A CALIFORNIA STATE OF WINE
This guide explains real California wine regions and appellations. Each destination includes sources, geographic facts and a short wine summary.
Real geography · researched wineries · sourced wine catalog
Explore real wineries Explore appellationsSOURCED CALIFORNIA GUIDE
Travel regions group destinations. An AVA has a federal boundary. A county appellation uses a county name. These boundaries can differ.
This selected guide covers 22 AVAs and 2 county appellations. Guides remain available when our catalog has no wines from an area.
Sources checked . Summaries use ASD-STE100 writing principles. The research report explains the method and defined terms.
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CALIFORNIA
Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and other northern wine areas have distinct local conditions.
9 appellations · 6 producers · 6 wines
Napa Valley vineyard
Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress · Public domain ·
Photo source
CALIFORNIA
This travel region connects coastal wine areas from the San Francisco Bay area to Santa Barbara County.
7 appellations · 4 producers · 4 wines
Santa Ynez Valley vineyard
Jester7777 · Public domain ·
Photo source
CALIFORNIA
Clarksburg has vineyards beside the Delta. This local guide forms part of the Inland Valleys.
1 appellation · 1 producer · 1 wine
Liberty Island, Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta
Steve Martarano / USFWS · Public domain ·
Photo source
CALIFORNIA
Mountain vineyards and historic towns form this eastern wine region.
2 appellations · 0 producers · 0 wines
Foothills of Amador County
Shift6 · Public domain ·
Photo source
CALIFORNIA
Lodi and Madera are separate wine areas within the Central Valley.
2 appellations · 1 producer · 1 wine
San Joaquin Valley landscape
Mark Miller · CC0 ·
Photo source
CALIFORNIA
Temecula Valley and other southern areas have different vineyard conditions.
2 appellations · 1 producer · 1 wine
Temecula Valley seen from Halter Ranch
Blervis · CC0 ·
Photo source
CALIFORNIA
Forests, lakes and mountains surround wine areas such as Trinity Lakes.
1 appellation · 0 producers · 0 wines
Trinity Lake, Trinity County
Tupper Ansel Blake / USFWS / National Archives · Public domain ·
Photo source
LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER
24 of 24 appellations
An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a defined grape area that TTB recognizes. County appellations use county names. Travel regions help you find destinations.
Mendocino · California
Anderson Valley is an AVA in Mendocino County. It lies within the Mendocino and North Coast AVAs.
Mendocino County context; the exact AVA location is not verified. No-till-vineyard · CC0 · Photo source
Sacramento, Solano & Yolo · California
Clarksburg is an AVA with land in Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties.
Wider Delta context, photographed at Liberty Island. Steve Martarano / USFWS · Public domain · Photo source
Mendocino · California
Mendocino is an AVA in Mendocino County. It lies within the North Coast AVA.
Mendocino County context; the exact AVA location is not verified. No-till-vineyard · CC0 · Photo source
Napa · California
Napa Valley is an AVA in Napa County. It lies within the North Coast AVA.
Napa Valley view. Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress · Public domain · Photo source
Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano & Sonoma · California
North Coast is an AVA with land in Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
Napa Valley, within the wider North Coast. Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress · Public domain · Photo source
San Luis Obispo · California
Paso Robles is an AVA in San Luis Obispo County. It lies within the Central Coast AVA.
Paso Robles AVA view. Schalkv · CC0 · Photo source
Sonoma · California
Russian River Valley is an AVA in Sonoma County. It lies within North Coast and Northern Sonoma.
Sonoma County context; the exact AVA location is not verified. Sarah Stierch (Missvain) · CC0 · Photo source
Santa Barbara · California
Santa Barbara County is a county appellation. It contains wine areas with different climates and official AVA names.
Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County. Jester7777 · Public domain · Photo source
Santa Barbara · California
Santa Ynez Valley is an AVA in Santa Barbara County. It lies within the Central Coast AVA.
Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County. Jester7777 · Public domain · Photo source
Sonoma · California
Sonoma Coast is an AVA in Sonoma County. It lies within the North Coast AVA.
Sonoma County context; the exact AVA location is not verified. Sarah Stierch (Missvain) · CC0 · Photo source
Sonoma · California
Sonoma County is a county appellation. It includes several AVAs with different boundaries.
Sonoma County view. Sarah Stierch (Missvain) · CC0 · Photo source
Sonoma · California
Sonoma Valley is an AVA in Sonoma County. It lies within North Coast and partly overlaps Sonoma Coast.
Sonoma County context; the exact AVA location is not verified. Sarah Stierch (Missvain) · CC0 · Photo source
Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara & Santa Cruz · California
Central Coast is an AVA that extends through parts of ten California counties. It includes Monterey, Paso Robles and Santa Ynez Valley.
Wider Central Coast travel-region context, photographed in Santa Ynez Valley. Jester7777 · Public domain · Photo source
Napa & Sonoma · California
Los Carneros is an AVA in Napa and Sonoma counties. It lies within the North Coast AVA.
Sonoma County context; the exact AVA location is not verified. Sarah Stierch (Missvain) · CC0 · Photo source
Monterey · California
Monterey is an AVA in Monterey County. It lies within the Central Coast AVA.
Wider Central Coast travel-region context, photographed in Santa Ynez Valley. Jester7777 · Public domain · Photo source
San Mateo, Santa Clara & Santa Cruz · California
Santa Cruz Mountains is an AVA in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.
Wider Central Coast travel-region context, photographed in Santa Ynez Valley. Jester7777 · Public domain · Photo source
Santa Barbara · California
Sta. Rita Hills is an AVA in Santa Barbara County. It lies within Santa Ynez Valley and Central Coast.
Wider Central Coast travel-region context, photographed in Santa Ynez Valley. Jester7777 · Public domain · Photo source
Sacramento & San Joaquin · California
Lodi is an AVA in Sacramento and San Joaquin counties. It is separate from the coastal AVAs.
Wider San Joaquin Valley context; the exact AVA location is not verified. Mark Miller · CC0 · Photo source
Fresno & Madera · California
Madera is an AVA with land in Madera and Fresno counties. It forms part of our Inland Valleys travel guide.
Wider San Joaquin Valley context; the exact AVA location is not verified. Mark Miller · CC0 · Photo source
Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Tuolumne & Yuba · California
Sierra Foothills is an AVA across parts of eight counties. It includes several smaller wine areas.
Sierra Foothills context, photographed in Amador County. Shift6 · Public domain · Photo source
El Dorado · California
El Dorado is an AVA in El Dorado County. It partly overlaps the larger Sierra Foothills AVA.
Sierra Foothills context, photographed in Amador County. Shift6 · Public domain · Photo source
Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino & San Diego · California
South Coast is an AVA with land in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.
Temecula Valley, within the wider South Coast. Blervis · CC0 · Photo source
Riverside · California
Temecula Valley is an AVA in Riverside County. It lies within the South Coast AVA.
Temecula Valley, within the wider South Coast. Blervis · CC0 · Photo source
Trinity · California
Trinity Lakes is an AVA in Trinity County. Our Far North California guide includes it as a wine destination.
Trinity Lake landscape; this photo does not show an AVA boundary. Tupper Ansel Blake / USFWS / National Archives · Public domain · Photo source
AVA names checked against the TTB directory. This is a selected guide, not a complete California register. Catalog wines link to producer sources. The credited destination photographs show real places. Photo research and rights.
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