Dustin Moilanen founded ACTA in spring 2021 on a 16-acre Highway 128 estate, opening hospitality in autumn 2023 after extensive renovation. Small-production lots — often just a few barrels — under the motto ACTA NON VERBA: deeds, not words. Tasting lounge, vineyard patio, estate olive grove, and organic gardens.

Three former NFL linemen turned a post-football friendship into one of Sonoma's most welcoming tasting rooms — a backyard-style lounge on Broadway pouring award-winning Sonoma and Napa wines. Walk-ins, kids, and dogs are all welcome; the Champion Brut and Linemen blends carry the story in the glass.

Francis Ford Coppola's Geyserville estate is Alexander Valley's most exuberant winery visit — part tasting room, part Italian retreat, part movie museum. Diamond Collection Cabernet and Chardonnay share the property with a swimming pool, bocce courts, the Rustic restaurant, and memorabilia from The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.

Banshee began in 2009 as three friends, eight barrels of Sonoma Coast Pinot, borrowed money, and a contrarian idea: serious wine without the markup. Now a Foley Family label in an Alexander Valley winery, it keeps the unpretentious spirit — vinyl on the turntable, Pinot and Cabernet in the glass.

Three sisters founded Breathless as a tribute to their mother, crafting méthode champenoise sparkling wine just off the Healdsburg plaza. Winemaker Penny Gadd-Coster guides the cuvées, poured as seated flights in an Art Deco tasting room built from reclaimed shipping containers — with sabrage lessons and a garden patio.

On a 2021 bike ride near home, Elizabeth and Tucker Stein spotted a 'For Sale' sign on a farm flanked by Los Carneros vineyards. They named it Cassidy Ranch, pairing organic Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Merlot with a working farm — u-pick flowers, pumpkins, a farm shop, and pickleball.

A family business with deep California roots — Bill Isetta's grandfather was a 1920s cooper, and both his and Marilyn's fathers worked at Christian Brothers. Bill, Marilyn, and son Dominic source Northern Sonoma Valley fruit, with Ryan Kunde as winemaker. The Sonoma Plaza tasting room is open late and family-friendly.

Ron Rubin dreamed of a winery in 1971 as a UC Davis student. Forty years later he bought the Green Valley property, Goldridge soils in the coolest corner of Russian River Valley. Also known as River Road Family Vineyards, it's one of fewer than three dozen Certified B Corp wineries.

Founded in 2003 by husband-and-wife winemakers Kenneth and Laura Juhasz, Auteur built its reputation on small-lot Pinot Noir and non-malolactic Chardonnay from cool-climate Northern California. Robert Parker called the work 'consistently exceptional.' Two tasting rooms: the 1915 bungalow on Sonoma Plaza and a new Russian River estate near Healdsburg.

The Larson family has worked this land since 1899 — first a dairy farm, then home of the Sonoma Rodeo, and since 1977 a vineyard. Five generations later, Tom Larson runs the winery with Shane Anderson as winemaker. The motto: 'We drink what we can, and sell the rest.'

Bill Price — 'Billy Three Sticks' to his friends, for the III after his name — founded the label in 2002 after buying the Durell Vineyard in 1998. The tasting room occupies the 1842 Vallejo-Casteneda Adobe in downtown Sonoma, with wines from six estate vineyards across Sonoma County.

Brice Cutrer Jones, a fighter pilot turned Harvard MBA, founded Sonoma-Cutrer in 1973 as a Chardonnay house in Windsor. The estate has had three Directors of Winemaking, with Cara Morrison the first woman since the 1981 vintage. The tasting room closed in 2025, but the wines continue through Club Cutrer.

The Pellegrini family has been in Sonoma wine since 1925, when brothers Nello and Gino arrived from Tuscany. Vincent and Aida Pellegrini planted the Olivet Lane Vineyard in 1975 — one of the first Russian River Valley Pinot plantings — with fourth-generation Alexia Pellegrini now running the estate.

