Russian River Valley Neighborhoods

Sonoma County's Russian River Valley appellation (grape growing area) is well-known, especially for Pinot Noir. It's a huge region with a total land area of 160,000 acres, or 250 square miles, with 15,000 acres of wine grapes planted.

With this big of an appellation, you often find sub-appellations to define smaller areas based mostly on microclimates and soil types. While there are a couple sub-appellations, Green Valley and Chalk Hill, some local winemakers and grape growers decided to divide it up into unofficial neighborhoods.

National Zinfandel Day!

Wednesday, Nov 19th, is National Zinfandel Day, so do the patriotic thing and celebrate!

Unsold Grapes, Vines Pulled Out

It was a tough year for grape growers. Not just a cyclical "normal" tough year, but really tough. The following is taken from an 11/12/25 article by Sarah Doyle in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that is only available to subscribers. I'll hit a few highlights while trying not to plagiarize.   :)

Veteran-Owned Wineries

For Veterans' Day, the following are veteran-owned wineries in California. Probably not a complete list, but what I could find online.

The 2025 Grape Harvest Wraps Up

It's just about the end of the harvest for everyone, though there's still plenty to do in the cellar. So, how do things looks this year for North Coast wine grapes?

To Age or Not to Age

That is the question you might ask with wines you've purchased or wanting to purchase. Should I, or can I, drink this now or is it best to wait 3 years, 10 years, or a couple of weeks?

It's complicated as it depends on the wine, the storage conditions, and your preference.

Interesting Sonoma County Vineyards (Part 2)

The previous post was Important Vineyards in Sonoma County. This is a follow-up of other vineyards that didn't make that list, but are still interesting, and somewhat important.

Important Vineyards in Sonoma County

Not necessarily the best, oldest, biggest, or most famous vineyards, though they could be. These are important because of their influence. We are talking about the vineyards that grow wine grapes, not wineries. 

Who Controls Wine (Plus Beer and Spirits) Availability?

Like many businesses, the alcohol biz tries to exert control over the country's laws that affect their bottom line through lobbies and contributions. You can blame them, as alcohol in the U.S. has a ton of federal, state, and county rules on what you can do.

One segment outspends everyone else by a large margin. 

Should Glass Wine Bottles Go Away?

Almost half of a winery's greenhouse gas emissions are from the production and transport of glass bottles. It could be a big win if there's a reasonable alternative.

Sonoma County Harvest Fair 2025

The Harvest Fair, est. 1975, awards medals to wines and foods from the county. The evening public tasting is Saturday, Oct 11th. The link below takes you to PDFs for the Best of Class and Gold medal wines.

Sonoma County Harvest Fair 2025 winners. 

The Other White Wine, Sauvignon Blanc

"The Other White Meat" was a 1980s advertising campaign slogan for pork. Sauvignon Blanc is the other white wine. As there is more than chicken to the lighter meats; there's more than Chardonnay when you want a white wine.

Multi-Generational Sonoma Family Wineries

From Grape Collective, an industry online news website, the author of the "Keeping It in the Family" article talks with six independent family wineries about the past and future generations in their family businesses. Rafanelli and Rochioli are the two better-known ones of the six wineries. Enjoy learning what it's like to run a small winery with family members. 

Late autumn at Hawley Winery
image from Grape Collective

Click on the link below

Keeping It in the Family: Next Generation Successes in Sonoma County

Direct URL is https://www.grapecollective.com

Sorry, there currently is an issue with the site using some browsers.

Sonoma County For Zinfandel Lovers

Sonoma County's premier grape isn't Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. It's actually Zinfandel. No, it isn't the most-planted or most-famous wine from Sonoma, but it's still on top because nobody does Zin like Sonoma County.

Wine Tasting in Sonoma County on Foot

Visitors often wonder about the best way to experience the wineries with worrying about getting a DUI. Some ways are having a DD, hire a driver at a significant expense, share tastings with your SO, and spitting. Perhaps a better way to enjoy a day of wine tasting is on foot. There are some places you can do that. It's called one-stop sipping.   :)

The Way We Sell Wine Needs to Change

The American wine industry, like all alcohol businesses, has been shaped by two major regulatory changes that dramatically increased access and market power. These changes have paved the way for today's ongoing consolidation, affecting both which wines reach consumers and how.

