Sonoma County and North Coast

At the north of the San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma County is one of the most recognizable wine countries in the New World. Yet it is difficult to pin down an identity for Sonoma wine. Is it the lean and pristine Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of the Sonoma Coast, grown within a stone’s throw of the Pacific Ocean? Or is it their satisfying and singular counterparts found in the Russian River Valley? Or perhaps Sonoma should be best known for its treasured centenarian Zinfandel vineyards, found in patches across the county, or for its structured, savory Cabernet Sauvignon and velvety Merlot. 

Of course, Sonoma is all of this and more, and its diversity continues growing as young producers experiment with new varieties and expand the region’s stylistic spectrum. Still, Sonoma can be confusing. The county’s 18 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) intersect to create a labyrinthine system that is rarely intuitive. Sonoma’s top grape varieties yield wildly divergent results in the hands of winemakers across its 1,800-square-mile expanse. In many regards, Sonoma fits inside one county the entire breadth of the California wine industry. 

This guide will explore Sonoma County as well as the other wine-focused counties of the North Coast: Mendocino County, Lake County, and Solano County. (Napa County is addressed in a separate expert guide.) Despite their proximity, these counties likewise vary in climate and terroir, and their exciting potential is only just being realized.

History of Sonoma

Early History to Statehood

It is believed that Sonoma County has been inhabited for at least 10,000 years. Three primary Native American tribes were present in the area prior to European arrival: the Coast Miwok, the Wappo, and the Kashaya Pomo. The Miwok settled near Bodega Bay, and their first documented encounter with Europeans comes from 1579, noted by Chaplain Fletcher, who was aboard a ship of Sir Francis Drake. The Pomo were just north, near what became Fort Ross, while the Wappo lived to the interior, also occupying the Napa Valley. Before European settlement, an estimated 5,000 Native Americans populated Sonoma. When the Europeans arrived, Mexican land grant holders forced many Native Americans into work as laborers. While Native American populations are still found in Sonoma, their numbers have steeply declined. 

The Russians beat the Spanish and Mexicans to Sonoma County, landing at Bodega Bay and constructing Fort Ross in 1812. This became the southernmost outpost of the Russian-American Fur Company, an operation that descended the West Coast from its headquarters in Alaska and exploited Native Alaskans and the Indigenous peoples of Sonoma as sources of labor. Beyond fur trapping, the Russians are also credited with planting the first grapevines in Sonoma County. Their initial efforts at Fort Ross, unsurprisingly, failed—and it would be another century and a half before coastal viticulture took hold in Sonoma. The Russians found greater success farther inland, and in 1836, Igor Chernykh planted the first vineyard in what is today the Russian River Valley. The Russians’ stay in Sonoma, however, was short lived; they sold Fort Ross in 1841 and retreated to Alaska.

In 1823, Father José Altimíra and his Franciscan brothers established the Mission San Francisco de Solano at the center of what would become downtown Sonoma. San Francisco Solano was the last of the 21 missions built along the California coast, an endeavor that began in San Diego in 1769. It was also the only mission built after Mexico gained independence from Spain. Viticulture was important to the Franciscans—who, farther south, introduced vinifera to California. They primarily cultivated Mission, also known as Criolla Chica or País in South America, and as Listán Prieto on the Canary Islands, which they vinified into a sweet fortified wine called Angelica. A vineyard was planted at San Francisco Solano, though winegrowing is less documented there than at the other missions.

In 1835, at the order of Governor José Figueroa, General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, who would later become a prolific grapegrower, arrived in Sonoma to secularize the San Francisco Solano mission and organize a town in its immediate surroundings. Several of Sonoma’s early winegrowing efforts were tied to land grants deeded to American pioneers by the Mexican government. One such example was Rancho Sotoyome, awarded to Cyrus Alexander—the first to plant grapes in his namesake Alexander Valley. Mexican governance of California, however, was brief. Despite being outnumbered roughly 20 to 1, the American settlers (there were only around 500 in California) organized in the late spring of 1846 to gain control of the territory. On June 14, a small group, led by William B. Ide, arrested Vallejo at his Sonoma home and declared the independent Bear Flag Republic, using as its symbol a white flag decorated with a star and a grizzly bear—not unlike California’s state flag today. American military forces, under Commodore John D. Sloat, seized control of the situation by July 9, claiming California for the United States. In 1850, California was the 31^st state admitted to the Union.

Buena Vista to Prohibition

The 1849 gold rush moved a large American population west, with an estimated over 300,000 hopefuls traveling to the Sierras with the dream of getting rich quick in California. Several immigrant communities—French, English, Scottish, German, and Danish—reached the West Coast, and after trying their hands at panning for gold, many came to Sonoma, in some cases bringing their wine traditions from the Old World. Among them was the Hungarian-born serial entrepreneur Agoston Haraszthy. In 1849, he traveled with his family from Wisconsin to California. Instead of searching for gold, however, he looked south to San Diego, where he became the first county sheriff and built the area’s first prison. He also planted grapevines, a lifelong interest he had pursued in the Midwest.

In 1855, Haraszthy first laid eyes on the Buena Vista property in the Sonoma Valley, just east of the town of Sonoma. He bought 560 acres in 1857, and in the following year, he acquired an additional 4,000 neighboring acres. Only 12 acres of vineyard were planted at what may have already been known as Buena Vista at the time of Haraszthy’s purchase. While the state wine industry was still largely concentrated to the south, Haraszthy’s plantings made Buena Vista the second largest vineyard in California by the end of 1858. Further, California in this era was still planted mostly to Mission, a high-cropping grape with little character when made into a dry wine. To improve quality, Haraszthy brought back 100,000 vine cuttings from a trip to Europe in 1862. Among them were hundreds of grape varieties believed to be new to California—including Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. While most of his trial plantings failed, Haraszthy’s early efforts were unmatched in diversifying the California wine industry. Haraszthy disappeared mysteriously in 1869, and legend suggests he was eaten by alligators, as he was last known to have visited an alligator-infested river. Buena Vista remains California’s oldest winery in operation, today owned by Jean-Charles Boisset.

Buena Vista spurred exponential growth in the Sonoma wine industry and was quickly joined in 1858 by the nearby Gundlach Bundschu, which remains in family hands. In 1862, Isaac DeTurk established his Belle Mount winery in the Bennett Valley, and in 1869, Georges Bloch brought Zinfandel home to the Dry Creek Valley. While poorly documented, Chinese labor was essential to California vineyards and cellars at the time, until the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 halted Chinese immigration to the United States. Haraszthy hired Chinese workers at Buena Vista, despite racist criticisms he faced at the time for providing them with employment.

Later immigrant waves in the 1880s brought large Italian populations, whose culture deeply impacted the blossoming Sonoma wine industry. Several Italian families, arriving during the second half of the 19^th century, remain important to Sonoma wine, including the Martinelli, Rafanelli, Pedroncelli, and Foppiano families. The Italian Swiss Colony, founded in 1881 at Sonoma’s far north in the Piedmont-inspired town of Asti, would later become the world’s largest winery. By 1910, it grew to an annual capacity of more than 14 million gallons, with more than three million dollars of stock.

Phylloxera was first identified in California in 1873 at Buena Vista, igniting a widespread viticultural crisis that required most of the state to be replanted on the resistant Saint George rootstock. By 1880, over 600 Sonoma vineyard acres had succumbed to phylloxera. New vineyards were planted, many of them to Zinfandel and heritage field blends, and several of these remain in production today.

More detrimental to the Sonoma wine industry was Prohibition. A decades-long temperance movement in the United States led to the ratification of the 18^th Amendment in 1919, which would take effect the following year, banning the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors.” Surprisingly, Prohibition had some benefits for wine. A loophole in the Volstead Act, the law enforcing Prohibition, allowed each household to ferment 200 gallons of wine at home each year. California vineyard acreage nearly doubled between 1920 and 1927, from 300,000 to 577,000 acres. The price of California wine grapes also rose—from between $9.50 to $30 per ton in the 1910s to as high as $375 by 1924. Still, Prohibition brought unprecedented challenges to Sonoma’s wine economy. Some wineries endured by transitioning to cooking or sacramental wines (both also legal exceptions), while others relied on grape sales for home fermentation across the country. Others still ripped out their vines in favor of crops such as apples and prunes, or for grazing pastures for livestock. At the onset of Prohibition, there were 256 wineries in Sonoma County; upon its repeal in 1933, fewer than 50 remained.

Repeal to the Present

The passage of the 21^st Amendment brought an end to Prohibition in 1933. World War II blockaded the easy importation of European wines, providing relief to the struggling American wine industry. Winegrowing in Sonoma, however, was slow to recover. Among the varieties to break through early in the post-Prohibition era were Pinot Noir and Chardonnay—today the county’s two most planted grapes. At Hanzell on Moon Mountain, Ambassador James Zellerbach developed his Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines in the early 1950s. Hanzell’s Ambassador’s Block, dating to 1953, remains the oldest continually producing vineyard in North America for both varieties. Pinot Noir spread north to the Russian River Valley in the 1960s and ’70s through the work of such figures as Joseph Swan and Joe Rochioli Jr.

In 1976, the British wine merchant Steven Spurrier organized the Judgment of Paris, held in France, pitting the best California Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay wines against classics from Bordeaux and Burgundy. The event effectively put California (and the New World) on the global wine map when Napa’s Stag’s Leap Cellars and Chateau Montelena trounced the French in the red and white competitions. While described more often as a triumph for the Napa Valley, Montelena’s winning 1973 Chardonnay was, in fact, composed of nearly three-quarters Sonoma fruit. 

Around this time, winegrowers returned to the western reaches of the Sonoma Coast, an area believed impossible for viticulture since the 19^th-century failures there. Instead, however, the far Sonoma Coast became, and for many continues to be, the county’s next great frontier, especially in its suitability to Burgundian varieties. Michael Bohan was first, in 1972 near Fort Ross, but his initial efforts went toward Zinfandel before he followed up with cooler-climate grapes. Daniel Schoenfeld established Wild Hog Vineyard in 1977, and in 1980, David Hirsch planted his family estate, also in what is today Fort Ross–Seaview AVA. Though David would eventually create his own label, the Hirsch Vineyard achieved early acclaim through venerated buyers—including Littorai, Williams Selyem, and Kistler—that bottled vineyard-designate wines from the site.