Courtney Benham bought 1,500 cases of orphaned Martin Ray wine from a San Jose warehouse in 1990 and has carried the legendary winemaker's name forward ever since. The Russian River estate occupies the historic 1881 Martini & Prati site — the oldest continually operating winery in Sonoma County.

Founded in 1974 by Damaris Deere Ford — great-great-granddaughter of John Deere — Landmark is best known for Burgundian-varietal whites and Pinots. The Russian River tasting room at Hop Kiln Estate, acquired in 2016, occupies a National Historic Landmark 1905 stone hop kiln on Westside Road.

Founded in 1979 as La Crema Viñera — 'the best of the vine' — it helped establish Russian River Valley as a cool-climate Pinot powerhouse. Acquired by the Jackson family in 1993, the brand now hosts visitors at Saralee's Vineyard, a restored 1900 hop barn on Slusser Road.

Joe Benziger and artist Bob Nugent founded Imagery in 1987 for the unusual: Lagrein, Teroldego, Barbera, Tempranillo, and varieties overlooked in California. Every label is commissioned artwork, the 442-piece collection archived at Sonoma State. Second-generation winemaker Jamie Benziger leads the program; The Wine Group has the estate listed for sale.

Founded in 1988 by four friends: winemaker James Hall, Anne Moses, and Donald and Heather Patz. They've built relationships with California's best growers: Hyde, Hudson, Pisoni, Martinelli, Gap's Crown. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the focus; the 2022 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay reached #22 on Wine Spectator's 2025 Top 100.

Founded in 1858, Gundlach Bundschu is California's oldest family-owned winery, now in its sixth generation. The 320-acre Rhinefarm estate sits at the crossroads of Sonoma Valley, Carneros, and Napa. Regenerative Organic Certified, dog-friendly, and unpretentious. Known for Cabernet, Merlot, and Pinot Noir, plus limited Gewürztraminer and Tempranillo.

Founded by master Cabernet-maker Richard Arrowood in 1986, after he'd built Chateau St. Jean's reputation, Arrowood has stayed focused on age-worthy Sonoma Cabernet across four decades and three ownerships. The hillside Glen Ellen tasting room offers a wraparound veranda and views of Sonoma Mountain. Now part of Jackson Family Wines.

Founded in 1999 by Daniel Duncan as a sister winery to Silver Oak, Twomey expanded beyond Napa Cabernet into Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot from Sonoma, Mendocino, and Oregon. The Westside Road tasting room sits on a 109-acre Russian River estate. Winemaker Nate Weis leads. Seated tastings by reservation.

Brothers Andrew and Adam Mariani are fourth-generation farmers who founded Scribe in 2007 on a pre-Prohibition Sonoma winemaking site. Organic and biodynamic farming, non-interventionist winemaking, and a restored 1858 Hacienda turned tasting space have earned a cult following. Tastings are reserved for members of the Scribe Viticultural Society.

The Mayo family has made single-vineyard wines from across Sonoma County since 1993, a portfolio ranging from Chardonnay and Zinfandel into harder-to-find Carignane, Petite Sirah, and Alicante Bouschet. The Glen Ellen tasting room is dog- and family-friendly; the Reserve Room in Kenwood offers a seven-course food pairing.

Morgan Twain-Peterson grew up at Ravenswood and made his first wine at five. One of two California Masters of Wine, he's made Bedrock a voice for old-vine preservation. The Bedrock Vineyard, on a Civil War-era farm, is Regenerative Organic Certified; the tasting room fills General Hooker's 1854 Sonoma home.

Bartholomew Estate sits on the original 1857 Haraszthy property, birthplace of California's premium wine. The Bartholomew Foundation owns the 375-acre site, opened it as a public park, and funds preservation through the winery. Estate tastings, hiking, horseback rides, and an art gallery in a historic corner of Sonoma Valley.