The first was the 1933 repeal of Prohibition, shifting from criminal alcohol operations to a legal three-tier system of producers, wholesalers, and retailers. The second was the Supreme Court overturning state direct-to-consumer laws in 2005, which opened the entire country to home delivery.

Chardonnay, the Commodity Wine

Commodity - A basic good like crude oil, grain, or steel that is interchangeable with other goods of the same type. A soybean is a soybean, it doesn't matter where it comes from.

To some, Chardonnay is a commodity.

Air Travel Into Sonoma County

Southwest Airlines has just announced upcoming service to STS, Sonoma County's commercial airport. SW will be offering flights to and from Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Burbank. Vegas and San Diego will be daily. Ticketing is available now, but the flights don't begin until April 2026.

Currently, Alaska Airlines has the most flights to STS with Los Angeles, Orange County, Burbank, Las Vegas, San Diego, Palm Springs (seasonal), Portland, and Seattle routes. 

American Airlines has service to Dallas and Phoenix. 

You may see mention of Avelo Airlines flights to STS, but they have pulled out, and good riddance. 

BTW, the nearest winery tasting room to the airport terminal is less than three miles.  :) 

Sonoma County Harvest Events 2025

Autumn is harvest time in Wine Country and there are many special events to celebrate the harvest. If you're going to be in the area this fall, don't miss the last item on the list!

Bored with Chardonnay, Cabernet, and/or Pinot?

Chard, Cab, and Pinot are the Big Three in wine. If you drink only what's popular, you might be bored with these. And with demand comes higher prices. What are some alternative wine varietals that are similar and possibly less expensive?

Wineries Moving Into Distillation

 If you can't beat 'em ...

September is California Wine Month

 Over 20 years ago, the California State Legislature gave us a whole month to celebrate wine!

Agrivoltaics

An issue with solar panel fields is the amount of land they can take up. You've maybe seen solar panels over parking lots. What if you could put them on farmland?

Agrivoltaics is using solar panels in conjunction with farming to turn the shade from the panels into a positive. A positive, get it? I'm pretty charged by the potential here.

Wine Writing from the Past

 A few wine-related articles from the last century.

Where Does California Wine Come From?

To some, California wine and Napa wine are the same. That is, when they think of premium California wine, they are focused on Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This isn't the reality of California wine.

Choosing Sonoma County Wineries to Visit

This is the best list I've seen to help someone choose where to go for wine tasting in Sonoma County. A lot of work went into the article. While it's not absolutely all-inclusive, it has over 120 recommendations. Great job!

MacRostie Winery, Russian River Valley
image from sonomamag.com

The Ultimate Guide to Sonoma Tasting Rooms from Sonoma Magazine

Wine Trends By Decade

There have been many American wine trends over the years. It's not as though wine fashion was invented with that organic non-alcoholic natty orange wine you're drinking. 

The seminal event that kicked-started American wine was the 1976 Judgment of Paris. We'll start from there.

Spotted Lanternflies, Just What the West Coast Doesn't Need

The invasive plant-hopping Spotted Lanternfly, indigenous to Asia, has made its way to the eastern U.S., probably via a cargo ship from Asia in 2012 into Philadelphia. It has since migrated into 19 eastern states. It will eventually hop a train, or some other mode of transportation, to the rest of the country.

Its reproductive rate and ability to live off of many plants, makes it is unlikely that we can eradicate the Lanternfly. This is bad news.

Wine Industry: "The Sky is Falling"

Not quite. 

This has been seen before, and the wine industry recovered, usually to get even bigger than before. That doesn't mean it'll be a quick downturn. Will it be a year, will it be a decade (jeez, I hope not)?

Is the Alcohol % Listed on the Wine Bottle Correct?

Maybe it's correct. A legit winemaker/winery will be very close to the labeled percentage. Those that care more about market perception than honesty may take a different route.