The northeastern corridor of Sonoma also witnessed increased activity in these years. In 1972, David Stare founded Dry Creek Vineyard, championing Sauvignon Blanc in the region. Next door in the Alexander Valley, Robert Young, Rodney Strong, and Tom Jordan advocated for premium Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1960s and ’70s. Beringer, and later Peter Michael, felt similarly about Cabernet’s potential in Knights Valley. In 1981, Sonoma’s first AVA was awarded to Sonoma Valley, with several others following in 1983.

The turn of the millennium marked a stylistic shift in California wine. The critic Robert Parker rose to prominence in the 1980s through his publication The Wine Advocate, where he popularized the 100-point evaluation system and amassed a global consumer following. Many producers chased a style they believed appealed to Parker’s palate—ripe, extracted, and “hedonistic”—to achieve high scores. The so-called Parkerization phenomenon is most associated with Bordeaux varieties, but it impacted wines made from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and effectively every other grape. Helen Turley’s Marcassin brand and its rich Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines, for example, achieved a cult status not dissimilar to that of many Cabernet projects in the Napa Valley.

For white wine, Kendall-Jackson (along with Rombauer in Napa) reimagined Chardonnay from California. Instead of leaning into the Burgundian ethos fostered by Hanzell and Joseph Swan, Jackson Family created a wholly new style for the variety. Its Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve, first released in 1983 with the 1982 vintage, was bottled off-dry and finished with unfermented Gewürztraminer must. The Gewürztraminer’s aromatic lift complemented the buttery decadence of the wine. Its massive success redefined the global perception of California Chardonnay, and Jackson Family quickly became one of the most important forces in Sonoma wine. Some California Chardonnay producers still lament the difficulty of shaking that stereotype when trying to convert members of the Anything But Chardonnay (or ABC) crowd, which rejected the Kendall-Jackson style and erroneously came to equate all Chardonnay, especially California Chardonnay, with this profile. 

In 2011, Jasmine Hirsch, who in 2019 became the winemaker at her family’s namesake estate in Fort Ross–Seaview, and Rajat Parr, a sommelier and Santa Barbara winemaker, launched the influential organization In Pursuit of Balance (IPOB). Widely perceived as a reaction to the decadent winemaking of the Parker era, the project began with a focus on Pinot Noir and later grew to include Chardonnay. With an eye toward Burgundy, IPOB aimed to foster a dialogue around ripeness and what some saw as heavy-handed winemaking in California viniculture. The membership group included some of Sonoma’s most heralded brands, such as Hanzell, Littorai, Failla, Cobb, Ceritas, Red Car, and, of course, Hirsch. Its assertions drew controversy, with detractors criticizing the organization for oversimplifying the concept of balance and suggesting that the wines of some of IPOB’s members weren’t restrained or balanced either—that they were instead underripe. Others perceived the organization as snobbish for discrediting styles of wine that are widely beloved by consumers.

IPOB dissolved in 2016, but the organization’s legacy can still be felt. Even beyond the group’s members, a new generation of exciting projects has expanded the conversation of “balance” far beyond Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, championing Sonoma’s old vines and heritage winemaking styles and also turning to more esoteric grapes. Like all parts of the wine world, Sonoma also has producers who identify as natural winemakers, favoring low intervention and immediate drinkability. Sonoma’s old guard, too, remains strong. Recently, several of the county’s most decorated wineries have changed hands through high-profile acquisitions, including Merry Edwards to Maisons Marques & Domaines, Williams Selyem to Burgundy’s Domaine Faiveley, and Kosta Browne to Duckhorn.

Today, Sonoma faces new and unprecedented challenges. The 2012 vintage commenced a succession of drought years that forced winegrowers to rethink many irrigation practices. Since 2017, wildfires have been an annual reality for California wine country. The 2017 fires were particularly destructive for Sonoma, ravaging the city of Santa Rosa and displacing many in the wine community whose homes were lost. In 2020, fires came alarmingly early. The LNU Lightning Complex decimated much of the Sonoma crop, beginning in August and affecting grapes with smoke taint weeks before harvest. How Sonoma winegrowers choose to address viticulture in a changing climate will greatly define this next chapter in the region’s wine history.

Sonoma Wine in Context

At about 1,800 square miles, Sonoma is one of the most important wine-producing counties in California, itself the leading producer of wine in the United States with more than 80% of wine by volume. Sonoma has nearly 59,000 acres of vineyards, or 6% of the county. Roughly 12.5% of California’s total 469,000 acres are dedicated to wine grapes. Still, only around 6% of California wine comes from Sonoma County, likely a result of lower yields when compared with volume-focused regions in the Central Valley. While several major players are important to the Sonoma wine industry, of Sonoma’s 1,800 grapegrowers, 80% own fewer than 100 acres of vineyards, and of 500 wineries, 70% produce fewer than 60 cases. Wine grapes are, by far, Sonoma’s most lucrative agricultural product, with the 2019 grape harvest valued at over $650 million. Wine tourism, too, is an important economic driver for the county, contributing $1.2 billion annually.

Land & Climate

One of nine counties that compose the San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma County is in Northern California. Its southern edge is a short 30-minute drive from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. To the north, Sonoma is bordered by Mendocino County; to the east, Lake and Napa Counties; and to the south, Marin County and the San Pablo Bay. To the west, Sonoma meets the Pacific Ocean, which offers a maritime influence that significantly affects viticulture. Approximately half a million residents populate Sonoma County, which includes Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Windsor, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Sebastopol, and the city of Sonoma, among others.

The San Andreas Fault and its subsystems run north to south through Sonoma County. Accordingly, earthquakes regularly rattle the area, and the faults’ presence has defined the geological history of Sonoma over the past several million years. While at one period most of Sonoma lay underwater, the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the North American Plate created a ripple of mountain ranges and the valleys between them. The farthest east is the Mayacamas range, which divides Sonoma and Napa Counties. Its highest mountain, Mount Saint Helena, is shared with Napa and Lake Counties. Despite common misconceptions, Mount Saint Helena is not a volcano, and the volcanic material found in Sonoma County likely derives from eruptions farther north, in Lake County. A series of additional ridgelines, all part of the Coast Ranges, continue toward the ocean.

Winegrowers in Sonoma are quick to note that their county has more soil types than the whole of France. Sonoma soils generally reflect some combination of marine history—a result of the land’s long submersion beneath the Pacific—and volcanic matter, coming from tectonic activity and eruptions. Overall, the land is more granitic to the west of the San Andreas Fault and more diverse to the east. Select soil series are frequently discussed in Sonoma County. The Franciscan Complex blends the sandy ocean floor deposits with a variety of rock types, mixed at the subduction zone, while the Sonoma Volcanics include the ash deposits from farther north and cooled lava, eroded over the years. The Wilson Grove Formation features purer uplifted marine sandstone. The fine-grained Goldridge soil is found along the Wilson Grove Formation and is particularly prized among producers of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The reddish Altamont soil is also part of Wilson Grove and has greater clay content. 

Because of the county’s size, generalizing about climate in Sonoma is difficult. According to the Winkler Index, portions of the West Sonoma Coast fall under Zone I, while northern inland regions such as the Alexander Valley qualify as Zone III. Most simply put, the county grows warmer as one approaches its northeastern corner and cooler toward the ocean and the Marin border. While the Pacific coastline stretches 60 miles to Sonoma’s west, the maritime influence can be felt much farther inland. A break in the mountain ranges and a small shoreline Sonoma shares with the San Pablo Bay—a shallow estuary branched off from the San Francisco Bay—allow for the meteorological phenomenon known as the Petaluma Gap (also the name of an AVA). Hot air from California’s Central Valley suctions in cold Pacific winds. These currents accelerate and funnel toward the San Pablo Bay, creating cool, windswept, and marginal conditions for vineyard land in their path. Coastal fogs also moderate temperatures throughout Sonoma County. Many appellations are affected by an inversion layer, in which cold air settles toward the ground, which is opposite typical conditions, where temperatures decrease with elevation.

Sonoma Wine Law

Like the rest of the United States, Sonoma County follows the American Viticultural Area (AVA) scheme administered by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). These appellations are merely bounded areas and do not specify any viticultural requirements. Sonoma’s first AVA, Sonoma Valley, was awarded in 1981, and most of the county’s appellations were codified by the end of the 1980s. Today, Sonoma has 19 AVAs (a handful shared with neighboring counties), the most recent being the West Sonoma Coast AVA, established in 2022. Sonoma County falls under the large umbrella of North Coast AVA, which also encompasses Napa, Solano, Mendocino, Lake, and Marin Counties. Wines blended across these county lines might choose to use this AVA, often considered more premium than a wine simply labeled as California.

Sonoma is one of the most complex appellation systems in the United States, with a mosaic of nested appellations and overlapping boundaries. A wine from Green Valley, for example, could be labeled under four different Sonoma AVAs: Green Valley, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, or Northern Sonoma (or North Coast). The TTB generally demands that proposed AVAs do not overlap with existing AVAs. Yet some critics have questioned the efficacy of the AVA system more broadly when so many AVAs, often determined by arbitrary political boundaries rather than natural ones, can exist in a relatively confined area—including some that have garnered little consumer recognition. Many wineries choose not to label their wines with newer AVAs, instead opting for larger but better-established regions.

Since January 1, 2011, a local law has required all Sonoma wines to adhere to conjunctive labeling, where each bottle must list Sonoma County in addition to any more specific AVA. The Napa Valley has required similar conjunctive labeling practices since 1989. This legislation aimed to both strengthen the brand of Sonoma County by mandating its most illustrious bottles clearly state Sonoma on their labels and bolster recognition of lesser-known AVAs by tying them to the county. It seems these intentions have already been realized. A pair of studies conducted by Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute, one from 2008 before the introduction of conjunctive labeling, and the other from 2016, showed increased brand awareness for Sonoma County at large and its AVAs. Certain smaller AVAs, such as Green Valley, nearly doubled their brand awareness.

The Grapes of Sonoma

Across its varied climates and soils, Sonoma's winegrowers work with more than 60 grape varieties, a number that continues to grow as vintners and consumers consider less traditional cultivars. Even so, more than 92% of Sonoma’s acreage is dedicated to just seven grapes. 

