Sonoma County, California, stretches from the Pacific Coast in the west to the Mayacamas Mountains in the east. Almost 60,000 acres of vineyards and more than 425 wineries fall within the borders of 18 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), or appellations, each with its own distinctive characteristics. Located on the northern edge of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma County is the largest wine producer in Northern California. Our wines have won countless national and international wine awards – come see why. Learn more about Sonoma County’s wine regions here.
Sonoma County Appellations (AVAs): Alexander Valley, Bennett Valley, Carneros - Sonoma, Chalk Hill, Dry Creek Valley, Fort Ross - Seaview, Fountaingrove District, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, Knights Valley, Moon Mountain, Northern Sonoma, Petaluma Gap, Pine Mountain - Cloverdale Peak, Rockpile, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma Mountain, and Sonoma Valley.
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From Alicante to Zinfandel, with both Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon in between, the Sonoma Valley encompasses perhaps the widest range of wine grapes, the most dramatic contrasts of terrain, and...
With a grape-growing history going back 140 years, the compact Dry Creek Valley American viticultural area (AVA) includes more than 9,000 vineyard acres and over 70 wineries, one deli, and no...
It's fitting that the Russian River Valley appellation lies at the geographical heart of Sonoma County. This is where some of wine country's best known and most beloved varietals really earned their...
Bounded by climate and topography, the Carneros wine-growing region in Northern California is uniquely unbounded by political affiliation - Sonoma County shares Carneros with Napa Valley, and many...
Named after an enterprising pioneer by the name of Cyrus Alexander, the Alexander Valley was considered a better place to grow wheat and raise cattle before it gained fame for its grapes. In the 1880s...
The Sonoma Coast American Viticulture Area (known as an AVA or appellation) may be Sonoma County's most enigmatic wine region. From the wild, wind-swept northern coast to the gently rolling hills of...
Although Sonoma County's Bennett Valley has only been recognized as an American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) since 2003, the grapevine got a much earlier start here. In 1862, Santa Rosa winemaker Isaac...
Newly designated in 2018, the Petaluma Gap is among the growing number of appellations to earn American Viticultural Area (AVA) status based more on climate and topography than 'political boundaries'...
The Fountaingrove District is a sleeper of an appellation within Sonoma County, achieving American Viticultural Area (AVA) status without much fanfare or controversy. Yet it has a long and colorful...
It's tempting to report that Knights Valley is one of the last, remote corners of Sonoma County that's undeveloped, like a picture postcard of the sleepy agricultural valleys of an older California...
Established in 1990, the 329,000-acre Northern Sonoma appellation is Sonoma County's second-largest AVA (after the Sonoma Coast), combining the better part of six other major viticultural areas. Only...
One of Sonoma County's most distinctive American viticultural areas (AVAs) is located in the coastal hills above Fort Ross State Historic Park, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Carved out of the larger...
"Like islands in the clouds," is how grape growers describe the view from Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak in the morning, when much of Sonoma County is swathed in a silvery blanket of fog. Rising to an...
Basking in the sun like a lizard on a rock, Sonoma County's Rockpile AVA is perched high above Dry Creek Valley. A suitably wild and rugged source for some of Sonoma County's brawniest Zinfandel wines...
The founder of Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards & Winery only discovered his property by flying over it in a small plane, but that's not too surprising: from the ground, the Chalk Hill area is easy to miss...
The Green Valley of the Russian River Valley suffers an identity crises in name only. Originally called Green Valley, the appellation shared that name with Solano County's much warmer Green Valley...
Few Sonoma County wine regions are so singularly determined by elevation, exposure, and geographical feature as Sonoma Mountain American Viticulture Area (AVA). When viewed from the west, Sonoma...
Stand in a vineyard in Sonoma County's Moon Mountain District on a clear day, and you might be able to see the skyscrapers of San Francisco gleaming in the distance to the south. The Moon Mountain...
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