Distinct Differences in Sonoma County AVAs

Definition: AVA = American Viticultural Area, aka an appellation. An AVA is an officially recognized grape-growing area in the U.S. Examples include Napa Valley and Willamette Valley.

When someone asks, What's the difference between Napa and Sonoma? I would say that Sonoma has a wider range of grapes grown and styles made. Napa is known for Cabernet Sauvignon, with Chardonnay a distant second. Sonoma County wine regions showcase the diverse climates and soils, resulting in an impressive variety of wines and styles. 

Wine For Nat'l Cheesecake Day

Wednesday, July 30, 2025, is National Cheesecake Day. You were probably wondering what wine to have with your favorite cheesecake.

Petaluma, Sonoma County, California, USA

There are tons of “top ten” lists out there—best cars, best retirement spots, best beaches. Recently, CNN Travel put out a list of the ten best towns in the U.S. to visit, and guess what? Petaluma, population 60,000, located in southern Sonoma County, made the cut. 

So, what’s the scoop on Petaluma, and why do most travelers overlook it?

"California Doesn't Have Seasons"

Yeah, we do.    :)

Wines for National Hot Dog Day

Wednesday, July 16, 2025, is National Hot Dog Day which begs the question, what wine to pair with your dogs? I'm glad you asked.

Buying Zinfandel

Zinfandel has been called America's grape for a long time; long before DNA testing took it to Primitivo in Italy and farther back to an obscure grape in Croatia. If you really want to know the Croatian name for American Zinfandel, it's usually called Crljenak Kaštelanski, but sometimes Tribidrag. Hey, you asked.

Let's say you are looking to buy a bottle of California Zin. How should you go about that? Some help follows.

Vermentino in Sonoma County

Several Italian grape varietals are catching on in California, from Fiano to Barbera. The current hot one is Vermentino, as it's showing up in more wineries in Sonoma County, and around the state.

Pinot Noir Without Breaking the Bank

Specifically, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir from premium wine producers at low to moderate prices. Russian River is the primary region of Sonoma County for this wine, and a significant amount is produced. 

Avoiding Palate Fatigue

Palate Fatigue is when you've overindulged. It's not about becoming intoxicated; rather, it's physical and mental exhaustion. You've worn out your taste buds, and can no longer tell the difference between wines. The fatigue stems from physical from sensory saturation and the mental strain of concentrating on the various smells and tastes. Yes, wine tasting is hard work!

Winery Visitation is Down. What to Do?

There are a myriad of reasons and guesses as to why California wineries are seeing a downturn in visitors. These usually revolve around economic uncertainty including tariffs, a whiplash effect from the Covid lockdowns when online purchases shot up, higher prices for wine tastings, and younger consumers turning to other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. 

What are wineries doing, or could be doing, to counteract the loss of visitors? 

Good Value Wines From Sonoma County

These are a few picks of quality wines from Sonoma County that aren't too expensive and should be relatively easy to find in wine shops and big box retailers. There are more, these are a few I know about. 

What is Rosé Wine?

Whether it's Rosé All Day or Yes Way Rosé pink wine is the in wine. Some info about this wine phenomenon follows.

Retrenching in the Wine Biz

Some of the major players in the industry are reducing their footprint in the wine business. This is a sign of uncertainty in the future of the wine market. 

California Wine Industry in the 1920s

This is a snapshot of the wine industry 100 years ago. Why the1920s? Prohibition took effect in 1920 making it illegal to manufacture, transport, or sell alcoholic beverages. It wasn't against the law to drink if you acquired it legally. You could make your own hooch.

1920 was a big year for the country as Women's Suffrage was also ratified, giving women the right to vote. One small step...

Wine and Women

Women and their wine have a special relationship. Here's a sometimes humorous look at this culture.

Interesting Facts About Calfornia Chardonnay

A little bit about Chardonnay from California, the love it or hate it wine. It even has its own "club," the ABC or Anything But Chardonnay. 