White Grapes

Chardonnay: Chardonnay leads Sonoma’s plantings, with nearly 16,000 acres and more than 25% of the county vineyard. Yet Chardonnay had a slow start in Sonoma County. Although Eugene Hilgard, a professor at the University of California–Berkeley, references Chardonnay in his reports from the 1880s, and the variety grew at that time at John H. Drummond’s Kenwood Vineyard, Sonoma did not focus on premium Chardonnay until James Zellerbach planted it at Hanzell on Moon Mountain in the 1950s. Chardonnay from northern Sonoma also found acclaim, particularly fruit grown by Robert Young, who sold his Alexander Valley grapes to Richard Arrowood and Chateau St. Jean.

Chateau Montelena’s win at the 1976 Judgment of Paris roused more excitement for California and Sonoma Chardonnay. In the following decade, Kendall-Jackson and its Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay introduced a wholly different expression. The style wars continue in Sonoma, and this, along with Chardonnay’s ubiquity across the county, has resulted in a tremendous diversity of styles. While leaner examples tend to be sourced from closer to the Pacific on the Sonoma Coast, both richness and restraint can be found in effectively every appellation. More important is the aesthetic camp of any given producer. What is globally, though too simplistically, called the California style of Chardonnay alludes to a more opulent approach. These wines are picked quite ripe and will almost universally undergo full malolactic fermentation. Top wines are fermented and aged in barrel, some new, with extended lees contact and frequent bâtonnage to emphasize texture and breadth.

The alternative approach is to harvest early, leading to more acid-driven wines. Malolactic fermentation may still be performed, and while the wines might also see oak, typically less is new. In addition to table wines, Chardonnay is critical to Sonoma’s sparkling wine brands, which are found mostly in cooler areas such as Carneros and Green Valley. There, Chardonnay is bottled on its own for Blanc de Blancs or blended with the other classic Champagne varieties, Pinot Noir and Meunier.

Sauvignon Blanc: The only other white grape variety to exceed 1,000 acres in Sonoma is Sauvignon Blanc, which is planted across more than 2,500 acres. Sauvignon Blanc’s commercial history in California dates to the late 19^th century. While Agoston Haraszthy tried but failed to cultivate Sauvignon Blanc at Buena Vista, Charles Wetmore found success in Livermore using cuttings from Château d’Yquem in 1882.

Sauvignon Blanc is often planted near its progeny, Cabernet Sauvignon, in the warmer corners of Sonoma. It is also found in the more fertile soils nearer to the river in Dry Creek Valley, where David Stare of Dry Creek Vineyard first harvested it in the 1970s. But fresh and exciting examples hail from the county’s cooler areas, too, with several quality Sauvignon Blancs bottled in the Russian River Valley. 

Prone to high vigor, Sauvignon Blanc exhibits more of its grassy, green pyrazinic flavors and aromas when it is cropped high. This profile is common in Sonoma, though more ambitious, riper, Bordelais-inspired styles are increasingly produced. These riper styles will often undergo barrel fermentation or aging, or perhaps some portion in a concrete egg, as well as extended lees contact to impart greater texture. These wines are harvested riper, in many cases making use of the more aromatic Sauvignon Musqué clones. They may also include a portion of Sémillon, though this practice is less common in Sonoma than in other areas, as fewer than 100 Sémillon acres are planted in the county. Certain older Sonoma brands might include the name Fumé Blanc on their Sauvignon Blanc labels. Wines labeled Fumé Blanc—a term coined by Robert Mondavi in 1968, drawing from the Loire appellation Pouilly-Fumé—have less in common stylistically than they once did, and instead the name is more of a vestige of half-century-old marketing.

Red Grapes

Pinot Noir: Pinot Noir has only recently surpassed Cabernet Sauvignon as Sonoma’s most planted red variety, with just over 13,000 acres. It likely first arrived in California following Agoston Haraszthy’s 1862 European trip and was documented at Fountain Grove Winery in the late 19^th century. Quality Pinot Noir production, however, was an innovation of the mid-20^th century, with Hanzell Vineyards leading the charge in the 1950s. Joseph Swan and Joe Rochioli Jr., farther north in the Russian River Valley, followed. The 2004 film Sideways brought unforeseen attention to California Pinot Noir, as well as increased plantings. Since that time, Sonoma has experienced an extraordinary swell of interest in its Pinot Noir wines, leading to a rise in quality and a host of new projects.

The breadth of Pinot Noir styles in Sonoma is about as wide as the global spectrum for the variety. On one side are the finely chiseled Pinot Noirs from Sonoma’s coldest sites—namely the West Sonoma Coast but also portions of the Petaluma Gap, select areas of the Russian River Valley such as Green Valley, and even fog-soaked sectors of the Sonoma Valley. These crunchy, fresh, berry-flavored wines value site specificity, high acidity, and low alcohol (in extreme examples close to 12%), a style favored by the IPOB crowd and many young projects today. On the other end of the spectrum are the opulent and expensively oaked Sonoma Pinot Noirs that can exceed 14% or 15% alcohol by volume. These will come from warmer portions of the Russian River Valley, the Sonoma Valley, and Carneros—but even some producers in the outreaches of the Sonoma Coast are able to manage this style. Those with a more Burgundy-centric palate might scoff at many of these bottles, yet they can deliver a gratifying hedonism rarely observed elsewhere for Pinot Noir and their own complexity of spice and root flavors.

Beyond ripeness, there are a number of vinification practices that differentiate Sonoma Pinot Noir wines. Some producers will completely destem their fruit, while others will use varying percentages of whole clusters, often accompanied by some degree of carbonic maceration. Fermentation in short open-top fermenters is common, but the amount of new oak used on Sonoma Pinot Noir ranges from none to 100%. Pinot Noir is a common choice for Sonoma rosé wines. The best examples are macerated for just a few hours, resulting in a pale pink wine. Pinot Noir is also an important ingredient in Sonoma’s traditional method sparkling wines. It is blended with Chardonnay for both white and rosé sparkling wines; on its own or paired with Meunier, Pinot Noir can be made into a Blanc de Noirs.

Cabernet Sauvignon: Cabernet Sauvignon narrowly trails Pinot Noir as Sonoma’s second most planted red, with slightly under 13,000 acres planted. Cabernet Sauvignon is recorded in Sonoma since the 1850s, and the oldest still-producing Cabernet vines in California are believed to grow at Monte Rosso, planted by Louis M. Martini in 1940. Quality Cabernet Sauvignon continued to gain traction in Sonoma County in the 1970s, through efforts in the Alexander Valley driven by Robert Young, Rodney Strong, Tom Jordan, and André Tchelistcheff. 

While inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa is a rarity, examples from Sonoma can be readily found. They are often made from vigorous clones in high-yielding, fertile sites, such as the fluvial soils closest to the Russian River as it flows through the Alexander Valley. At its height, though, Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon can challenge examples from across the county line, and arguably with greater range. Knights Valley, Alexander Valley (particularly its hillsides), Sonoma Mountain, and Moon Mountain all include premium Cabernet country, and other less likely areas have also experimented with the grape. In the Russian River Valley, for example, Dehlinger bottles a delicious and savory—if idiosyncratic—cool-climate Cabernet Sauvignon, and Hanzell, best known for its Burgundian varieties, has resuscitated its Cabernet program in recent years. 

As with everywhere it is grown, Cabernet Sauvignon in Sonoma is made as both a monovarietal wine and a Bordeaux-style blend. For blends, it is combined with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and/or Petit Verdot. Cabernet Sauvignon is admired for its stoic tannins and brooding dark-fruit flavors. Rich in methoxypyrazines, it can show herbaceous green notes (tobacco leaf, bell pepper), especially when less ripe. These flavors are often more exaggerated in Sonoma than they are in the Napa Valley. Quality Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon is almost always aged in oak barriques, often entirely new. 

Zinfandel: The origins of Zinfandel, nicknamed America’s Grape, were debated long before Carole Meredith, a professor and geneticist at UC–Davis, identified in 2001 that it was the same as Crljenak Kaštelanski, or Tribidrag, an obscure Croatian variety. It is also identical to Primitivo, a grape found mostly in Puglia. Several Sonoma wineries bottle both a Zinfandel and a Primitivo, the latter coming from Italian budwood. Still, how Zinfandel reached the United States remains uncertain. It is documented at the Long Island nursery of George Gibbs in the 1820s and potentially came to California through the Schönbrunn imperial collection, which included cuttings of all varieties known in Austria at that time. With nearly 5,000 acres, Zinfandel is Sonoma’s third most planted red grape today.

Zinfandel experiences differential fruit ripening, meaning that at harvest, it is common for some berries in a single cluster to be overripe and raisinated while others are green. This condition can be partially mitigated with crop thinning, particularly of a cluster’s wings or shoulders, which can grow nearly as long as the primary cluster (removing these reduces the risk of rot as well by allowing for more airflow). Winegrowers might also choose to harvest Zinfandel at extremely high Brix—resulting in wines that exceed 16% or even 17% alcohol by volume—to ripen out the green berries. The best Zinfandel producers, however, are more likely to accept this as a varietal quirk, resulting in a sweet-and-sour aspect in the wine.

With the exception of the far Sonoma Coast, where conditions are marginal and vineyards are younger, Zinfandel can be found in most areas of Sonoma. It is the signature variety of the Dry Creek Valley, which specializes in rich expressions of warm-climate Zinfandel. The grape is also important to the Sonoma Valley, where a number of heritage vineyards are majority planted to Zinfandel. In between, some of California’s most elegant Zinfandels hail from the Russian River Valley, where several old Zinfandel vineyards thrive. Although much of Sonoma’s Zinfandel comes from older sites, producers continue to plant or replant Zinfandel, sometimes head trained, as is typical of the historic vineyards, and sometimes on trellis wires.

Zinfandel offers distinctive wines with a rusticity that at times can be reminiscent of the Old World. Although the fruit is often described as brambly, quality Zinfandel is always balanced by a more savory, herbal character similar to the garrigue of the Southern Rhône. On its own, Zinfandel is pale red in color and softly tannic, with moderate acidity. However, as old Zinfandel vineyards are often interplanted with other heritage grapes, such as Alicante Bouschet and Petite Sirah, the resulting wines from these sites might notch higher for each of these metrics. In any case, Zinfandel tends to be a higher-alcohol wine, rarely lower than 14% ABV. 

