This new AVA delivers on cool-climate wines – and excellent value for money. Above, the Derbyshire Vineyard, the Pacific Ocean in the background. See also Tasting California's SLO Coast.
The phrase ‘hidden gem’ has been horribly over-used as an introduction to wine regions throughout the globe for decades. But the metaphor nonetheless seems apt to describe a wine region that only recently came into existence, and one that falls both literally and figuratively outside the mental map most wine drinkers possess for California wine country.
Situated roughly halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the newly minted (as of...