The Mokelumne River AVA is an American Viticultural Area

American Viticultural Area

An American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....

 located in San Joaquin County

San Joaquin County, California

San Joaquin County is a county located in Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, just east of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 685,306. The county seat is Stockton.-History:...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It is located in the southwest part of the larger Lodi AVA

Lodi AVA

Lodi AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the Central Valley of California, at the northern edge of the San Joaquin Valley east of San Francisco Bay. The AVA gained approval as a designated wine growing area in 1986 and includes of which are currently planted with wine grapes...

, and includes the city of Lodi

Lodi, California

Lodi is a city located in , in the northern portion of California's Central Valley. The population was 62,134 at the 2010 census. The California Department of Finance's population estimate as of January 1, 2011 is 62,473....

 and the towns of Woodbridge

Woodbridge, California

Woodbridge is a census-designated place in San Joaquin County, California. Woodbridge sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Woodbridge's population was 3,984....

 and Acampo

Acampo, California

Acampo is a small census-designated place just outside of Stockton in San Joaquin County, California, United States. It is the childhood home of Kamal Givens and his brother Ahmad, of the reality television show Real Chance of Love. In the 1870s, Acampo was named as a Southern Pacific Railroad...

. The AVA is named after the Mokelumne River

Mokelumne River

The Mokelumne River is a river in Northern California. The Upper Mokelumne River originates in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and flows into Pardee Reservoir and then Camanche Reservoir in the Sierra foothills. The Lower Mokelumne River refers to the portion of the river below Camanche Dam...

, which drains out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains into the San Joaquin River

San Joaquin River

The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...

 and passes through the heart of the appellation

Appellation

An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...

. The wine region includes a portion of the lower Mokelumne River and the Cosumnes River

Cosumnes River

The Cosumnes River is a river in northern California in the United States. It rises on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and flows approximately into the Central Valley, emptying into the Mokelumne River in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.-Name:...

, a tributary. The Mokelumne River AVA covers 87500 acres (35,410 ha), of which 42000 acres (16,997 ha) are planted to wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 grape

Grape

A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...

s. The soil in the area is alluvial fan

Alluvial fan

An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain. A convergence of neighboring alluvial fans into a single apron of deposits against a slope is called a bajada, or compound alluvial...

 deposits of sand and loam

Loam

Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...

. Ample rainfall and soil moisture retention allows most grape growers to farm without the use of irrigation.