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,
The Martha's Vineyard Times at the editorial convictions of the venerable and much admired weekly Vineyard Gazette, which was deeply committed to conservation and preservation of the Vineyard’s bucolic past. The challenges of publishing a comprehensive and responsible community newspaper in a competitive market proved daunting to the founders, and in 1991 they sold "The Martha’s Vineyard Times" to their editor Doug Cabral and his wife Molly. An early challenge was the decision to convert the "Times" from a paid circulation broadsheet, like the "Vineyard Gazette", to a free, mailed, tabloid-size newspaper. The new competition was met with consternation and disdain from the "Gazette"’s