South Coast is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the state of California that encompasses five counties of Southern California: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego.

It was established on November 21, 1985 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted from the South Coast Vintners Association on behalf of grape growers and wineries in the region proposing a viticultural area to be known as "South Coast."

This large appellation includes a number of smaller sub-appellations that all share the common ecology trait of having warm weather moderated by cooling coastal influences from the Pacific Ocean.

The petition explained this as follows: "No doubt portions of Los Angeles County would qualify, with respect to name, as "South Coast."

This distinction was described in the petition as follows: "Applicant believes that 'coast' infers some substantial coastal influence on the grape growing areas involved, resulting in classification of same as Zone I through III of the Davis scale.