The Wine Experience           

Sonoma Regions and More about AVAs

If you're on the West Coast and looking for a great road trip, check out Sonoma:

About an hour's drive North after you go over the Golden Gate you'll be in Sonoma County.  

There are a couple of things that make Sonoma really interesting.

First its diverse landscapes and second its proximity to the Pacific Ocean.   So why is that important?   Sonoma's microclimates are the result. During the growing season the sun is hot, but Pacific breezes cool the evenings.  

In the morning fog is pretty common.   It covers the valleys and provides moisture for the ripening grapes before the sun again cooks in the concentration of flavor. The wines are pretty complex and probably are more influenced by the ecosystem, or terroir, than many other California wines.  

Sonoma's beauty lies not only in the scenic views but in the wonderful way all of its elements come together, below, around and above the vineyards to produce some terrific wines.

More about AVAs

There are several AVAs (short for American Viticultural Areas) designated in Sonoma County .   It's how we define vineyard areas that share certain common characteristics.  

The concept is that climate, soils, geology and history combine to make an area distinctive.   Major AVAs, or growing areas, in Sonoma are Sonoma Valley , Chalk Hill, Dry Creek, Russian River , Alexander Valley and Sonoma Coast .

Sonoma Valley is also known as Valley of the Moon which is a pretty cool name, don't you think?   This is really the heart of Sonoma County and it's where the town of Sonoma is located.   It's also where you'll find some of the most recognizable Sonoma wines from producers like Kenwood, St. Francis, Ravenswood, Landmark and others.  

Chalk Hill is a smaller AVA that tends to be more significantly influenced by weather variation year to year.   There are a wide variety of different grapes planted in the area.  Best known producers are Fisher and Chalk Hill, which makes particularly luscious Chardonnay.  

Dry Creek is located between the Alexander Valley and Russian River.  The creek actually drains into the Russian River.  This is Zinfandel country.   Look for Lytton Springs and Dry Creek.  

Russian River gets its name from, guess what. the Russian River . The river defines the macro climate, particularly because of the opening to the Pacific. This is really pretty country.the meandering river, stands of redwoods, fields of vines from the waters edge to the hillsides.   It's also sparkling wine territory with Korbel and Iron Horse, as well as cool climate Pinot Noirs (due to that coastal influence) like Dehlinger, Marimar Torres and Gary Farrell.

The Green Valley AVA is included within Russian River.

Alexander Valley is known for succulent Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.   It's northernmost and valley geography means hot sunny growing days which these later ripening grapes like a lot.   It's home to Silver Oak, Simi, Clos du Bois, Murphy Goode and others. Knights Valley AVA is also up this way.  

Sonoma Coast is long and large. perhaps even a bit controversial because of its extensive size.   It includes basically the whole coastline of Sonoma County .   It's one of the newer AVAs and more and more producers are now planting the area . . . obviously lots of ocean influence here!   Sonoma - Cutrer is the most active in this area.   Their chardonnay typically shows the cooler climate characteristics of the grape . . . more acidity and crispness.  

For more about these areas check out the map and winery listings at winecountry.com and sonoma.com and . . .

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