(WineMag) - Will the Petaluma Gap soon be made an official American Viticultural Area (AVA)? Winemakers and growers who work with the grapes from this area certainly hope so.

“People have been drinking Petaluma Gap wines for years, they just don’t know it,” says winemaker David Ramey. He makes one of California’s most stunning Syrahs from Rodgers Creek Vineyard, which lies within the boundaries of the Gap but is currently labeled as a Sonoma Coast wine.

The Sonoma Coast AVA, long considered unwieldy by many, was created in 1987, well before the nuances and differences of Sonoma County Pinot Noir were truly understood.

Ramey, and colleagues like Anna Keller of Keller Estate, Rickey Trombetta Stancliff of Trombetta Family Wines and Justin Seidenfeld of Rodney Strong Vineyards, all work with Petaluma Gap grapes. They want to give consumers more detail about where a wine’s grapes are grown.

“Saying Sonoma Coast when the vineyard is in the Petaluma Gap is akin to saying Côte de Beaune if the vineyard were in Chassagne-Montrachet,” says Ramey.