Founded in 1984 by Bruce Cohn, longtime manager of the Doobie Brothers, B.R. Cohn pairs a working winery with rock-and-roll history. The Olive Hill Estate sits between Sonoma Mountain and the Mayacamas, anchored by Cabernet Sauvignon and a heritage grove of 450 Picholine olive trees. Unhurried, music-tinged tastings.

Founded in 1997 by Merry Edwards, the second woman to graduate UC Davis's enology program and early winemaker at Mount Eden and Matanzas Creek; the Sebastopol estate is known for Sauvignon Blanc and single-vineyard Russian River Pinot. Acquired by Louis Roederer in 2019; Heidi von der Mehden now leads.

Founded in 1997 by Dan Kosta and Michael Browne as a hobby funded by waitering tips, Kosta Browne grew into one of California's most coveted Pinot Noir producers. Sold to J.W. Childs in 2009 and Duckhorn in 2018. Winemaker Julien Howsepian leads the Sebastopol cellar. Allocation-list only.

Founded in 2005 by Mary Dewane and Joe Anderson with winemaker Mike Sullivan (ex-Hartford Court), Benovia is a 42-acre estate at the Cohn Vineyard property northwest of Santa Rosa. Focused on single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel from Russian River, Sonoma Coast, and Mendocino. Seated tastings by reservation.

Founded in 1979 by amateur winemakers Burt Williams and Ed Selyem in Forestville, Williams Selyem became the most coveted Pinot Noir mailing list by the mid-1990s. Sold to John Dyson in 1998, it moved to a Westside Road estate in 2010. Jeff Mangahas has led the cellar since 2011.

Joe Rochioli Sr. came to Westside Road in 1938, and son Joe Jr. planted the seminal West Block of Pinot Noir in 1968, among the first Pinot vines in the Russian River. Founded as a winery in 1976, Rochioli is run by third-generation Tom Rochioli, winemaker since 1985. Allocation only.

The Martinelli family has farmed the Russian River Valley since Giuseppe and Luisa Martinelli planted vineyards in the late 1800s, after emigrating from Tuscany. Today the family makes Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Syrah from estate vineyards including the legendary 60-degree Jackass Hill Zinfandel block. Tasting room on River Road.

Founded in 1996 by veteran winemaker David Ramey and Carla Ramey after stints at Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus, and Rudd, the label is known for low-intervention Burgundian Chardonnay and Bordeaux-influenced Cabernet. Now run by son Alan and Claire Ramey, with David still consulting. Tasting room on Healdsburg Avenue.

Founded in 1882 by Czech immigrants Francis, Anton, and Joseph Korbel, the Guerneville estate has been the Heck family's home since 1954. One of America's oldest operating sparkling-wine houses, Korbel sits on 600 acres along the lower Russian River, its brick winery and rose garden listed on the National Register.

Founded in 1982 by Gary Farrell, assistant to Davis Bynum and Rochioli collaborator, who built the glass-walled winery on a Westside Road hillside in 2000. Farrell sold in 2004; now owned by Bill Price (Three Sticks, Durell, Gap's Crown) and Vincraft. Director of Winemaking Theresa Heredia has led since 2012.

Founded in 1896 by Giovanni Foppiano, a Genoa Gold Rush immigrant. The family survived Prohibition selling winemaking kits; a 1926 raid dumped 100,000 gallons into a creek. In 1967 Louis J. Foppiano released the first commercial Petite Sirah, the house's longtime anchor. Sold to Courtney Benham's CMB Wines in 2024.

Founded in 1965 by Davis Bynum, the first winery on Westside Road. Bynum bottled the first single-vineyard Russian River Pinot Noir, the 1973 Rochioli, and helped establish the appellation. Sold to the Klein family in 2007, with winemaker Greg Morthole leading since 2010. Tastings now pour at Rodney Strong.

Founded in 2002 by Al and Janis McWilliams, who bought the 36-acre Westside Road estate in 2004 and planted it in 2006. Winemaker Matt Courtney joined in 2013 after a decade at Marcassin; sons Mark and Ben now run the business. Native ferment, unfined and unfiltered, in a Japanese-garden setting.

