Everybody loves a good comparison; Honda vs Toyota, California wine vs French, dogs vs cats. So let's take a look at Napa vs Sonoma. This isn't an opinion on which is best. It's statistical, so away we go number nerds!
Size
Napa County is 752 square miles; Sonoma County is twice as big at 1575 sq miles; Rhode Island is 1214 for comparison.
Population
Napa County's population is 134,000; Sonoma County 482,000, Rhode Island 1.1 million (in case you were still wondering about RI).
Largest towns in Napa County: Napa (pop 78,000), American Canyon (20,000), St Helena (6,000).
Largest towns in Sonoma County: Santa Rosa (pop 177,000), Petaluma (60,000), Rohnert Park (44,000).
Main Roads
Highway 29 runs through Napa Valley. It's mostly a two-lane road. Silverado Trail parallels 29 on the east side of the valley. Highway 128 crosses into Napa from the east, then runs up the valley and eventually into northern Sonoma County.
US 101 runs north-south through the middle of Sonoma County. It's a four or six lane divided freeway. Highway 12 runs from the SW through the towns of Sonoma, Santa Rosa, and officially ending in Sebastopol, although the road continues to the Pacific Coast.
Weather
Both are Mediterranean climates, meaning cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers.
Both have some relatively cooler areas during the grape growing season because of the proximity to chilly Pacific and bay water. Napa summers are cooler to the south; Sonoma to the south and west. Sonoma County has a large area of cool summer weather influenced by the Pacific. This is why you find more of the cool climate grapes like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in Sonoma.
But even these descriptions are generalizations, as both counties are full of microclimates. This means winds and rainfalls vary in the winter by location. Winds, cloud cover, and temperatures vary in the summer, especially temperatures.
Topography
Napa's highest elevation is 4200 feet; Sonoma's is 4700 feet.
Napa has the one main valley running through the county. Napa Valley is 30 miles long and 5 miles wide at its widest point.
Sonoma has several valleys including Sonoma, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valleys. The Russian River Valley growing area is large enough to be considered more of a plain.
Vineyards
Napa has 46,000 acres (72 sq miles) of grapes; Sonoma has 62,000 acres (97 sq miles).
In Napa 80% are red wine grapes.
The highest elevation vineyard in Napa is at 2660 feet (at Atlas Peak); in Sonoma it's 2800 feet (at Pine Mountain).
Napa's main grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon (52% of the total crop), Chardonnay (13%), and Merlot (9%).
Sonoma's main grapes are Chardonnay (25% of the total crop), Pinot Noir (21%), and Cabernet Sauvignon (20%).
Wineries
Napa has an estimated 500 wineries, Sonoma has over 425, not all with tasting rooms. Rhode Island has 34 wineries.
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| The Mayacamas Mountains separate Napa Valley from Sonoma Valley Picture from a Sonoma Valley vineyard |
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