Delta area located in the middle where the two valleys meet. Although the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys are not designated AVAs, the region produces 71 percent of the state’s winegrapes and is home to eight AVAs— Clarksburg, Diablo Grande, Dunnigan Hills, Lodi, Madera, Merritt Island, River Junction and Salado Creek. The Sierra Foothills region is an AVA that runs adjacent to both valleys on the east side, along the Sierra Nevada Mountains. About 0.5 percent of the winegrapes grown in the state are produced from the Sierras.