The Texas Davis Mountains 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 the Trans-Pecos

Trans-Pecos

The term Trans-Pecos, as originally defined in 1887 by the Texas geologist Robert T. Hill, refers to the portion of Texas that lies west of the Pecos River. The term is considered synonymous with "Far West Texas", a subdivision of West Texas...

 region of West Texas

West Texas

West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....

. Surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert

Chihuahuan Desert

The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert, and an ecoregion designation, that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau, bordered on the west by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, and overlaying northern portions of the east range, the Sierra...

, the appellation takes advantage of cooler elevation and lower annual rainfall in the Davis Mountains

Davis Mountains

The Davis Mountains are a range of mountains in West Texas, located near Fort Davis, after which they are named. They are a popular site for camping and hiking and the region includes Fort Davis National Historic Site and Davis Mountains State Park...

. The land within the boundaries of the AVA ranges between 4500 feet (1,372 m) and 8300 feet (2,530 m) above sea level. The soil is primarily granitic, porphrytic, and volcanic in nature.

Wineries

Only one commercial winery has ever been operated in the Texas Davis Mountains AVA since its creation in 1998: Pleasant Hill Winery.