Napa Valley
For many wine lovers, any discussion of California Wines begins and ends with the Napa Valley. Napa valley, which escorts the Napa River on its meandering 40 mile journey from the southern flanks of Mt St Helena down to San Pablo Bay, is the productive heart and very civilized center of what is a sparsely populated and largely rugged, rural county.

Six of the County’s Napa 13 celebrated wine appellations are located in the sections of the Napa valley along the river: Los Carneros, Stags Leap, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, and St Helena. But there is more to Napa than its fertile river valley. The federally recognized AVA (American Viticultural Area) “Napa Valley” also includes the rolling hills and sometimes mountainous areas in the eastern portion of Napa county, home to four more of Napa’s prize winning wine districts:

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Howell Mountain, Chiles Valley, Atlas Peak and Wild Horse Valley. In the west the Mayacamas range, which separate Napa County from Sonoma County, harbors the extensive Mt Veeder area as well as the Diamond Mountain and Spring Mountain districts.

All told the Napa Valley is 754 square miles, considerably smaller than its wine-producing neighbor to the west, the Sonoma Wine Valley. There are 45,000 acres of wine grapes planted in Napa county, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon chief among them. Napa winery tours and wine tasting tours from San Francisco are available year-round and are a great way to see the California wine country, or as some refer to it, the San Francisco wine country.

County Seat: Napa
Main towns: Calistoga, St. Helena, Rutherford, Yountville
Total Napa County Population: 128,145

Number of Napa Wineries: 220
Number of Napa Appellations: 13