EXPLORE WINE COUNTRY
Explore coastal valleys, vineyard towns, foothills, and lakes. Start with a travel region, then follow the local guides to its wines and wineries.
Choose a destinationSEVEN WAYS INTO WINE COUNTRY
Coastal valleys and inland vineyards.
Napa Valley towns and Sonoma Valley offer wine visits. Clear Lake provides a separate destination for lake activities.
Explore the destinationNapa Valley vineyard
Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress · Public domain · Photo source
A coastal route with distinct wine areas.
The Salinas Valley and Santa Ynez Valley have wine visitor routes. Each area has separate towns and local visitor information.
Explore the destinationSanta Ynez Valley vineyard
Jester7777 · Public domain · Photo source
Wine farms beside the Delta.
Clarksburg provides a local base for wine visits. Grower information describes the farms and grapes of the area.
Explore the destinationLiberty Island, Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta
Steve Martarano / USFWS · Public domain · Photo source
Wine areas in the western Sierra foothills.
Amador County and El Dorado County provide routes through wine areas and historic communities.
Explore the destinationFoothills of Amador County
Shift6 · Public domain · Photo source
Wine areas of the Central Valley.
Lodi and Madera provide separate wine destinations. Clarksburg has its own Delta guide on this website.
Explore the destinationSan Joaquin Valley landscape
Mark Miller · CC0 · Photo source
Wine areas from inland valleys to coastal hills.
Temecula Valley offers winery visits. Cucamonga Valley provides another destination with historic vineyards.
Explore the destinationTemecula Valley seen from Halter Ranch
Blervis · CC0 · Photo source
Wine destinations among forests and mountains.
Trinity County offers lake activities, forest routes and historic communities. Lewiston is one of its visitor destinations.
Explore the destinationTrinity Lake, Trinity County
Tupper Ansel Blake / USFWS / National Archives · Public domain · Photo source
Explore the landscapes and visitor ideas in each appellation guide.
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
These guides use previously researched sources. Confirm visits and current opening details with each winery.
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