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, Sonoma Valley
Trip Ideas
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 Bennett Valley is among Sonoma County's more recently recognized American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), the grapevine got an early start here. In 1862, Santa Rosa winemaker Isaac DeTurk planted...
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...
The Northern Sonoma wine region may seem like a puzzler: Although very few wineries use the appellation on wine labels, it is neither small nor obscure. It is, in fact, the answer to a puzzler. The...
One of Sonoma County's newest and most distinctive American viticultural areas is located in the coastal hills above Fort Ross State Historic Park and overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Fort Ross-Seaview...
Like islands in the clouds - that's how grape growers describe the view from Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak on mornings when much of Sonoma County is swathed in a silvery blanket of clouds. Among...
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...
No wonder the founder of Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards & Winery famously discovered his property while flying a small plane over it, the Chalk Hill area is easy to miss. Starting in Windsor, take a...
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...