Sonoma County Overview

While Sonoma County is known for its award winning wines and wineries, it is also home to a myriad of shops, restaurants, historical sites, small farms, hiking trails, and lots of beautiful scenery. It does not shout sleek, slick, or polished when compared to Napa Valley, but environment of Sonoma County can certainly holds its own when it comes to wine making.

Geography

Sonoma County is an hour north of San Francisco and west of the Napa Valley. Nestled between the rugged Pacific Coast on the west and rolling hills and mountains on the east, Sonoma County offers a grand landscape of beautiful valleys and winding roads to explore. Sonoma County has over a million acres and more than 60,000 of which are planted with wine grapes.

Climate

Sonoma County has mild winters and warm dry summers. This is only a generality however because there are many microclimates. Typical winter days have a high in the 50s. Because the Pacific Ocean's current comes from the north, the water is always about 55°, keeping the coastal areas much cooler than inland areas, which are protected from the ocean by the coastal hills. Summer evenings are usually quite cool. It is the warm days, cool nights, and lack of rain during the growing season that makes for premium wine.

Grape Varieties

Sonoma County has over 175 wineries, which ranks second to Napa County in the United States for the number of wineries. Sonoma County has built a solid reputation for wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel. The most widely planted red is Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay makes up over 60 percent of the white variety.

Contributor: April Millon (Redwood, CA)

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