Santa Barbara County's wine country has three appellations, also known as AVAs (American Viticultural Areas). Ours are the Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Rita Hills. Santa Barbara County shares a fourth appellation — Central Coast — with six other counties.

These notations on the labels of premium wine are important to wine consumers because they signal the wine's geographic pedigree. Appellations provide knowledgeable consumers with better understanding and appreciation of the differences in climate and soil that shape the flavors of wines from specific regions. California has 85 appellations including its most famous, Napa Valley.

Contents of bottles labeled with an appellation must contain 85 percent of grapes grown from that federally designated region.

- Mark van de Kamp, News-Press Business Editor