Martha's Vineyard AVA Martha's Vineyard AVA The Martha's Vineyard AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Dukes County, Massachusetts, including all of the land on the islands named Martha's Vineyard and Chappaquiddick Island. These two islands are located off the southern Massachusetts coast, surrounded by Vineyard Sound, Nantucket Sound, and the Atlantic Ocean. The creation of the AVA in 1985 was controversial. Objections were lodged by the proprietors of a vineyard in California also named Martha's Vineyard, who felt that the creation of an AVA with the same name would dilute their brand value. Federal regulators ruled in favor of the AVA,
Martha's Vineyard "land amid the streams". In 1642, the Wampanoag numbered somewhere around 3,000 on the island. By 1764, that number had dropped to 313. A smaller island to the south was named "Martha's Vineyard" by the English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold, who sailed to the island in 1602. The name was later transferred to the main island. It is the eighth-oldest surviving English place-name in the United States. The island's namesake is not definitively known, but it is thought that the island was named after Gosnold's mother-in-law or his daughter, both named Martha. The island was also known as "Martin's Vineyard" (perhaps