Several examples of Sonoma Zinfandel have proven ageworthy, with examples from the 1980s and earlier still tasting well today. While Zinfandel generally commands moderate prices, the market remains flooded with many overblown cheap examples. Beyond dry wines (and White Zinfandel), some producers will fashion Zinfandel into a dessert wine, either late harvest, fortified, or both. Zinfandel is well adapted to this style, and sweet winemaking is a wise option for sites or vintages where differential ripening presents a particular challenge.

Merlot: Sonoma’s fourth most planted red variety, with more than 4,300 acres, Merlot is an important contributor to the county’s Bordeaux-style wines. It is often blended into wines based primarily on Cabernet Sauvignon, but Merlot is also bottled alone or as the dominant grape in Right Bank–inspired wines. Merlot can be found almost anywhere in Sonoma that cultivates Cabernet Sauvignon, and many producers will grow these grapes in neighboring plots. However, as Merlot ripens earlier, it is also grown in cooler pockets potentially less suited to Cabernet. Bennett Valley and portions of Knights Valley, for example, harvest premium Merlot. In warmer areas, Merlot can achieve extreme ripeness, yielding plush, full-bodied wines.

Like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot typically goes through some barrel maturation, though entry-level wines might forgo an oak program. Merlot shares many organoleptic qualities with Cabernet Sauvignon, and the two can be difficult to distinguish. While Merlot will exhibit dark-fruited, cassis, and plum flavors, its tannins are generally less firm than Cabernet’s, often described as velvety. Accordingly, the wines are often more accessible at a younger age, though top examples of Merlot also demonstrate exceptional aging capacity.

Syrah: Syrah comes in a distant fifth among Sonoma’s red grapes, approaching 1,400 acres as of 2019, yet it is the most important Rhône grape for Sonoma County. Virtually every Sonoma producer of Rhône-style wine makes a Syrah. The grape’s importance to California viticulture grew in the final decades of the 20^th century with the establishment of the Rhône Rangers, a group that sought to discover California’s next great grapes after Cabernet Sauvignon. While much of the conversation was focused on the Central Coast, the movement also impacted Sonoma. Its success was middling, however. Although many excellent wines come from these efforts, producers continue to lament the difficulty of selling California Syrah, often calling it a “winemaker’s grape.” 

Varied vinification practices are used with Syrah, including whole cluster fermentation, carbonic maceration, and a range of maturation vessels at every level of ripeness. The writer Dominic Fenton made note of this in a 2014 article for The World of Fine Wine, arguing that many California Syrah wines reflect stylistic extremes. On one end of the spectrum are wines harvested from hot sites at excessive Brix and bathed in new oak, while on the other are wines treated like Pinot Noir to the point of tasting anemic, with alcohol levels as low as 12%. Still, great wines can be found nearing these extremes and in between. Fenton cites Sonoma’s Donelan Family Wines—initially a collaboration between Joe Donelan and Pax Mahle—as a definitive achievement for site-specific Syrah in California. In his subsequent, namesake project, Pax Mahle received a surprising 100-point score from Antonio Galloni for his midrange and lightly handled Sonoma-Hillsides Syrah, further garnering attention for the potential of Syrah in the county.

Other Grapes

Around 50 other varieties collectively account for less than 8% of Sonoma’s vineyard. Important grapes include blending partners for major Sonoma styles: Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec to support Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot; Sémillon to complement Sauvignon Blanc; and white and Rhône varieties including Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Noir, and Mourvèdre. Aromatic whites, such as Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Gewürztraminer, and Riesling, are made into both sweet and dry styles of wine.

Several heritage varieties are important to Sonoma’s oldest vineyards, often interplanted with Zinfandel and made into field blends. Among these are Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, Carignan, the teinturier Alicante Bouschet, and Petite Sirah (Durif), an inky California specialty. Nearly 300 acres of Sangiovese are planted, a reflection of Sonoma’s rich Italian heritage and some a vestige of the Cal-Ital movement of the late 20^th century. The county continues to diversify today as winegrowers experiment with less-traditional California grapes, especially as many consider which grapes will best suit a future Sonoma as the climate changes. Albariño, Mencía, Trousseau Gris, and Sagrantino are a few of the many other grapes encountered in Sonoma in small quantities.

South Sonoma

Sonoma Valley

The Sonoma Valley is one of the county’s most historic winegrowing areas and its first AVA. It is home to the town of Sonoma; a Franciscan mission; the oldest operating winery in California, Buena Vista; and several old vine vineyards. The American writer Jack London called Sonoma Valley the Valley of the Moon in his novel of the same name, which he set near his ranch home in Glen Ellen. Others cite Indigenous languages for the origins of the name Sonoma, which may have evolved from a term for “many moons.” Regardless, many still refer to this sector of Sonoma by that name, and the jagged rocks across its expanse can, in fact, resemble an extraterrestrial moonscape.

Occupying the southeastern corner of the county, the Sonoma Valley is formed by the Mayacamas to the east and the next ridgeline over of the Coast Ranges. The appellation falls in the pathway of the Petaluma Gap, which brings fog and a maritime influence to the valley floor, as well as wide diurnal swings. Days, however, tend to be hot. Soils here are diverse, though alluvial wash from the Mayacamas and reddish volcanic material fan across parts of the benchland.

Several grapes perform well in this central corridor on the floor of the Sonoma Valley, especially Rhône and Bordeaux varieties. The great treasure of this portion of the AVA, however, is old vine Zinfandel, along with the heritage cultivars interplanted with it. Joel Peterson honored these sites through several vineyard-designate wines he crafted at Ravenswood, and today, his son Morgan Twain-Peterson does the same at Bedrock Wine Co. 

The hillsides of the Sonoma Valley AVA are carved into several additional appellations. Along the western slopes, the Sonoma Mountain AVA, established in 1985, ascends to 2,400 feet. Its east-facing aspect captures early to midday light, and its grapes experience longer ripening periods at lower Brix than those of many other mountain AVAs. With predominately volcanic soils, Sonoma Mountain excels with the Bordeaux varieties, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. A small number of producers bottle Sonoma Mountain AVA wines, among them Benziger and Laurel Glen.

Directly north, the Bennett Valley AVA is situated between the summits of Sonoma Mountain, Taylor Mountain, and Bennett Peak. Only 650 acres are planted in this small and young AVA, approved in 2003. Matanzas Creek is the best-known producer in the appellation, and its founding in 1977 marked the beginning of the AVA’s modern commercial history. Grapes, however, were first planted here a century earlier by Isaac DeTurk for his winery Belle Mount. Bennett Valley’s early industry was obliterated by phylloxera, and later Prohibition.

Bennett Valley is lifted above the central Sonoma Valley floor, with plantings between 400 and 1,100 feet. The elevation, along with exposure to the Petaluma Gap through Crane Canyon, results in a climate that is cooler than that of many other areas of the Sonoma Valley. Soils are volcanic—eroded lava and tuff—though greater alluvial content is encountered at lower sites. Although Pinot Noir and Rhône varieties are planted, Bennett Valley is most associated with Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Merlot—largely because of Matanzas Creek’s work with these grapes. Merlot, in particular, can achieve finesse and complexity in the AVA, and Bennett Valley Merlot is an important component in Vérité’s iconic La Muse.

Opposite the valley, the Moon Mountain District AVA (formed in 2013) extends across the Mayacamas range. It essentially forms the western face of Napa’s Mount Veeder AVA, with the ridgetop following the county line. Yet the topography is sparser on this side of the mountain, and without protection from the Petaluma Gap, its climate is cooler. Soils vary across Moon Mountain, reflecting both their maritime origins and ashy volcanic contributions, and the appellation’s name is explained by lunar-like stone outcroppings on the hillside vineyards. The AVA extends from 400 up to about 2,700 feet in elevation. The fog sits in between, at around 800 feet, creating dramatically different growing conditions depending on elevation.

Hanzell is situated beneath the fog, closer to the base of Moon Mountain. Unsurprisingly, it is better suited to Pinot Noir and a leaner style of Chardonnay than most other vineyards on the slope, though it also grows a highly regarded Cabernet Sauvignon. The warmer upper portions of the AVA are more successful with Bordeaux and Rhône grapes, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay, found here in the original Kistler Vineyard. Several other pedigreed sites fall within the Moon Mountain District, including Monte Rosso and Montecillo. Monte Rosso is among the most famous vineyards in California and dates to the late 19^th century. Louis M. Martini purchased it after Prohibition’s repeal and renamed it Monte Rosso, referencing its volcanic, iron-rich Red Hill loam. Today, Monte Rosso is owned by E. & J. Gallo, supporting Gallo’s various brands and those of many notable third-party buyers, and is tended to by viticulturist Brenae Royal. The Coturri family and its management company, Enterprise Vineyards, farms much of the rest of Moon Mountain, including the acclaimed Kamen Estate.

Further south, the Carneros AVA (also Los Carneros) is the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay center of the Sonoma Valley. Carneros is shaped like a bow atop the San Pablo Bay at the southern foothills of the Mayacamas. At the knot is the Napa-Sonoma line, and the area is one of the coldest for grapegrowing for either county. Conditions are generally warm at midday, however, allowing other varieties to ripen; Merlot, for example, thrives in the appellation’s heavier clay soils. 

While Carneros is covered in vineyards today, for much of the 19^th century, this land was largely dedicated to fruit orchards and livestock pastures—carneros means “rams” in Spanish. Grapegrowing is documented as early as the 1830s at Rancho Huichica, a property planted and owned by Jacob P. Leese. William Winter acquired almost 1,000 of Huichica in the 1850s and, in 1870, established Winter Winery, the first winery in Carneros. The nearby Stanly Ranch garnered acclaim around the same time, and in 1889, Carneros was described as the California Médoc in the San Francisco Chronicle. As in the rest of Napa and Sonoma, the wine industry in Carneros suffered during the phylloxera and Prohibition eras. Upon repeal, André Tchelistcheff and Louis M. Martini helped revive local winegrowing by purchasing grapes from Stanly Ranch. Martini soon after bought 200 acres of Stanly Ranch, where he planted Pinot Noir, today the AVA’s most cultivated red. The Carneros AVA was established in 1983.