Established in 1998 by Jess Jackson and Bordelais vigneron Pierre Seillan. Vérité makes three blends: La Muse (Merlot-led), La Joie (Cabernet-led), and Le Désir (Cabernet Franc-led), from sixty micro-blocks across Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill, Knights Valley, and Bennett Valley. A stone chai-style winery opened on Chalk Hill Road in 2019.

Founded in 2001 by the Roth family, producing Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley. Bill Foley acquired it in 2012, adding Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to the Bordeaux foundation. The hospitality estate on Chalk Hill Road, across from Chalk Hill Estate, features an 8,500-square-foot brick-lined cave and terraces.

Patrick Sullivan grew up on his family's Bennett Valley ranch, then made wine at Peter Michael, Paul Hobbs, Lewis, and Rudd before founding Grey Stack in 2004. Estate fruit comes from Four Brothers Vineyard, straddling the Bennett Valley and Sonoma Mountain AVAs. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir lead the portfolio.

Founded in 1973 by Fred and Juelle Fisher on 100 acres of hillside in the Mayacamas above Santa Rosa. The mountain estate, at 1,200 to 1,500 feet, sits in the Fountaingrove District AVA. Three second-generation siblings, Whitney, Rob, and Cameron, lead the family's classically balanced Chardonnay and Bordeaux reds.

Established in the late 1990s when Jess and Barbara Jackson sought a Sonoma site to rival Grand Cru Bordeaux. Vigneron Pierre Seillan — also of Vérité — makes single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from two Knights Valley vineyards, Helena Dakota and Helena Montana. Tastings are at the Jackson estate in Chalk Hill.

Founded in 1998 when fifth-generation farmer Steve Dutton, son of Warren Dutton, who planted Dutton Ranch in 1969, teamed with winemaker Dan Goldfield to bottle the ranch's fruit. Goldfield made wine at La Crema and Hartford Court before co-founding the label. Today: about 14,000 cases, 75% from Dutton Ranch.

Founded in 2002 by Eric Sussman — a Cornell-trained winegrower who apprenticed at Mouton-Rothschild and in Burgundy before four years as associate winemaker for Dehlinger. The 42-acre biodynamic estate sits above Occidental on Goldridge soils ten miles from the Pacific. Single-vineyard Pinot, Chardonnay, and Syrah; native ferment, unfined, unfiltered.

Founded by Baron Ziegler (also of Banshee Wines) and winemaker Rob Fischer, Marine Layer opened its downtown Healdsburg tasting room in 2021. The label sources Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from cool, fog-influenced Sonoma Coast sites: Petaluma Gap, Gap's Crown, Sebastopol Hills, Green Valley, Occidental, and the estate Marine Layer Vineyard.

Founded in 2012 by Jan Holtermann and winemaker Carroll Kemp (co-founder of Red Car), Alma Fria — 'cold soul' — produces small-lot Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Holtermann family's 2.5-acre vineyard above Annapolis and sourced cool-climate sites. Now wholly operated by Kemp.

Founded in 2001 by David Cobb and his son Ross. The Coastlands Vineyard, planted in 1989 on a Sonoma Coast ridge above Occidental, supplied Williams Selyem from 1992; Ross now farms it himself. The family makes single-vineyard Pinot Noir from three estate sites and partners, Chardonnay, and a little Riesling.

Founded in 2011 by Steve Kistler, the longtime Kistler Vineyards principal, Occidental is a tightly focused Pinot Noir house on a southwest-facing ridge in the Freestone-Occidental area east of Bodega. Three estate vineyards feed five single-vineyard bottlings, allocated by mailing list and vinified by Kistler with daughters Catherine and Elizabeth.

The Bacigalupi family has farmed Westside Road since 1956, when Charles and Helen, a dentist and pharmacist, bought the Goddard Ranch. Their 1964 Wente-clone Chardonnay went into the 1973 Chateau Montelena that won the 1976 Paris Tasting. The estate label launched in 2011; four generations farm under winemaker Ashley Herzberg.

