It can be a guessing game when buying a bottle of wine off the store shelf. One way to help you make a good selection is to understand that certain regions of Sonoma County specialize in certain varietals. Remember that any of these regions will grow multiple varieties of grapes, but they are known for certain ones because they do really well in that area.
If you're looking for a Chardonnay, for instance, you can use the appellation (growing area) on the label to help you choose. Some growing areas produce a lot of wine, like Russian River Valley, others are quite small, so they make much less Chardonnay, such as Bennett Valley or Chalk Hill.
Listed below are the most popular grape varieties grown in Sonoma County. The appellation in bold italics is one of high quality plus greater production, so easier to find on the store shelf. Each appellation will produce wines of slightly different characteristics. Have fun exploring! At some point, you may find that you prefer a certain type of wine from one particular appellation.
This does well in the cooler growing areas of the county such as Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, and Carneros.
Dry Creek Valley seems to do particularly well for SB. Russian River Valley and Chalk Hill also.
Pinot Noir
This is the darling of Sonoma County with Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, and Carneros being home to most of the Pinot grapes. Smaller regions people look for are Fort Ross-Seaview, Green Valley, and Petaluma Gap.
Cabernet Sauvignon (and Merlot)
When I think of Sonoma County Cab I look to Alexander Valley. Also, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma Valley, Rockpile, and Knights Valley (the last two have very limited production). The nice thing about Alexander Valley Cabs is they are plentiful and often very reasonably priced for the quality.
Syrah
Russian River Valley and Bennett Valley are great for Syrah. You'll also find it from Carneros, Sonoma Valley and Sonoma Coast.
Zinfandel
Dry Creek Valley is home to Zinfandel and overall makes the best Zin anywhere IMO. Rockpile is also excellent, but difficult to find. Alexander, Russian River, and Sonoma Valleys grow some excellent Zinfandel, also.
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| Sonoma County appellations click on image to enlarge |
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