Several important properties in Carneros supply grapes to a large number of wineries, from which they bottle vineyard-designate wines. These include the Hyde, Hudson, and Sangiacomo Vineyards. Carneros Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are typically vinified in a style somewhere in between that of the Russian River Valley and the Sonoma Coast. Chardonnay is generally bright and lemony, but with some weight and a bruised yellow apple flavor. Pinot Noir can achieve the same richness as examples from the Russian River Valley, but examples here can be more angular and herbal. Carneros is also one of the most important suppliers of sparkling wine grapes in California. Several large European sparkling houses, including Champagne’s Taittinger and Cava’s Freixenet and Codorníu, have projects in the appellation with Domaine Carneros, Gloria Ferrer, and Artesa, respectively.

Petaluma Gap

The Petaluma Gap AVA was approved in 2017 and is divided between Sonoma and Marin Counties. It takes the shape and name of the meteorological pattern that defines its climate, providing for cold temperatures and windswept, fog-drenched vineyards. The appellation extends from Sonoma’s southern Pacific coastline to the San Pablo Bay, occupying a small sliver of shore adjacent to the Sonoma Valley border. While the town of Petaluma was historically known for its egg industry, wine grapes have been cultivated locally since the 1830s with the vines of General Mariano Vallejo. Petaluma’s first winery was founded by G. V. Fischer in 1884.

Vineyards in the Petaluma Gap are draped in early morning fog, which is driven away by the sun and rising temperatures. Winds pick up by midafternoon, followed within a few hours by fog again. The intense wind currents greatly contribute to quality in the region by reducing yields, thickening skins, delaying ripening, and preserving acidity. Of the Petaluma Gap’s 4,000 acres, 75% are devoted to Pinot Noir, with the rest almost entirely Chardonnay and Syrah. The Gap’s Crown Vineyard, near Cotati, is the AVA’s most famous property, today owned by Bill Price of Three Sticks.

Central Sonoma

Russian River Valley

The Russian River Valley may be the best recognized Sonoma County appellation globally, and it is certainly the most known of California’s Pinot Noir regions. As the name suggests, winegrowing was first initiated by Russian settlers, who moved east after finding the coastlands unsuitable to grapevines. The earliest known vineyard here was planted by Igor Chernykh in 1836, near Graton. The region’s viticultural history began in earnest in the post–gold rush era, when hopeful new arrivals and immigrant communities made their homes near the banks of the Russian River. By 1891, a reported 300 winegrowers were documented in the Russian River Valley, harvesting a collective 7,000 acres. This included such wineries as the Santa Rosa Wine Company, Martini & Prati, Foppiano, and the “Champagne” brand Korbel, founded in 1882 by Czechoslovakian brothers and still one of the United States’ largest sparkling wine producers.

During Prohibition, farmers converted vineyards to apple orchards, hop fields, and other crops. Today, cider and beer remain important products for the Russian River Valley. The area’s winegrowing revival coincided with the local proliferation of Pinot Noir. Among its first champions were Charles Bacigalupi, Joe Rochioli Jr., and Joseph Swan, whose wineries remain benchmarks in the appellation. The Russian River was awarded its AVA in 1983, and by the late 20^th century, it had established a brand for its plump Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines, with wineries such as Williams Selyem attracting critical acclaim and a following of collectors. At the turn of the millennium, newer projects, such as Kosta Browne, harnessed that trend with business models more like those seen with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Customers vied for coveted spots on these mailing lists, and wines consistently sold out through allocation programs. The Russian River Valley’s claim to be the United States’ preeminent producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay has been challenged in the past two decades, as critics eye competitors in the Sonoma Coast, Santa Barbara, and Oregon. But the Russian River Valley style still services a devoted consumer base that favors its unique approach to the Burgundian varietiecs. 

The Russian River Valley is still best associated with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and, generally, riper expressions of both. The typical Russian River Valley Chardonnay is rich in yellow orchard fruit flavors, nuanced by more savory autumnal flavors. Wines in this style commonly undergo partial or full malolactic conversion and are fermented and aged in barrel, a significant percentage new. Pinot Noir wines from the Russian River Valley are similarly round and ample. They, too, will see notable new oak. Russian River Valley Pinot Noir often exceeds 14% alcohol by volume, making it among the ripest classic expressions of the variety. According to the climatologist Gregory Jones, the Russian River Valley, overall, is the warmest region worldwide for premium Pinot Noir. The wines exude aromas and flavors of Christmas spices, cranberry, cola, and sarsaparilla. Unlike Burgundy, which can be fickle to the consumer, Russian River Valley wines offer immediate pleasure. Of course, a number of producers buck such stereotypes, especially in cooler pockets well suited to a lighter touch in the cellar.

While Chardonnay and Pinot Noir cumulatively account for more than 70% of the Russian River Valley vineyard (around 42% and 29%, respectively), several other varieties perform well. The Russian River Valley is home to a number of old vine Zinfandel vineyards, which can offer somewhat fresher, more dialed-in expressions of the variety than typically encountered in warmer regions. Martinelli’s Jackass Hill Zinfandel, for example, and several bottlings from Williams Selyem have achieved impressive followings. Sauvignon Blanc also succeeds in the Russian River Valley. The best examples demonstrate a stylistic middle ground between the crisp, inexpensive Sauvignon Blancs cropped high in other parts of Sonoma and the more unctuous prestige wines that emulate Bordeaux Blanc. 

The Russian River Valley forms roughly the shape of a triangle at the center of Sonoma County and includes many of its best-known towns, including Healdsburg, Windsor, Santa Rosa, and Sebastopol. Roughly 96,000 acres are included in the appellation, with more than 16,000 planted to vine. The AVA boundaries, however, have shifted since its establishment in 1983. First, a 767-acre, cooler-climate area was appended in 2003. More controversially, E. & J. Gallo successfully had the TTB add 14,000 acres in 2011 so that its Two Rock Vineyard would fall within appellation lines.

The defining feature of the AVA is, of course, the Russian River, which flows through the appellation’s northwestern corner. The Russian River Valley is sometimes described as the floodplain of the Russian River, but its 21^st-century expansions have made that definition inaccurate. Further, the Russian River Valley is hardly a single valley but instead a succession of rolling hills. The undulating landscape traps fog from the Petaluma Gap, creating cold swaths of land with high frost risk. Some flatter plots can be found nearer the river itself, and on the other side of the Russian River are Eastside Road and Westside Road, home to many of the Russian River Valley’s best-known vineyards.

The Russian River Valley Winegrowers, the AVA’s vintners association, has embarked on carving the appellation into various “neighborhoods.” So far, the group has identified six distinctive sectors. One, Green Valley, has its own AVA, Green Valley of Russian River Valley AVA, approved in 1983 (then with the shorter name of Green Valley), the same year as the Russian River Valley AVA. Pioneered by the Dutton family in the 1970s, Green Valley follows the path of the Green Valley Creek, a tributary to the Russian River, along the western wall of its parent appellation. Winegrowers here covet the high concentration of Goldridge soil, which covers approximately 60% of the AVA. For some, Goldridge’s low water-holding capacity mandates greater irrigation than might be required elsewhere in the Russian River Valley.

One of the coldest areas of the Russian River Valley, Green Valley holds fog from the Petaluma Gap longer than much of the rest of the AVA, while its proximity to the Pacific exposes the area to heightened maritime winds. Ripening, however, is less challenging in the region’s west, where vineyards reach higher elevations where the fog burns off more quickly. The cool conditions of Green Valley allow for the production of quality traditional method sparkling wines. One of the leading and earliest American-owned sparkling houses, Iron Horse Vineyards, is located here. 

Just south, the Sebastopol Hills neighborhood has much in common with Green Valley. Similarly influenced by the Petaluma Gap, this neighborhood is even more climatically extreme. Added to the Russian River Valley through the 2003 expansion, it is now the coldest corner of the AVA, occupying the southern tip. The area is also rich in Goldridge soil and yields particularly acidic expressions of Pinot Noir that can be uncharacteristically angular for the Russian River Valley. Bordering Green Valley to the east is Laguna Ridge, which extends south from the Russian River. The neighborhood has a combination of Altamont and Goldridge soils, which, along with the region’s sloped vineyards, allow for exceptional drainage. The historic Joseph Swan Vineyards and its surrounding Trenton Estate are in Laguna Ridge. While the area is still better known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Dehlinger has demonstrated that Cabernet Sauvignon can also succeed.

The Santa Rosa Plain flanks Laguna Ridge to the east, moving toward the city of Santa Rosa. Flatter than other portions of the Russian River Valley, this neighborhood is a major hub for old vine Zinfandel. Pinot Noir, too, is widely cultivated, with many celebrated vineyards along Olivet Road. To the north, Middle Reach surrounds the Russian River in the area closest to Healdsburg. In many respects, this is the most “classic” area of the Russian River Valley, cultivating its oldest plantings and housing such legacy brands as Williams Selyem, Rochioli, and Bacigalupi. Temperatures are higher than in most of the other Pinot regions, resulting in a luxurious mouthfeel in many wines from Eastside and Westside Roads. 

The most recently announced neighborhood, the Eastern Hills, is unusual for the Russian River Valley in its compatibility with Bordeaux and Rhône varieties. Their success here is understandable; tucked into the foothills of the Mayacamas, this is the warmest sector of the Russian River Valley. With volcanic soils, the west-facing slopes have the least fog, supporting earlier ripening.

Other Regions

The northern portion of the Russian River Valley’s Eastern Hills comprises the Chalk Hill AVA. While the entire appellation, recognized in 1983, falls within the Russian River Valley (with a tiny slice also overlapping the Alexander Valley), it is hardly discussed as a neighborhood and is understood as a separate entity. Generally warmer than the Russian River Valley, Chalk Hill gains temperature as it climbs in elevation away from the fog in the foothills of the Mayacamas Range. While Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grown in Chalk Hill, Bordeaux varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc, are present there as well. 