Phil and Sylvia Hurst founded Truett Hurst in 2007 in Dry Creek Valley on a biodynamic ethos. After a turbulent public-company chapter sold the original property, Phil repurchased the brand in 2024 with vintner Ken Wilson. The winery now pours from the Hudson Street Tasting Barn in downtown Healdsburg.

Erik Miller named his winery for his Indiana hometown, founding it in 2004 with 500 cases of Cabernet. In partnership with fourth-generation Dry Creek farmer Randy Peters, Kokomo produces 20+ varietals from the east bench of Dry Creek Valley, plus a natural-wine sublabel, Breaking Bread. Hoosier hospitality, single-vineyard rigor.

Rodney D. Strong founded Sonoma County's 13th bonded winery in 1959; the Klein family has owned it since 1989. Fifteen estate vineyards across five appellations anchor a serious single-vineyard program — Alexander's Crown, Rockaway, and Brothers Ridge Cabernet lead the Alexander Valley wines. Justin Seidenfeld leads winemaking.

Stephen and Paula Hawkes bought the Home Ranch Vineyard in 1971 and planted Cabernet in 1972, twelve years before Alexander Valley became an AVA. The family farms eighty-five hillside acres of Cabernet, Merlot, and Chardonnay in the southern valley. Small lots, family-run, irreverent, and among the appellation's respected Cabernet houses.

Soda Rock is the historic Alexander Valley store and post office, site of the first bonded winery in 1880. Ken and Diane Wilson restored it in 2000; the facility burned in the 2019 Kincade Fire, but the century-old barn survived. Bordeaux varietals from Wilson vineyards across Alexander and Dry Creek.

Harry 'Red' Coturri and sons Tony and Phil founded Coturri in 1979 on Sonoma Mountain above Glen Ellen, long before natural wine had a name. Tony has made zero-additive wine from organic, dry-farmed vines since 1964: native yeast, no sulfites, no filtration. He's the granddaddy of natural wine in California.

Founded in 1970 by John Sheela and brothers-in-law Mike and Marty Lee on the historic 1906 Pagani Brothers site, Kenwood helped define modern Sonoma Valley. It's famed for the Artist Series Cabernet and Jack London Vineyard bottlings from Sonoma Mountain. Korbel's Gary Heck reacquired the estate in 2026.

Mac McQuown, a Chalone investor since 1970, founded Stone Edge Farm in 2004 with former Mayacamas winemaker Jeff Baker. The estate spans 18 mountain acres atop Moon Mountain plus 4.5 on the valley floor, farmed organically by Phil Coturri. Alejandro Zimman is winemaker; two-Michelin-starred Enclos completes the program.

Repris is crafted at the Moon Mountain Vineyard, a 300-acre property planted in the 1880s and once known as Glen Ellen Vineyard, then Carmenet. Jim Momtazee bought it in 2011 as a faithful steward. Winemaker Erich Bradley makes small-lot Bordeaux and Rhône wines from organic blocks above the fog line.

George Hamel Jr., co-founder of ValueAct Capital, and his wife Pam bought a 2006 Kenwood home that came with an acre of Cabernet. The side project became a family operation: organic, biodynamic vineyards across Sonoma Valley and Moon Mountain, with son John winemaker since 2017, crafting Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc.

Former Kosta Browne, Dutton-Goldfield, and Ravenswood winemaker Garry Brooks and his wife Joanne founded Brooks Note in 2012 — small-batch, elegant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from hidden corners of Sonoma, Marin, and Napa. In 2022 they opened a tasting room in downtown Petaluma, in a renovated 1921 Studebaker dealership.

Kamal and Parichehr Azari discovered a Petaluma Gap parcel on a 1988 drive, planted vineyards, and founded the winery in 2000. Their Tuscan-villa estate is now a Gap hospitality landmark, where winemaker Joel Akin crafts a Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Shiraz program named for the family's roots in Shiraz, Iran.

