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 is still a substantial Wampanoag population on the Vineyard, mainly located in the town of Aquinnah. Aquinnah means "land under the hill" in the Wampanoag language. The island was the last refuge of the Heath Hen, a once common game bird. Despite 19th Century efforts to protect the hen, by 1927, the population of birds had dropped to 13. The last known Heath Hen perished on Martha's Vineyard in 1932. The linguist William Labov wrote his MA essay on changes in the Martha's Vineyard dialect of English. The 1963 study is widely recognized as a seminal work in the foundation