The term "SLO" is a historical and commonly used reference for the county and city initials as well as a description of the region's relaxed culture.

[2][6] The California Missions were started by Father Junípero Serra and developed over three decades that included structure construction, crops, livestock, vineyards, and wineries.

[6][8][9] The oldest recorded residence in San Luis Obispo County is the Dana Adobe in Nipomo which was originally built on a Mexican land grant of nearly 38,000 acres (59 sq mi) which was presented in 1837 to William Goodwin Dana who relocated from Boston, Massachusetts and named the land Rancho Nipomo.

His legend is composed of adventure, service to his country, viticulture, and travels abroad from his village in southwestern France to Tahiti, to Hangtown and finally to San Luis Obispo, California.

According to its petition, 97 percent of the proposed AVA is at or below 1,800 feet (550 m) in elevation, which corresponds to the approximate limit of the influence of the maritime climate.

The maritime influence prevents temperatures from rising too high or dropping too low, creating optimal vineyard conditions.

The petition stated that between 2003 and 2015, the proposed AVA experienced nighttime fog cover between 35 and 55 percent of all nights during the growing season.

According to the petition, the climate of the AVA makes it suitable for growing early- to mid-season grape varietals such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which comprise 43 and 35 percent, respectively, of the planted vineyard acreage.

The petition also states that mild average minimum growing season temperatures lead to a shorter period of vine dormancy.

For example, it lies in a sheltered location within the SLO Coast receiving less direct marine influence than more exposed portions of the AVA.

The largest group, found in the north and central parts of the AVA, is derived from the Franciscan Formation and is composed of sandstone, shale, and metamorphosed sedimentary rocks.

These soils also cover a very small percent of the AVA and are generally unsuitable for viticulture due to their excessive drainage and high sodium content.

Being such a large area, vineyard owners see everything from sandy loam to clay rich in volcanic deposits across the 408,000 acres (638 sq mi) of the county.

Very few modern Californian vignerons would consider the Edna Valley or Arroyo Grande of the county as obvious places to plant vineyards.

The viticultural area encompasses the established Edna Valley and Arroyo Grande Valley viticultural areas within its approximately 480,585 acres (750.914 sq mi) and is resident to over 50 wineries and an estimated 78 commercial vineyards cultivating approximately 3,942 acres (1,595 ha) with most of the vineyards located within 6 miles (9.7 km) of the Pacific Ocean defining its grapes and wines.