Wineries in the hills above Carmel may be close to receiving their own AVA designation.

After four years of waiting, Luc Messier is hopeful good news will come soon from a source with a rather ominous name, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, known as the TTB.

Messier owns Domaine Messier winery, with vineyards draping steep slopes overlooking the Carmel Valley all the way to the ocean. In 2022, he joined neighboring wineries Albatross Ridge and Pelio Estate, submitting a petition to the federal office to carve out a new wine appellation, or American Viticultural Area. It can take several years for the bureau to reach a decision.

If approved, the Carmel Coast AVA would include the three vineyards, along with the notable Diamond T plot planted in 1982 by Robb Talbott, along with a few smaller properties, amounting to some 4,000 acres, with around 90 acres devoted to winegrapes—Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, for the most part.

According to Messier, the small parcel of Monterey County shares a few factors important to creating distinct wines, most notably cool Pacific air and brittle shale soil.

“The AVA has a similar profile,” he says. “You want a cool climate for more hangtime.”

Grapes on these rugged hillsides require more time to mature, allowing them to develop more minerality and tannins. An AVA designation provides winemakers with a way to define the characteristics of the region’s terroir for consumers.

Technically, Carmel Coast would be a sub-AVA within two encompassing areas, Central Coast and Monterey. According to TTB data, as of the end of April, there are 279 identified AVAs in the U.S., with 154 of those in California. 

Monterey County currently has 11 AVAs, including the prominent Chalone, Santa Lucia Highlands and Arroyo Seco appellations.