John Sweazey founded Anaba in 2006 at the western edge of Carneros, where anabatic winds sweep upward across the vineyards and give the winery its name. It was Northern California's first wind-powered winery; today Katy Wilson, VinePair's 2025 Winemaker of the Year, crafts Rhône and Burgundian wines from estate vineyards.

After a 1986 rupture with the family Sebastiani Winery, Sam Sebastiani founded Viansa in 1989 with his wife Vicki, a Tuscan-style villa devoted to Italian heritage varieties at Sonoma Valley's southern entrance. The 130-acre estate holds a 97-acre wetland preserve and Italian marketplace, now run by sons Chris and Jon.

Anne Moller-Racke founded The Donum Estate in 2001 and ran it nearly two decades before stepping away in 2019 for Blue Farm, her Pinot Noir and Chardonnay project, anchored by the Anne Katherina Vineyard behind her Victorian farmhouse in Carneros. Winemaker Kenneth Juhasz draws on five vineyards across five AVAs.

California's founding house of traditional method sparkling, founded in 1986 by Barcelona's Ferrer family — the name behind Freixenet. They chose Carneros because the fog-swept hills reminded them of Penedès. Four decades later, winemaker Kyle Altomare and the long Spanish-influenced terrace still set the appellation benchmark.

Founded in 2001 by friends Craig Haserot and Erich Bradley, Sojourn built its reputation on single-vineyard Pinot Noirs from revered sites — Gap's Crown, Rodgers Creek, Sangiacomo — plus small-lot Chardonnay and Cabernet. The winery owns no vineyards, partnering with growers. The downtown Sonoma salon is steps off the Plaza.

Founded in 1979, St. Francis has spent over four decades on elegant, fruit-driven Sonoma wines — Cabernet and Zinfandel from Dry Creek hillsides, Chardonnay and Merlot from Sonoma Valley, Pinot from Russian River. Its national reputation rests on Chef Peter Janiak's seated wine-and-food pairings, repeatedly ranked among OpenTable's best.

Samuele Sebastiani arrived from Tuscany in 1895 and founded the winery in 1904, one of California's oldest family-named estates. The original downtown Sonoma property remains the tasting room, with redwood tanks, antique tools, and an event space. The Cherryblock Vineyard, planted in 1961 behind the winery, makes the flagship Cabernet.

Five generations of Kunde farming upper Sonoma Valley since 1904 — 1,850 acres from valley floor to 1,400-foot ridgeline. The range: Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier down low to Cabernet, Zinfandel, and Syrah on the hillsides. The Mountain Top tour ends at a deck overlooking the Valley of the Moon.

The first winery travelers reach north from San Francisco, perched above 28 organic acres at southern Sonoma Valley, with Carneros rolling toward San Pablo Bay. Founded in 2011 by Jeff O'Neill, it draws on Durell, Gap's Crown, Hyde, Hudson, and Sangiacomo for restrained Chardonnay and Pinot, made by Joe Nielsen.

Founded in 1973 and named for Jean Sheffield Merzoian, sister-in-law and wife of the founders. The 1920s chateau began as a summer home built by Ernest Goff; its oak-paneled rooms serve as the Reserve Tasting Room. The Cinq Cépages Bordeaux blend is the flagship. Bocce, rose gardens, redwood picnic groves.

Daniel and Marion Schoenfeld have farmed their 110-acre homestead at the headwaters of Wild Hog Creek since 1977, opening the solar- and hydro-powered winery in 1990 — among California's earliest minimalist winemakers. Certified organic since 1983: permanent cover crop, dry-farmed vines, no synthetics. Forty-five minutes on dirt roads from Cazadero.

Brothers Nick and Andy Peay planted a 50-acre vineyard above Annapolis in 1996, four miles from the Pacific. With winemaker Vanessa Wong, formerly of Peter Michael, they make single-vineyard Pinot, Chardonnay, Syrah, and white Rhônes from one of California's coldest sites. No public tasting room; visits by appointment.