What Wine Has Kept the American Wine Business Humming Along

It's the story of California Chardonnay. You've heard the bad news about the current problems in the wine industry. The younger consumers aren't drinking as much wine and there are the tariffs. The fact is, the American wine industry came from an afterthought to prominence a half-century ago and has been growing most of that time.

In 1975 there were over 300 wineries in California. Ten years later it had doubled. Currently, there are almost 5,000. That sounds like success. 

One grape has been Mr/Ms. Steady for all that time. Chardonnay.

Wines With Grilled Meat

Memorial Day weekend is upon us. It's the gateway to summer grilling. Let's take a look at some wine suggestions for grilled food. As always, the best wines are the ones you like, whether they're listed here or not.

Don't forget to take a moment or two on Monday to remember the soldiers and sailors that didn't get to come home.

Get Ready for Summer in Sonoma

Sonoma County in the summer means an almost endless list of things you can do. Some of them are: sit outside at a winery while sipping, swim, float, surf, or kayak on the cool water, hike a trail, go to the fair, and listen to music.

For other ideas, check out previous blog posts on Major Events for Summer and Alternatives to Wine.

Wine Basics

This is a short tutorial on what to look for in a wine. This can help you find out why you like or dislike certain wines.

Favorite Wines By State

A 2022 survey by Wise Voter lists the top five wines for every state. Not sure why Wise Voter cares about wine, but here we go.

Some highlights on the #1 choices:

• Arkansas is the only state with White Zinfandel as the most popular wine. Only four other states have White Zin in their top five. I think rosé has largely displaced White Zin.
  
  
• Several hot weather states have rosé on top, along with Minnesota. Rosé shows up in the top five in 31 states.
  
  
• What do the largest wine-producing states drink? CA Sauvignon Blanc, OR Cabernet Sauvignon, WA Sauvignon Blanc. It's interesting that Oregon, a state where two-thirds of the grapes planted are Pinot Noir and just 4% Cabernet, prefers Cab.
  
  
• Ten states are trendy, you might say, with Pinot Noir at #1. Some of these trendy states are Kansas, Mississippi, and Montana, states that aren't necessarily considered trendy.
  
  
• Sauvignon Blanc is the overall winner, with 16 states having it as their #1 pick. Pinot Noir and Cabernet are tied for 2nd with 10 states. There's a lot of inexpensive imported Sauv Blanc, mostly from New Zealand. I expect that's why it's #1.

The full list - you have to scroll down aways to find the list.

Oldies, but Goodies

In Sonoma County, wine goes back to a Russian settlement on the coast in the early 1800s. A few years later the northernmost California mission came to the town of Sonoma with the mission grapes coming along. The first commercial winery started in the mid 1800s.

The Good Old Days of Wineries' Worries

Wineries and the grape growers are worried. Yes, many small businesses have things to worry about. Grape growers are farmers so are always worried and the weather, government policies, and almost everything else.

May is Sex in the Vineyard Month!

Grapes self-pollinate. In biological terms, they are a hermaphrodite and contain both male (stamens) and female (pistils) reproductive organs. Grape vines don't need bees, wind or other grape vines to pollinate. Yes, self-pollination, that could be something Catholics would frown on. 

May is the month this happens in the Northern Hemisphere.

You mean this isn't what you're looking for when you clicked on the title?

Actually, a few varieties of grape vines do have male and female vines. The main one is Vitis rotundifolia, or muscadine, that grows in the southern U.S.

Commercial vineyards may still need bees for pollinating their cover crops. 

Self-pollination does allow reliable and timely pollination, and it helps maintain the best traits. It does not promote diversity or help in adapting to a changing climate.

Hey, it's not polite to peek while they pollinate

 

Why are Sonoma and Napa Wines Different?

The key factors in growing premium wine grapes are the microclimate and the soil. They impact the ripening and flavors, and define the characteristics of a wine. The microclimates and soils in Sonoma County are different from those in Napa, even though the two counties are side-by-side. Winemaking is also key to the properties of the finished wine, but we can assume equipment and practices are similar. 

