What Sonoma Valley and Washington State Wines Have in Common

It's not climate or soil or history, it's identity. It's a distant 650 miles from the Sonoma Valley AVA to the middle of Washington, but they share this commonality. Neither has a distinct identity that most well-known wine growing areas possess.

Autumn in Wine Country

September, October, and early November are a prime time for visiting the California Wine Country. Here's why:

Calif. Bulk Wine Market, and Why You Might Care

Bulk wine is unsold wine from a previous vintage. It's sitting in large tanks or barrels and can be shipped to a purchaser in large containers. It often winds up at a winery or with someone else who will bottle and label it for retail sale. A winery can easily do this as they are already set up for it. Sometimes a winery might sell it as a one-time special bottling, sometimes under a different label because it'll be at a significantly lower price than their other wines.

Who is Drinking Wine?

In 2023 spirits surpassed wine in popularity in the U.S. for the first time in decades. This, according to a Gallup poll asking people what is their favorite alcoholic beverage.