Sonoma County
Located just 45 minutes north of San Francisco, the Sonoma wine country is truly the heart of the California Wine Country. At 1,050,000 acres Sonoma County is roughly the size of the state of Rhode Island. The largest of the three counties that make up the California Wine Country, Sonoma County is an impressively diverse area of unsurpassed beauty. From the rugged, fog shrouded cliffs of the Pacific and misty redwood clad coastal range in the west to the rich green pasturelands and gently rolling hills of golden grass and dark green oaks of the east, Sonoma County is rich in abundance. Within Sonoma County are 12 distinct wine grapes growing regions known as “appellations” or viticultural areas.

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The Sonoma Valley is the oldest wine-producing district in the California Wine Country. Sonoma was the place where in 1823 that Father Jose Altimira planted mission grapes in his church’s vineyard. Adjacent to the Sonoma Valley wine appellation are the Sonoma Mountain and Carneros viticultural (wine grape region) areas. To the west of the Sonoma Valley is the extensive Sonoma Coast appellation and to the north and northwest lie the districts of Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Russian River Valley. Almost 60,000 acres of Sonoma County are dedicated to the cultivation of wine grapes. Viticulture (and the accompanying California wine tours and wine tasting) is the main economic lifeblood of the county. As of 2003, the Sonoma wine industry made up 70% of the agricultural economy in Sonoma County for a total of $376 million.

The diverse topography, plethora of microclimates and varying soil composition across the county all contribute to Sonoma County’s unrivaled ability to grow a wide range of wine grape varietals under a host of favorable conditions. Some of the most popular wine grape varietals in Sonoma County include Chardonnay (15,719 acres), Cabernet Sauvignon (12,143), Pinot Noir (10,255), Merlot (7,410), Zinfandel (5,128), and Sauvignon Blanc (2,228). Sonoma winery tours and wine tasting tours are available year-round from San Francisco and are a great way to see the California wine country, or as some refer to it, the San Francisco wine country.

County Seat: Santa Rosa
Main towns: Petaluma, Sonoma, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, Guerneville
Total Sonoma County Population: 450,000

Number of Sonoma Wineries: 190
Number of Sonoma Wine Appellations: 12