The Fair Play AVA is a hill-top sub-region in the Sierra Foothills wine wountry. The area has relatively fertile soil compared to other grape growing regions in the Sierra Foothills, but this is balanced by the wine region’s extremely high elevation and cool, windy climate. So the soil is forgiving compared to other Sierra Foothills Wineries, but the climate is marginal.

There are currently ten Fair Play wineries. Local vineyards are planted mainly with Zinfandel, but Syrah and Barbera are gaining in popularity. The climate of Fair Play is a warm Region Three on the UC Davis Heat Scale, but this is a bit misleading because nights cool considerably. Because of the region’s elevation and cool nights, wines tend to have high acidity. Fair Play is the newest AVA in the region, but the history of vineyard development began here during the 1870s, and Horace Bigelow established the first of the Fair Play Wineries in 1887. (Wine/Appellations)