Chalk Hill’s white soils are not actually chalk but rather volcanic derived. The region’s dramatic appearance is what attracted Fred Furth, who acquired his Chalk Hill Estate in 1972 after flying his plane over the area. The property, 1,300 acres in size, remains the dominant producer for the AVA, though other key Sonoma winemakers, including Rodney Strong and Arnot-Roberts, bottle Chalk Hill–designate wines. 

Southeast of Chalk Hill and Knights Valley, the Fountaingrove District AVA fills in much of the gap between the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Valley AVAs. A newer appellation, approved in 2015, Fountaingrove’s viticultural traditions date to the late 19^th century. Thomas Lake Harris, who had winegrowing experience on the shores of Lake Erie, purchased 400 acres in 1875 and relocated the Brotherhood of New Life utopian community from Brocton, New York, to establish Fountain Grove. By the 1890s, Harris’s Japanese-born successor Kanaye Nagasawa grew Fountain Grove Winery to be one of the 10 largest in California, exporting its wines to the East Coast and Europe. Surviving Prohibition through the sale of cooking “Sherry” and grape juice, Nagasawa rebranded the winery as Fountaingrove upon repeal. However, the property was sold a year later, in 1934, upon Nagasawa’s death, and converted to a cattle range.

The original Fountain Grove Winery was planted primarily to Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The latter dominates acreage in the current AVA, which harvests primarily Rhône and Bordeaux varieties, as well as Zinfandel. These grapes thrive in the heat of the appellation’s west-facing slopes, which reach above 2,000 feet in elevation, while Chardonnay also succeeds in cooler blocks with northern aspects. Like Chalk Hill, the Fountaingrove District is blanketed in volcanic ash. Despite Fountaingrove’s inland geography, a gap in Sonoma’s mountain ranges provides a pathway for maritime breezes, which moderate ripening. While several growers operate in the appellation, only a handful of wineries are based here.

Coastal Sonoma

Although the very first viticultural efforts in Sonoma took place near Fort Ross, it is only within the last several decades that winegrowing in the far west of the Sonoma Coast has been successful. The Sonoma Coast AVA has achieved heightened popularity in recent years, as many of its winegrowers cater to the lighter, more finessed aesthetic that became popular in the 2010s. These wines are made possible by the pioneering efforts of Daniel Schoenfeld, David Hirsch, and the Bohan and Martinelli families, who first reattempted winegrowing in the far reaches of the Sonoma Coast in the 1970s and ’80s. Prior to their success, these areas were deemed inhospitable to wine grapes. 

Many have criticized the Sonoma Coast AVA for having been drawn too large. The initial proposal, approved in 1987, was largely orchestrated by Brice Jones of Sonoma-Cutrer, who bounded the appellation significantly inland so that his Chardonnay vineyards could be blended and labeled with the single AVA. Roughly 800 square miles are captured under the Sonoma Coast AVA, or nearly half the county. In fact, much of the appellation can hardly be considered coastal at all, covering most of the Russian River Valley and meeting the Napa County border at Carneros. But because the Sonoma Coast overlaps many other AVAs, winegrowers can choose how to label their wines. Often, the decision is an indicator of the house style and perceived regional typicity. In the Sebastopol Hills, for example, Ted Lemon of Littorai categorizes his Pivot Vineyard as Sonoma Coast because of the delicate, precise Pinot Noir wines he makes from it. In the same neighborhood, Merry Edwards has always labeled her Meredith Estate Pinot Noir—more muscular and heartier—as Russian River Valley.

It is important to distinguish between the Sonoma Coast AVA and the West Sonoma Coast AVA, which some call the True Sonoma Coast. The West Sonoma Coast AVA hugs 141,846 acres along the coast from the southern border of Mendocino to the town of Bodega Bay. Difficult to access from the major tourist hubs of the area, many vineyards here are only a few miles from the Pacific, which provides extreme maritime influence. Biting winds, colder temperatures, and high elevation in the Coast Ranges define the West Sonoma Coast, and the area yields many of Sonoma’s most precise and lean Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. But this style is not the only option in this area. Plenty of riper, richer West Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines are produced, as well as Viognier and Syrah—often at its most peppery in the North Coast. Even some savory Cabernet Sauvignon can be found, such as from the Waterhorse Ridge Vineyard in Fort Ross–Seaview.

The West Sonoma Coast AVA was approved in 2022. The long coastline can be separated into several distinct areas. The furthest north is Annapolis, which begins at the Mendocino county line. The landscape here resembles Mendocino, as vineyards emerge from towering redwood forests near the ocean. Much of the vineyard land was first carved out by post–gold rush homesteaders, who used it for grazing pastures and apple orchards. Annapolis sits atop the Ohlson Ranch formation—a phenomenon dating to the subduction of this piece of the North American Plate five to seven million years ago. The geology today resembles a desiccated marine floor, with nutrient-poor soils that are littered with fossils.

Just south of Annapolis is the Fort Ross–Seaview AVA. Designated in 2012, it is the only official appellation included in the proposed West Sonoma Coast AVA. Fort Ross-Seaview takes its name from the 19^th-century Russian fortress and National Historic Landmark located outside Jenner. The AVA includes the closest vineyard to the Pacific in California, Fort Ross Vineyard, its vines a mere mile from the ocean. Grapes are harvested approximately 1,000 to 2,000 feet above sea level. It is this elevation that makes viticulture possible in Fort Ross–Seaview, as plantings above the fog line receive enough light intensity to fully ripen their fruit.

Freestone and Occidental are often discussed together, but they have notable differences. Occidental, which begins south of Fort Ross–Seaview AVA, is verdant and forested. The Salmon and Coleman Valley Creeks channel wind and fog that chill the area, and vineyards are found only three to four miles from the Pacific Ocean. Properties in Occidental are accessed via three major streets: Willow Creek Road, Fitzpatrick Lane, and Taylor Lane. In the spirit of Burgundy, some growers suggest that each of these roadways can be distinguished in the character of its Pinot Noir wines. 

Freestone is located just south. Emerging from dairy lands, this area is distinct from the rest of the West Sonoma Coast in its sparse, open topography, draped across a series of rolling hills. It is also generally colder, with many plots beneath the fog line and at severe frost risk. Just east, to the interior, is the Sebastopol Hills neighborhood of the Russian River Valley. Although vintners in the West Sonoma Coast initially hoped to include vineyards here in the forthcoming appellation, the TTB disregards applications that feature partially overlapping AVAs. Yet the Sebastopol Hills area shares the extremes of the West Sonoma Coast and, in fact, accumulates fewer growing degrees than any of the West Sonoma Coast subareas.

North Sonoma

The northeastern segment of Sonoma includes the hottest winegrowing areas in the county. A succession of ridgelines, beginning at the Mayacamas, form a series of valleys, each with its own distinct vinicultural character. A larger Northern Sonoma AVA captures this sector as well as much of the Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley. Proposed by E. & J. Gallo and authorized in 1990, the appellation allows for wines blended across the north part of the county to feature a more specific place on their labels than the broader Sonoma County AVA. 

Knights Valley

The most easterly of Sonoma’s northern valleys is Knights Valley. Many have described it as a natural extension of the Napa Valley beyond Calistoga. While the course of the Napa Valley generally takes this direction, and Napa’s heavily trafficked Highway 128 continues into Knights Valley, crossing counties requires a journey across a densely forested pathway through the Mayacamas. Unlike Alexander and Dry Creek Valleys, Knights Valley is rather narrow. It is the hottest of the three and the most protected from maritime influences. Situated beside the Mayacamas at the base of Mount Saint Helena, with many vineyards on the mountain itself, Knights Valley has mostly alluvial soils with volcanic components. 

Knights Valley was named for Thomas Knight, who first planted vineyards in the area following California statehood when he acquired Rancho Mallacomes. In the valley’s early history, much of its fruit was sold to Charles Krug Winery across the border in St. Helena. Knights Valley’s grape industry accelerated when Beringer invested in the region in the late 1960s. Today, there are several other prestige properties, primarily for Cabernet Sauvignon, in the appellation, which achieved AVA status in 1983. Among them are Peter Michael, an accoladed project from an actual British knight, and Anakota, a Jackson Family label made by the French father-daughter team Pierre and Hélène Seillan. At the same facility, the Seillans produce Vérité, also a Jackson Family brand, a collection of Sonoma County blends with important components from Knights Valley. The three wines in the Vérité portfolio are the most expensive in Sonoma County and have earned more 100-point scores than they have vintages. La Joie is based on Cabernet Sauvignon, La Muse on Merlot, and Le Désir on Cabernet Franc. 

Alexander Valley

The next appellation over is the Alexander Valley, bordered by Coast Range ridgelines to the east and west that separate it from Knights Valley and Dry Creek Valley, respectively. The first to plant vines here, and the region’s eponymous settler, was Cyrus Alexander. He arrived in the early 1840s after receiving a land grant from the Mexican government to settle Rancho Sotoyome. Alexander described his new home as “the brightest and the best spot in the world.” Other growers would take Alexander’s lead over the next half century, planting Mission, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1889, Shadrach Osborn founded the Alexander Valley’s first commercial winery, Lone Pine Vineyard. 

Prohibition devastated the Alexander Valley’s burgeoning wine industry, and instead the region became known as the Buckle of the Prune Belt. Viticulture did not pick up again until several decades after repeal. Robert Young was one of the earliest to resurrect the Alexander Valley at a property his family had farmed since the 1850s. At the advice of UC–Davis, in 1963, Young planted Cabernet Sauvignon, beginning the variety’s preeminence in the Alexander Valley. Rodney Strong quickly followed, planting Cabernet Sauvignon on a small hill he had purchased in 1971. The decision was groundbreaking for the Alexander Valley, as previous plantings had been confined to the valley floor.

In 1972, oil tycoon Tom Jordan established his namesake winery in the Alexander Valley, hiring the winemaker Rob Davis (who remained at the winery for more than 40 years) and the legendary André Tchelistcheff as a consultant. Following the second phylloxera crisis of the 1980s, Jordan relocated the winery to the hills of the Alexander Valley for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay projects. The Alexander Valley was awarded its AVA in 1984.

