The 4,117 acres (6 sq mi) viticultural area was established as the state's 154th AVA on October 16, 2024 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury after reviewing the petition from Steven Burgess, president of Burgess Cellars, Inc., submitted on behalf of local vineyard owners and winemakers proposing the viticultural area named "Crystal Springs of Napa Valley.

"[1][2][4] Crystal Springs is the 17th viticultural area established in the 120,000 acres (188 sq mi), 40-year-old, world-renown Napa Valley AVA that lies within the expansive multi-county North Coast appellation.

TTB modified the proposed Crystal Springs and the existing Calistoga AVA boundaries responding to comments received during the petition review period.

The petitioner added the phrase "of Napa Valley" to distinguish the viticultural area from the numerous locations in the United States that are also named "Crystal Springs."

In the 1870's, the Crystal Springs Rural Health Retreat, a Seventh-day Adventist undertaking, was founded and built by Dr. John Kellogg and others in the St. Helena locale as a sanitarium promoting various types of water treatments.

[5] The modern hospital, Adventist Health St. Helena, currently sits on the former sanitarium property on which Crystal Springs Resort still stands.

Albino Pestoni immigrated from a small Swiss village and established a vineyard in the 1898 and currently many vintners are sourcing fruits from the Crystal Springs area.

The petition describes the AVA as an “all hillside” region with no flat areas or natural lakes exist along the western face of the Vaca Range.

Instead, cold air flows downhill and pools in the lower elevations on the floor of the Napa Valley in the neighboring St. Helena and Calistoga AVAs, making frost more common in those regions.

In fact, the petition notes that the use of frost protection measures in Howell Mountain vineyards commonly extends into June.

By contrast, Crystal Springs of Napa Valley does not have frost concerns during its bud break period.

[1][2] Weathering and erosion over millions of years has left little top soil, therefore exposed rocks including parent material are common.

[2] Topography is the key distinguishing feature of Crystal Springs of Napa Valley according to the submitted petition.

Vineyards here are often mistaken for being located within the Howell Mountain AVA where its elevation boundary starts at the 1,400 ft (427 m) contour above the maritime fogline, whereas Crystal Springs' vineyards lie below that contour level and are often shrouded in fog, which makes a crucial difference in a wine's flavor profile.

Julien Fayard makes a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from the new AVA for Somnium Vineyard, founded by race-car driver Danica Patrick, and a single-vineyard Merlot for Brion, a much smaller winery.

The vineyard was sold and Salvestrin lost its lease on it, so the winery transitioned to making a Napa Valley AVA Sauvignon Blanc.

[8] The new AVA can finally help consumers understand what distinguishes Crystal Springs wines from others in Napa Valley, Steven Burgess explains.

Burgess described Crystal Springs wines, mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, as having “extremely dark, complex flavors and rich aromatics.”[9] "The recognition of our sites with a formal AVA would make us proud and satisfied," said Burgess, who authored the petition of the application for Crystal Springs of Napa Valley submitted to the TTB.