(Forbes) - Everyone knows that grapes are an essential ingredient for wine, but one natural — and unexpected — element is helping a newly designated wine region in California rise to prominence.

"The Petaluma Gap is a special area for the following reason: the wind," says Ana Keller, director of Keller Estate. "Yes, it is an AVA based on wind patterns."

Keller isn't the only one celebrating the wind in the newest American Viticultural Area (AVA), or officially designated wine region. The Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance began the AVA petition processin February 2015. After several phases of uncontested approval, the official effective date is Jan. 8, 2018, making Petaluma Gap the 18th AVA in Sonoma County and the 240th in the country.