The Alexander Valley is 25 miles long and 7 miles across at its widest. The appellation experiences some cooling from the Petaluma Gap and the Pacific Ocean, as well as from the Russian River, which flows the length of the region past the town of Geyserville. More fertile, fluvial soils line the riverbanks and are best suited to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Alexander Valley gains in elevation moving east, with vineyards planted higher than 2,500 feet. Bands of fog settle around 1,200 and 1,800 feet, but they burn off more quickly in the higher eastern portions of the AVA than they do elsewhere. The Alexander Valley also grows hotter as it approaches the Mendocino border.

Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is sometimes described as more herbaceous than its counterparts in the Napa Valley. This is particularly true of examples from the valley floor. Many of these wines come from vigorous clones and rootstocks, which yield rustic, more pyrazinic, and often relatively inexpensive wines. This is not true of the entire benchland, but today, many of the most exciting wines from the Alexander Valley come from the hills. Jackson Family was among the first to fully explore the heights of the Alexander Valley. In 1995, Jess Stonestreet Jackson and Barbara Banke purchased Gauer Ranch, a breathtaking 5,100-acre property with vines that soar to 2,400 feet, and renamed it Stonestreet Mountain Estate. The fruit goes into the Stonestreet Estate Vineyards wines, as well as many others in the Jackson Family Wines portfolio.

Stonestreet Mountain Estate is in a segment of the eastern ridgeline that growers there call Pocket Peak. Many hope this will become its own nested AVA within the next decade. In general, the eastern hillsides of the Alexander Valley have higher volcanic content and better drainage. Other noteworthy Cabernet Sauvignon wines to come from this area include those of the young producers Skipstone and Aperture.

Dry Creek Valley

The Dry Creek Valley is one of the world’s foremost regions for Zinfandel. The first documented vines in Dry Creek were planted by the French immigrant George Bloch in 1870, and among them was Zinfandel. Bloch partnered with his fellow Frenchman Alex Colson, and an 1878 review of their wine in the Healdsburg Enterprise reads, “The wine produced by Bloch and Colson has finer flavor than from almost any other winery in the country. It has none of the bitter taste found in many wines.” By the early 1880s, Dry Creek Valley had nearly 900 acres of vineyard. Most wine, however, was sold in bulk, bringing little awareness to the region.

While many of the early settlers of Dry Creek were German, French, Irish, and English, a wave of Italian immigrants reached the area around the turn of the century. Around this same time, phylloxera struck the region. Many of the Zinfandel vineyards the Italian families planted in its wake, grafted to the phylloxera-resistant St. George rootstock, continue in production today, but following Prohibition, only two wineries remained. Like vineyards in the Alexander Valley, some in Dry Creek were repurposed for fruit, especially prunes, while the grapes from others were sold to home winemakers.

No new wineries were established until 1972, when David Stare founded Dry Creek Vineyard. In addition to helping commercialize the term old vine on his Zinfandel labels, Stare championed Sauvignon Blanc for the Dry Creek Valley. He named his Fumé Blanc, in line with Robert Mondavi’s marketing move the next county over. Several other Dry Creek wineries emerged in the 1970s, including Lambert Bridge, A. Rafanelli, and Lytton Springs, the last of these sold in 1991 to Ridge, a winery that remains a leader for the appellation. Dry Creek Valley became an AVA in 1983.

West of Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley sits between another set of ridgelines. The Dry Creek, for which the AVA is named, is a small tributary of the Russian River, extending from the Warm Springs Dam. The hills on either side help channel some marine air, while Lake Sonoma to the north and the Russian River to the south also help keep the appellation’s temperatures in check. Despite all this, Dry Creek Valley can get quite hot, with wide diurnal shifts vital in preserving freshness, especially in a lower-acid grape like Zinfandel. Soils on the valley floor consist mainly of gravel and sandy loam, while the hillsides are rockier and redder, with better drainage. There is not the same quality division in the Dry Creek Valley between the bench and slopes as there is in the Alexander Valley; excellent wines consistently come from both. 

Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel is often characterized as jammy, and it is not uncommon for wines here to exceed 15% or 16% alcohol by volume, in these cases tasting notably of raisinated fruit. Not all Dry Creek Zinfandels, however, are like this. While a certain ripeness is typical of the AVA, the best examples offer a balance of brambly fruit and sweet herbaceousness. Zinfandel coming from the western side of the appellation, where neighboring ridges offer afternoon shade, tends to be more finessed than examples from the east. 

Like the more fertile soils in the Alexander Valley, those nearest Dry Creek are planted to Sauvignon Blanc. It is made into fruity, citric wines, typically in a crisp, lightweight style. Cabernet Sauvignon covers nearly as much vineyard area as Zinfandel in the Dry Creek Valley. It has an aesthetic similar to that of Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel—a bit more rustic and richly fruited than examples from other Cabernet regions. Chardonnay and Rhône varieties are also planted. Producers like Unti have rediscovered the potential of Italian varieties for the region, including Fiano, Vermentino, Barbera, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, and Aglianico. 

Other Regions

Two other AVAs are included in North Sonoma: Pine Mountain–Cloverdale Peak and Rockpile. Pine Mountain–Cloverdale Peak, established in 2011, is small, with only 300 acres under vine. Split among Mendocino and Sonoma Counties, the appellation overlaps the northeastern corner of the Alexander Valley. Like the Alexander Valley, Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak focuses on Bordeaux varieties, with Cabernet Sauvignon commanding over three-quarters of plantings. Vines start at 1,600 feet and reach nearly 3,000. This high-elevation appellation, with rocky volcanic soils, faces intense winds and large daily temperature swings that bring lift to the wines.

Rockpile also benefits from its elevation, which begins at 800 feet. About 95% of vines, however, are planted above 1,000 feet. Extending from the northwestern edge of Dry Creek Valley, Rockpile is 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the appellation it intersects. Neighboring Lake Sonoma, and only 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean, Rockpile sits above the fog, exposed to both winds and intense sunlight. Soils are mainly clay loam, with oxidized iron content that gives the landscape a coppery sheen.

The name Rockpile originates with the Pomo tribe, which called the area kabe-chana, or “place of many rocks.” Sonoma County Sheriff Tennessee Carter Bishop was first to plant grapes there on his Rockpile Ranch in 1872, trailed by Swedish immigrant S. P. Hallengren. Contemporary winegrowing did not take off, however, until 1992, when Rod and Cathy Park established their Rockpile Ranch. The AVA was awarded in 2002. Like Dry Creek Valley, Rockpile most famously cultivates Zinfandel, in addition to Bordeaux and Rhône varieties.

Mendocino County

Just beyond Sonoma, Mendocino County bookends California’s major wine countries. The area is home to several Native American reservations and was a popular destination for Bay Area hippies during the back-to-the-land movement of the mid-20^th century. Mendocino’s landscape has an untouched quality, where Northern California starts to better resemble the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps that will slowly change, as Mendocino’s Anderson Valley continues to garner praise as one of California’s premier regions for Pinot Noir. The cool-climate Anderson Valley is only a portion of Mendocino’s offerings, though, and stands in stark contrast to the hotter interior.

The most noteworthy Mendocino wines almost universally come from the corridor alongside Highway 128. The first appellation here past the Sonoma border is the Yorkville Highlands AVA, which connects the hotter Alexander Valley to the cooler Anderson Valley. Fog reaches past the Anderson Valley and also settles in the Yorkville Highlands, which has an even wider diurnal shift and colder nights. Frost can prove challenging, forcing local growers to plant in the hillsides above the fog line. Vineyards sit between 850 and 2,500 feet in elevation, and soils are thin, rocky, and gravelly, with good drainage. The Yorkville Highlands was dominated by its logging industry through much of the 20^th century, and a local wine culture only took hold in the 1970s. Today, production remains small, with just over 400 planted acres, 83% of them dedicated to red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinot Noir, and Merlot. Quality is impressively high, with top producers including Copain and Halcón, the latter also supplying Syrah to several prestigious California wineries.

Just beyond the Yorkville Highlands, the Anderson Valley AVA is one of California’s most secluded and idyllic wine countries. The appellation welcomes visitors each year to its annual Pinot Noir and Winter White Wine Festivals, and daily tourism continues to increase as new tasting rooms and boutique hotels pop up. Many of the best producers of Sonoma Pinot Noir also have an Anderson Valley example in their portfolios. In fact, more than half of the members of the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association are located outside the region.

The Anderson Valley was given its name by Walter Anderson, a settler who, according to legend, found himself in the area after being separated from his hunting party in 1851. While there are accounts of early winegrowing in the Anderson Valley, the land was utilized mostly for logging and apple orchards through Prohibition. Commercial wine production did not begin in earnest until the 1960s, when Donald Edmeades, a cardiologist, planted a vineyard to Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, French Colombard, and Cabernet Sauvignon in 1963, by the suggestion of UC–Davis. The Husch family followed in 1967 and was the first to introduce Pinot Noir to the Anderson Valley.

The region was granted AVA status in 1983, and in that same decade, it was reimagined as a premium producer of sparkling wine. John Scharffenberger first leveraged the potential for the category in 1981, followed the next year by the Champagne icon Louis Roederer, which established Roederer Estate, now one of the most lauded sparkling wine producers in the New World. (The Louis Roederer parent company also owns Scharffenberger Cellars today.) While bubbles helped put Anderson Valley on the California wine map, its place was solidified through the Pinot Noir boom of the post-Sideways era. While local winegrowers continue to set impressive quality levels for the region, outside investment from other California wine producers—such as Jackson Family, and Duckhorn with its Goldeneye brand—has further propelled the Anderson Valley into commercial awareness.

The Anderson Valley stretches for 15 miles alongside the Navarro River, which flows past the towns of Boonville, Philo, and Navarro before emptying into the Pacific 14 miles past the appellation’s edge. The valley cuts through the Coast Ranges, with a northwest-southeast orientation that suctions ocean air inland, creating a fog layer that coats much of the valley floor. Only certain ridgetop sites are planted above the fog. While the highest vineyards can reach 2,500 feet in elevation, the valley floor sits between 200 and 500 feet. Daily temperatures can swing as much as 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit between day and night. Generally, the northwestern extreme of the Anderson Valley is coldest, as it is most exposed to the Pacific.