So it's the microclimates and soils that make the wines different. Let's take a deeper dive into why the grapes coming into the winery can be different in these two neighbors.

Sonoma County Wineries Off the Beaten Path

Below are a few suggestions for smaller, maybe somewhat hard to find wine tastings in Sonoma County. For every Chateau St Jean or Kendall Jackson, there are dozens of little charmers like these.

American Wineries by State

Below is a map of the US with the number of wineries per state. There are some surprises.

America's Favorite Wines

Polling and surveying company, YouGov, released data on American's wine habits. Following are a few highlights, some surprising.

The Los Angeles Connection to California Wine History

  How could Los Angeles have any influence on the wine industry? Well, it turns out that the start of California's commercial wine business was in LA.

  The California missions run from San Diego's Mission, founded in 1769, to Sonoma's Mission in 1823. BTW, there were also missions throughout Baja California. The missions were known for planting wine grapes and making mission wine for church services and to serve at their own dinners.

  You might consider the San Diego Mission as the oldest winery in the country. However, they haven't made wine there in a very long time, it was never really a commercial winery, and California wasn't part of the US at the time.

Has the Tasting Room Lost Its Way?

I'm old enough to remember when the tasting room was a plank across a couple of barrels in a corner of the actual winery. You walked in, got a small, cheap excuse for a wine glass, the tasting list was on a chalkboard on the wall, and you tasted while standing at the bar. You either purchased or you didn't, but you went on your merry way after a half hour, no charge. The purpose, like the tasting room, was simple, to introduce you to their wines and hope to make you a customer.

Things have changed. It's not everywhere, but the Disneyland style is spreading.

Tariffs and the Wine Industry

What are the likely effects of the American tariffs and retaliatory tariffs on the American wine industry? This is educated guesswork, but we'll know for sure if the tariffs are still in place in a few months.

Why should you care? Besides price increases, there are well over a million jobs at stake.

Alternatives to Wine in Sonoma County

So you're not much of a wino, or someone in your group travelling to Sonoma County couldn't care less. What to do?

The Difference Between Inexpensive and Premium California Wines

   The biggest difference in wine quality relating to price is in the ten and twenty dollar bottles. Premium wines start in the $20 or $30 range. Upward from there, you will usually find increasing quality, but with diminishing returns. So what are the major distinctions between the cheap and the fancy stuff?

California Agriculture

California agriculture is big! How big is it? In production value, it leads the nation. Part of the reason is the number of high value crops such as nuts, dairy and, of course, wine grapes. It's a $60 billion industry, with $23 billion of it exported. The value of organic products is increasing significantly.

The next biggest ag states are Iowa, Texas, and Nebraska.

Sonoma County Events -- Summer 2025

A look at what's happening for the warm weather season in Sonoma County. Following are events scheduled from May through Sept 2025. This was published in late March, so there may be events added later.

Interesting Wine Trends

 Below are a few graphs on trends in wine. The first three are from the American Assoc. of Wine Economists, a world-wide organization based in New York. The last one from Gomberg-Fredrikson, of Sonoma, CA.

Who Makes California's Best Zinfandel?

Ah, Zinfandel, it's sort of California's own. There's quite a history to Zinfandel that was very mysterious until about 30 years ago. The short version is Zinfandel comes from a rare Croatian grape that took off in Italy as Primitivo and in California as Zinfandel.

So who are some of the top producers? Let's take a subjective look.

Why Low/No Alcohol Wines Taste Like Crap

There are some low or no alcohol beers that are pretty good, that taste similar enough to regular beer to be enjoyable. It seems like the wines aren't good enough, yet anyway. So why are low and no alcohol wines so crappy?

Old Style Napa

This is an interesting read about a few grape growers and winemakers who are stuck in the mid-20th century, and I mean that in a good way.

Cathy Corison, a hero to some
image from wannabewino

Napa Traditionalists from The New Wine Review.

Carbon Footprint of Wine Production

The carbon footprint of a business is the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the organization or product. Greenhouse gases are what is causing our climate to change so rapidly. Wineries, like any business, are part of the problem, and many are looking at what they can do to limit their effect. Good for them.

