Sonoma on a Budget

The following are tips on how to not go into debt just to visit California's famed wine country. Sonoma County is definitely less expensive than Napa, but not cheap unless you're from NYC or Hawaii maybe. However, everything from lodging to wine tasting fees to wine purchases to eating out will be less expensive in Sonoma. 

If you feel the need to spend time in Napa Valley, headquarter yourself next door in Sonoma County and spend a day of your trip in Napa. A few example drive times: Town of Sonoma to town of Napa, 25 minutes. Healdsburg to Calistoga in northern Napa Valley, 40 minutes. Santa Rosa to Calistoga, 30 minutes, to St. Helena in the heart of Napa, 45 minutes.

Quality Wines at Reasonable Prices

 Sonoma County, though it's a premium wine region, has many wineries offering exceptional wines at reasonable prices. Sure, Sonoma still has plenty of expensive wines, and some wineries listed will also have some higher-priced bottles, but the ones listed below all have at least several good bang-for-the-buck wines.

Wondering Who Controls the U.S. Wine Market?

You might not be surprised that it's Gallo. After its latest acquisitions of Ravenswood, Clos du Bois and others, they own over 30% of the American market. Where they really dominate is in the lower end of the retail business. 

The Kind of People You Don't Want in Your Neighborhood

Meet Hugh Reimers, who is apparently above the law. Or maybe he just figured it would be easier to pay the fines than do the actual work required on a new vineyard site. Now he's up to his eyeballs in lawsuits.  

He cleared 40 acres of oak woodlands, damaging streams and wetlands. When ordered to restore the damage done, he ignored it.

Wine exec faces fines, from the Press Democrat

Or maybe he learned it from this guy

 

Sonoma Wineries for Reds

If you're all looking for specific red wines where should you go?  Following are some ideas of Sonoma County wineries that do certain varietals really well. This is not an all-inclusive list. It's not the best bargains. They aren't all available in your local store, but all are places you can visit if you are in the area.

Where to go for red varietals.

California's Veteran-owned Wineries

These wineries advertise themselves as owned by U.S. military veterans. They donate to veteran-related causes.

American Sparkling Wine

First, let's address the word Champagne. This refers to sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France only. In other countries you might see it called Cava or Sekt or just sparkling wine.

American sparkling wine goes back to the late 19th century and the Korbel brothers in Sonoma County's Russian River Valley. I expect pretty much every non-teetotalling adult in North America has had Korbel Brut.

Lowering the Drinking Age

I know what you're thinking. 1) We tried that once with lowering the drinking age to 18 in many states and it wasn't such a good idea. 2) This would increase drunk driving problems.

Interesting Trend in Wine Drinker Demographics

During the pandemic years, the gender and age of U.S. premium wine drinkers has changed significantly. It's more female and older. 

Premium wines for this study are those costing over $15.

Source: Wine Intelligence

You can click on the image to enlarge.

 

The Origin of Terroir

  Terroir (tehr-waar) is a fancy French word to do with the environment wine grapes are grown in -- the soil, climate, topography, and anything else about the site that might affect the characteristics of the wine. It's sometimes called the sense of place. This is a big deal in the serious wine world, as you can grow the same grapes managed by the same people in vineyards a short distance apart, and you'll get different wines.

  So where does terroir come from exactly? Glad you asked. Well, maybe you won't be glad you asked because it's dinosaur poop, at least in this particular vineyards that scientists studied. And the best stuff comes from where the dinosaurs had gas. I shit you not.

  Scientists discover the key to terroir