While the Anderson Valley’s geological history involves the uplift of compressed sandstone through tectonic activity, the region’s soils are diverse. The ridgetops tend to show thinner sandstone influence (referred to as Bearwallow), while the valley floor has deeper alluvial loam. The local herb pennyroyal can be found throughout the region, and some winegrowers claim to detect some of its spearmint character in their Pinot Noir wines.

Of the Anderson Valley’s 2,500 vineyard acres, more than two-thirds are planted to Pinot Noir, a grape that excels in the region’s cool, maritime climate. Much of the Pinot Noir produced here reflects the punishing conditions, which allow for crisp wines laden with pure berry fruit character. But as with the West Sonoma Coast, more-opulent Pinot Noir wines are also made, showcasing both ripeness and new oak. Chardonnay is the second most harvested variety in the Anderson Valley, used for both still and, more importantly, sparkling wines. The quality of still Anderson Valley Chardonnay continues to rise, and many producers say that more is needed in the appellation. 

Smaller in number, but mighty in quality, are the Anderson Valley’s Alsatian varieties: Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. The region produces some of the most dynamic examples of these grapes in California. As in Alsace, they exude a heady perfume and often have slight residual sugar. Late-harvest and botrytized examples of these varieties are also made, including, most notably, the Cluster Select series from Navarro Vineyards.

A group of Anderson Valley producers have recently collaborated on a terroir study to investigate potential neighborhoods, akin to what has been pursued in the Russian River Valley. Their findings remain inconclusive—and locally somewhat controversial. The most established of these potential neighborhoods is the Deep End, which begins beyond Philo, where valley floor elevations drop as the Anderson Valley approaches the Pacific. Many find that Pinot Noir from this area is more concentrated and darker fruited than the redder, lighter wines grown closer to Boonville. More convincing may be the individual characters of the many important vineyards in the Anderson Valley that supply fruit to multiple producers. Among the notable sites are the Savoy (owned by FEL), Cerise (owned by Kosta Browne), Wendling, and Ferrington Vineyards.

A larger Mendocino AVA forms an approximate V-shape in the southeastern winegrowing areas of the county. The western prong encompasses the Yorkville Highlands and the Anderson Valley, while the eastern flank follows the path of the Russian River from its source at Lake Mendocino. Beyond the right bank, the diminutive Cole Ranch lays claim to being the United States’ smallest AVA at just 150 acres, with approximately 55 to vine. In 2020, the entire appellation—which cultivates Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Riesling, and Chardonnay at elevations above 1,400 feet—was sold for $2.7 million to Mike Lucia of Rootdown Wine Cellars. On the opposite side of the river, McDowell Valley AVA is planted at 1,000 feet in elevation. The AVA is dedicated mostly to Rhône varieties as well as Zinfandel and Pinot Noir, and it has several centenary vineyards.

Much of Mendocino County’s population is located along Highway 101 and the Russian River, between the towns of Hopland and Ukiah. On this stretch are two of Mendocino County’s most prominent wineries: Parducci Wine Cellars and Fetzer Vineyards. Parducci was founded in the middle of Prohibition by Tuscan immigrants and later became the first winery to feature Mendocino County on its labels. Barney and Kathleen Fetzer founded their namesake brand after moving to the area from Oregon in 1968, and they became early proponents of organic farming in the California wine industry. 

North of Lake Mendocino, Redwood Valley AVA and Potter Valley AVA bookend the umbrella Mendocino AVA. While adjacent, the two appellations concentrate on different grape varieties. Redwood Valley’s focus is red grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Barbera, Syrah, and Petite Sirah. Among the oldest of Mendocino’s winegrowing areas, first cultivated by Italian immigrants, Redwood Valley experiences a cooling influence from a break in the ridgelines that allows marine air to seep into the vineyards. Potter Valley is 200 to 300 feet higher than its neighbor. While days during the growing season can get hot, the elevation allows for a more pronounced diurnal swing, beneficial to the Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Pinot Noir that are grown here.

Several additional appellations are found in Mendocino County, outside the Mendocino AVA. Neighboring Redwood Valley to the west is Eagle Peak AVA, with 120 vine acres planted most notably to Pinot Noir. Much farther north, Covelo AVA and Dos Rios AVA were established through the petitions of nurseryman Ralph Carter. While distinctive geological features can be noted in both AVAs—the deep basin of Round Valley in Covelo, the confluence of two rivers in Dos Rios, as its name implies—they are not commercially relevant: each has fewer than 10 vineyard acres.

More important is the Mendocino Ridge AVA, at the southwest of the county, extending from the Anderson Valley to the coastline. Mendocino Ridge is a noncontiguous appellation, its boundaries simply demarcated by elevations above 1,200 feet. This limit roughly represents the fog line, and vines farther downslope would likely struggle. Vineyards within the AVA benefit from intense luminosity, much like the successful areas of the West Sonoma Coast. Surrounded by coastal redwood and Douglas fir forests, Pinot Noir is most cultivated in Mendocino Ridge today. Zinfandel is an important grape as well, celebrating a history dating to the late 19^th century.

Lake County

Located north of Napa and Sonoma and east of Mendocino, Lake County has received far less recognition. The area boasts a viticultural history dating back to the 1870s and has about 10,000 planted vineyard acres, but approximately 80% of its grapes go into wines without any indication of Lake County on the label. Still, Lake County has achieved more recent buzz for the quality of its Cabernet Sauvignon, particularly from the Red Hills AVA.

Most of Lake County’s wine country surrounds Clear Lake, the oldest freshwater lake in North America at 2.5 million years old. Sadly, it is also among the world’s most irreversibly mercury-polluted because of the now abandoned Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine located on its shores. The pioneering winegrower Jed Steele, who initially arrived in Lake County to spearhead Kendall-Jackson’s local projects, was instrumental in the establishment of the AVA, which has boundaries that roughly align with the drainage zone for Clear Lake.

There are several additional appellations within Clear Lake. High Valley AVA is a rare transverse valley (running east-west), overlooking the lake’s eastern shore and funneling cooling breezes. Aptly named, High Valley’s valley floor sits at 1,700 feet in elevation, while surrounding slopes rise to 3,000 feet. Accordingly, the vines see ample sunlight. High Valley has volcanic soils and most prominently cultivates Bordeaux varieties, though Rhône, Italian, and other grapes can also succeed.

On the opposite bank, the Big Valley District AVA once sat beneath Clear Lake’s waters. The appellation experiences moderating effects from the lake, as well as breezes that descend from the Mayacamas. The soils include alluvial runoff from the Mayacamas Range, and several gravelly pockets are well suited to Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. More notable, however, is the Sauvignon Blanc, Big Valley’s specialty, made in a more luscious, tropical style. Just south of Big Valley and the town of Kelseyville, the Kelsey Bench AVA serves as a transitional region between the alluvial floor alongside Clear Lake and more elevated volcanic sites. At 1,600 feet, Kelsey Bench is planted primarily to French grapes, though one producer, Rosa d’Oro, finds success with Italian varieties.

Of Lake County’s appellations, the one receiving the most attention recently has been the Red Hills AVA, located southeast of Kelsey Bench, hugging Clear Lake’s southern tip. The AVA’s soils, which give the Red Hills its name, are defined by their proximity to Mount Konocti, the imposing volcano due north that also neighbors Big Valley and Kelsey Bench. The dramatic brick-red earth, as well as the large hunks of black obsidian glass, resulted from Mount Konocti’s last eruption, 13,000 years ago. Winegrowers in the Red Hills have found Cabernet Sauvignon to be best suited to these soils. The elevation, with most sites above 2,000 feet, is also critical to the profile of Red Hills Cabernet. Intense UV-light exposure helps ripen out pyrazines, resulting in a more generous wine with notes of red currant. While smaller projects, such as Obsidian Ridge, bottle impressive Red Hills Cabernet Sauvignon, the appellation has also received substantial investment from Beringer and Andy Beckstoffer, the famed Napa grower who acquired his Amber Knolls Vineyard here in 1996.

Beyond the Clear Lake AVA boundaries, two additional appellations are included in Lake County. The Benmore Valley AVA, on the county’s western border, has no planted vineyards. The Guenoc Valley AVA, to the south, can be thought of as an extension of Napa’s Pope Valley. It has just one winery, Langtry Estate and Vineyards, which originated with a massive property purchased by the actress Lillie Langtry in 1888. At over 21,000 acres, the estate is much larger than the AVA, which is only around 500 acres. The winery grows a variety of grapes but is particularly successful with Petite Sirah and Sauvignon Blanc.

Solano County

Rounding out the North Coast, Solano County fills the space between Napa and Sacramento. In addition to small slivers of Napa’s Wild Horse Valley AVA and Clarksburg AVA—perhaps California’s best-known region for Chenin Blanc—Solano County features adjacent AVAs: Solano County Green Valley (not to be confused with the Green Valley of Russian River Valley) and Suisun Valley. The two appellations sit at the southern edges of the Vaca Mountains and the Mount George range and benefit from the cooling effects of the Suisun Bay, a shallow estuary between the San Pablo Bay and the start of the San Joaquin–Sacramento River Delta.

Suisun Valley is the larger of the two regions, with approximately 3,000 planted acres. Grapegrowing here can be traced to the 19^th century, when Mangels Winery was one of the largest producers in the state. Today, the two AVAs grow key California varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel. Several trendy 21^st-century wineries from outside the county, such as Cruse Wine Co. and Broc Cellars, have also discovered the merits of Solano fruit, working with heritage varieties such as Chenin Blanc and Valdiguié.

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Wiatrak, Bryce. “The Ghost of Prohibition: The Noble Experiment Turns 100.” GuildSomm. February 28, 2020. https://www.guildsomm.com/public_content/features/articles/b/bryce-wiatrak/posts/the-ghost-of-prohibition.

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Wiatrak, Bryce. “Sauvignon Blanc in the Wild: New World Trials & Triumphs.” GuildSomm. October 4, 2019. https://www.guildsomm.com/public_content/features/articles/b/bryce-wiatrak/posts/sauvignon-blanc-new-world.

Wiatrak, Bryce. “Touring Lake County's appellation trail.” San Francisco Chronicle. November 3, 2016. https://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/article/Touring-Lake-County-s-appellation-trail-10591310.php.

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Compiled by Bryce Wiatrak (August 2021)

Edited by Stacy Ladenburger