The Great Grape Migration

As temperatures warm, vineyards will have to move. Premium grapes are very susceptible to temperature changes, as each variety operates in a small window of temperatures.

Historical Wineries in Napa & Sonoma

Wineries for the history buff.

High Tasting Rooms Fees and the Visitor Slowdown

It may not be news to you that wine bottle prices and wine tasting fees have gone up substantially since the end of the Pandemic lockdown. Why? Supply and demand. People wanted to get out and do things, whether it was wine tasting in Napa or buying a new car. Consumers were throwing their credit cards around and saying, "Here, take my money!"

It wasn't just the wine, as lodging and restaurant prices jumped. All of a sudden, a trip to wine country was going to cost real money. 

The Small 2024 Calif Grape Crush

Per the U.S. Dept of Agriculture (USDA), the 2024 California wine grape crush was the smallest in 25 years. Total crush size was 2.844 million tons, a 23% decline for 2023's 3.7 million tons. Average grape prices fell 5%, but the previous year was the highest ever, so not really a meaningful decline. 

These numbers are state-wide. Three-fourths of California's wine grapes come from the Central Valley. Napa and Sonoma Counties are each about 4% of the state's total.

Watering Back Wine

Watering back wine is the practice of diluting the grape juice before fermenting it into wine. The purpose is to decrease the alcohol content of the finished wine. At least that was the idea when the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau that controls wine in the U.S. first allowed the practice in 2002.

Things may have gone awry. 

Wineries That Built Sonoma County

Sonoma County came to prominence as a premium wine producer in the last three decades of the 20th century. Following are some of the wineries that put Sonoma on the wine map. A few of these are historical properties, others came along with the 1970s and 1980s boom time for premium wines. You could say these wineries defined what Sonoma County wine is now.

Appellation of Origin on a Wine Label

The Treasury Department sets labeling laws for alcoholic products. These are usually set and occasionally modified by feedback from interested parties, aka lobbyists. One that needs a change is for wines labeled as American, as in American Merlot. 

Rosé

Rosé wine is a big deal in the U.S. It wasn't always this way. Rosé sales for wine over $7 went from a measly 150,000 cases in 2010 to 2.3 million ten years later!

A look at rosé in the U.S.

The Wine Country for All of Us

Travelzoo is a travel club. You join to get special offers for trips. 

For 2025, Travelzoo chose Sonoma County as one of their nine worldwide best bets calling it the wine country for all of us.

You've been to Napa and Sonoma, now what?

If you've had trips to Napa Valley and neighboring Sonoma County, but want something new, where do you go? 

Alcohol Warning Labels

 The outgoing Surgeon General would like to put cancer warning labels on all alcoholic beverages. Dr. Brian Lawenda, a Harvard-trained oncologist, thinks wine might be the exception. He is on Facebook if you'd like to read what he has to say.

 Dr. Lawenda stated that some studies show the moderate consumption of wine may not increase your cancer risk and may actually decrease the risk for certain types of cancer. This isn't definitive, that's why he says, may not increase your risk.

 There is a lot of detail on his Facebook post dated Jan 5, 2025. Read it and decide for yourself. Wine may be the wise choice.

Excerpt from his post

 Thanks to FB user Sierra Wine Guy for bringing this to my attention.

About Pinot Noir, Part 2 (California)

  The previous post, About Pinot Noir, Part 1, is concerning the origins and characteristics of Pinot. This one relates to Pinot Noir in California and Sonoma County.

About Pinot Noir, Part 1

  You could call it America's most trendy premium wine. Part 1 is a short history of Pinot Noir and some of its unique characteristics. The next post, Part 2, is on Pinot in California.

True Family-Owned Wineries

Some visitors are interested in visiting the smaller, family-owned wineries rather than those with some sort of corporate ownership. Finding true family operations is not that easy, as there's a definite gray area. Let me explain.

Oh oh, here's what's up for 2025 in wine

Trust me. It'll all come true.

Wine One-Liners

 It's a good way to start off the new year.