Other California Wine Towns

Lots of people know about the wine towns of Napa Valley (Napa, Yountville, St. Helena, and Calistoga), and next door in Sonoma County (Sonoma, and Healdsburg). These burgs tend to be cutesy and pricey. California has other wine towns that aren't so well known, maybe not so cute, and probably not so expensive. 

 

Lodi 

If you're thinking of the old CCR song "Stuck in Lodi Again" the town has changed a lot since then. There's the historic downtown, there are 85 wineries in the area, several downtown tap rooms and breweries. Restaurants are more cafes, diners, and Mexican food. Compared to Napa, everything here is more casual, more laid back, less expensive. Tasting fees are low, wine prices also. Lodi specializes in Zinfandel. Lodi is in the Central Valley, just over a half-hour south of Sacramento. It's an hour-and-a-half east of Napa.

Paso

Paso Robles

The Paso area in Central California has 300 wineries. They are known for Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah, but produce lots of others. Besides Syrah, it's a good place to find Rhone varietals such as Grenache and Viognier. In addition to the town of Paso Robles, Atascadero is popular for lodging.

Solvang

Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County, just north of L.A., is home to the wine-producing area of Santa Ynez Valley. There are four small towns clustered together, all with different personalities: Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, Buellton, and Solvang. Solvang is a tourist mecca as it mimics a Danish village. This area is most known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Sutter Creek

Sutter Creek 

In the Sierra Foothills' Amador County, home to 50 wineries, is not too far from Sacramento or Lodi. These small, sometimes tiny, towns along State Highway 49 were part of the California Gold Rush, so there's history to see here, too. I was once stopped on the road in a nearby town to let a wagon train pass that must have been part of a Gold Rush festival. There's lots of enthusiasm for their old west history. Most of the wineries are in the Shenandoah Valley, just up from the small town of Plymouth. Sutter Creek has plenty of lodging and food choices. Barbera and Zinfandel are the stars here.

Temecula

Temecula

Between L.A. and San Diego in Riverside County, the Temecula Valley is home to about 40 wineries. I've never been, but hear about it a lot from SoCal visitors. The town of Temecula sits on the Fifteen. (Known as I-15 to the rest of us).

 

There are other California wine regions, as the state has thousands of wineries. Lake, Mendocino, and Solano Counties in the North Coast region near Napa and Sonoma. The Livermore Valley doesn't really have a wine town for visitors, as it's a short drive from much of the SF Bay Area. Monterey County has tourism-driven towns, but they're more focused on the Pacific Ocean than wine. There's Santa Cruz Mountains and Ventura County also with no wine-focused towns.

Wine regions in other parts of the country include Traverse City, MI, McMinnville, OR, Walla Walla, WA, and Watkins Glen in NY's Finger Lakes.

Have fun exploring!