Visiting the Sonoma Wine Country

Wineries

Starting from the south:

Carneros, an area known for sparkling wine

Domain Carneros. It's actually in Napa County, but you don't want to miss this "French chateau."
Artesa. OK, it's in Napa also, but worth the stop for the architecture and Pinots.
Gloria Ferrer. Another winery, known for their sparklers, with a European look and feel.
Roche. Pinot and Syrah.

buenavista.jpg (18239 bytes) Buena Vista

Around the Town of Sonoma

Buena Vista. Historic building.
Gundlach-Bundschu. Old, underground, funky, colorful--and even good wine.
Ravenswood. Wines you can cut with a knife

So Mission (9k bytes) In Sonoma, the northernmost Spanish mission

Sonoma Valley -- between Sonoma and Santa Rosa

Arrowood. Great Cabernet and other expensive wines
BR Cohn. Cabernet and the Doobie Bros.
Benzinger. Take the vineyard tram tour
Chateau St Jean. Average whites in their regular tasting room. Excellent wines in the reserve room. Wine education programs available.
Kunde. Wine cave tours. Good wines at decent prices.
Landmark. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Mayo. Merlot & Bordeaux blends. They have several tasting rooms in the county.
St Francis. Merlot and heavy-duty Zinfandel.

chstjean.jpg (9839 bytes) Chateau St. Jean

Russian River and Green Valley areas -- Land of Pinot Noir, also making some good Zinfandels

Deloach. Zinfandels. Usually good Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet.
Dutton Estate. Syrah.
Gary Farrell. Pinots and an occasional great Zinfandel.
Iron Horse. Views, sparkling wines and Pinot Noir
J. Sparklers
Korbel. Garden tours, winery tours, and sparkling wines.
Hartford. Expensive chateau, great views with expensive, but very good wines
Rochioli. Makes some excellent limited quantity wines. You won't find them in the tasting room.
Lynmar, Miramar, Woodenhead... Pinot!

VNYDSUNSET.JPG (12231 bytes) Sunset in the Russian River Valley

Dry Creek Valley -- Zinfandel Heaven

Dry Creek. Good quality wines at good prices. Picnic grounds.
David Caffaro. Lots of interesting blends. Good prices.
Ferrari-Carano. Look what having too much money can do! (They made it from their casino).
Unti. Barbera & Zin
Bella, Quivira, Meeker, Preston, Teldeschi, Lytton Springs, Wilson, etc. - Zinfandel!

Chalk Hill and Alexander Valley areas -- Cabernet country

Alexander Valley Vineyards. Good Cabernet and zin, good prices.
Clos du Bois. Expensive vineyard-designated reds, plus good values in their Sonoma County-labeled wines.
Field Stone. Good reds. The Petite Sirah will remove the enamel from your teeth!
Hanna. Award-winning Sauvignon Blanc.
Locals. A tasting room in Geyserville serving the wines of several small wineries.
Stryker. Top-rated Cabs and Zins.
Trentadue. Don't miss the LaStoria line of wines and the Chocolate Amore.
White Oak. Chardonnay, Cabernet and Zinfandel. All very good.

Healdsburg Tasting Rooms
Many wineries have tasting rooms in the town of Healdsburg. Most are walking distance from the town square.

Lake Sonoma. Zins.
Rosenblum. Big reds.
Selby. Check out the Cabernet and Syrah.
Seghesio. Zinfandel.

Not all wineries are open for tasting and some charge for tasting. The ones mentioned above are usually open daily except major holidays. The hotels and wineries will have wine guides with maps and descriptions of the wineries. Some of the free newspaper-type wine guides only list the wineries that pay to be in them.

Lots of wineries have been omitted. A few intentionally, but many because I'm not familiar with what they're doing now. It's hard to keep up!

Sonoma County Appellations

The following are the federally approved viticulture areas in Sonoma County:

Alexander Valley	A large, warm area known for Cabernet. There is a lot of Chardonnay grown in lowlands along the Russian River.
Carneros	The southernmost grape-growing region encompassing part of Sonoma and Napa Counties. Thin soils on gently rolling hills in a very cool climate that's best for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Chalk Hill	Just south of Alexander Valley. Well drained volcanic hillsides. Especially known for Chardonnay and Cabernet.
Dry Creek Valley	Similar latitude to Alexander Vly, but more cooling coastal influence coming from the Russian River area. This is the home of Zinfandel.
Green Valley	A very cool growing area that's actually within the Russian River appellation. Pinot Noirs and crisp Chardonnays grow here.
Knights Valley	An inland, very warm growing area for ripe Sauvignon Blancs and Cabernets.
Northern Sonoma	A wide range of soils and microclimates consisting of Chalk Hill, Alexander Vly, Dry Creek Vly, Russian River Vly and Knights Vly plus some other lands.
Rockpile	North of Dry Creek Valley, a bit closer to the coast and higher elevations. Mostly Zinfandel.
Russian River Valley	A cooler growing area making very good Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Sonoma Coast	The coolest region in the county with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Sonoma Mountain	Steep hillsides, well-drained soils in an area above the summer fog is known for it's Cabernet.
Sonoma Valley	The historical home of the California wine industry with some Pinot and lots of Chardonnay in the cooler south and Cabernet, Merlot and Zinfandel in the warmer north.

Back to the top of the page

Back to Visiting the Sonoma Wine Country page

Back to our home page

This page last updated on 02/01/08