and is responsible for New Jersey's nickname of the "Garden State". The majority of the state's wineries are located in this area. Climate Higher elevations of northwestern New Jersey's Appalachian mountains experience a cooler humid continental climate or microthermal climate (Köppen Dfb) which indicates patterns of significant precipitation in all seasons and at least four months where the average temperature rises above This differs from the majority of the state, which is generally a humid mesothermal climate, in which temperatures range between -3 °C (27 °F) and 18 °C (64 °F) during the year's coldest month. Sections of southern New Jersey around Delaware Bay and along the Jersey shore experience a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. New Jersey lies within USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6a through 7b, generally increasing in grade from north to south. Wine regions Today, 51 wineries are currently in operation in fourteen of the state's 21 counties. Several other wineries are planning to open and are either awaiting the approval of licenses, or in some form of development. Because of favorable sandy soils and warmer climate, a majority of these wineries are located in South Jersey's Outer Coastal Plain AVA, with some wineries also falling within the newly established Cape May Peninsula AVA. A handful of wineries are in northwestern New Jersey's Warren Hills AVA. Part of the Central Delaware Valley AVA is in New Jersey, but no New Jersey wineries are currently in this viticultural area. These four AVAs comprise nearly 4 million of the state's 5.6 million acres—over 70% of its area. Some of New Jersey's wineries operate in areas of the state that are not within a designated AVA. Outer Coastal Plain AVA The Outer Coastal Plain American Viticultural Area was established by federal regulation in 2007. It consists of most of the southern half of New Jersey, spanning across nine counties. This AVA is roughly equivalent to the Outer Coastal Plain physiographic province, including most of the State's Atlantic coastline and the area known as the Pine Barrens. Almost seventy percent (70%) of state grape production is located within this area. According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, 713 acres of the state's 1,043 acres dedicated to grape production (both wineries and commercial vineyards) were located in the counties that comprise the Outer Coastal Plain—Atlantic County (21 farms, 207 acres), Cape