Founded in 1989 by Walt and Joan Flowers, who left the Pennsylvania flower business to pioneer viticulture on the Sonoma Coast. Their Camp Meeting Ridge and Sea View Ridge vineyards above 1,800 feet were considered too cold by most; they proved otherwise. Hosted at the House of Flowers in Healdsburg.

Founded in 1994 by Lester and Linda Schwartz on a 957-acre property rising from the Pacific to 1,700-foot ridgetops — among the only wineries with a tasting room on the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA itself. Sunset's Peter Fish called it 'the most spectacularly sited tasting room in California.'

David Hirsch planted his ridge above Fort Ross in 1980, among the first to see that extreme coastal sites could grow great Pinot Noir. The estate is now regarded as the birthplace of the true Sonoma Coast style, a 72-acre vineyard along the San Andreas Fault. Daughter Jasmine now leads.

Where three appellations meet, southern Alexander Valley brushing Chalk Hill and Knights Valley, the vineyard is planted entirely to the five classic Bordeaux reds plus Sauvignon Blanc, across 24 blocks. Eugene Silva designed the winery in 2001; over 9,000 square feet of caves are dug into the hill. Reservations only.

Roger and Carmen Stuhlmuller bought the 150-acre property in 1982 and built a reputation as growers, supplying Chateau Souverain, Simi, and benchmark producers. Son Fritz launched the estate label in 1996, converting the red barn into a small cellar. It sits where Alexander Valley, Dry Creek, and Russian River meet.

Farming estate land in the heart of the appellation since 1975, the year Alexander Valley earned its AVA. The Cyrus, a Bordeaux-style blend, is the flagship, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel rounding out a reliable portfolio. Family-owned across three generations, with a charming 19th-century schoolhouse tasting room on Highway 128.

Giuseppe and Pietro Simi founded the winery in 1876 and began making wine in their stone Healdsburg cellar in 1890; the same building has made wine ever since. Simi is also a landmark women-in-wine lineage, with female head winemakers from Mary Ann Graff in 1973 through Zelma Long.

The Young family has farmed the 448-acre Alexander Valley ranch since 1858, six generations on the same land. Patriarch Robert Young first planted Cabernet in Alexander Valley in 1963, launching the region's identity. The estate winery followed in 1997; only the top 5% of fruit goes into the Scion label.

Dr. Elias Hanna founded the winery in 1985, and his daughter Christine has run it for decades, building a portfolio across Russian River, Alexander Valley, Dry Creek, and the Bismark Vineyard on Moon Mountain. The Alexander Valley tasting room sits on a hillside ten minutes from Healdsburg, facing the Mayacamas.

Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison founded the project in 1998: small-production Bordeaux varieties from one organically farmed mountain vineyard. Their 338-acre Bell Mountain Ranch holds just 44 vineyard acres; 80% is managed for native oak, grassland, and wildlife. Tasting room in a restored crossroads building at Highway 128.

Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke established the Alexander Mountain Estate in 1995 as a test of what California could do at altitude. 5,300 acres rise from the valley floor into the Mayacamas, with 170 micro-vineyards between 400 and 2,400 feet across 26 soil types. Cabernet and Chardonnay built by altitude.

Silver Oak began with a 1972 handshake between Raymond Twomey Duncan and Justin Meyer and one premise: Cabernet Sauvignon alone, aged in American oak and built to age. The 113-acre estate sits in Alexander Valley; the tasting room, rebuilt after a 2006 fire, frames the vineyard beneath the water tower.

Tom and Sally Jordan founded the estate in 1972 in homage to the great châteaux of Bordeaux; son John continues today. Twelve hundred acres in the warm Alexander Valley hills, a quarter under vine, the rest habitat. Every visit is built around seated pairings of estate Cabernet and Chardonnay.

Giovanni and Julia Pedroncelli bought this Geyserville property in 1927, with 25 acres of Zinfandel and a former winery that had spent Prohibition as a barn. Four generations later, the family farms 115 sustainably certified acres. The tasting room stays unpretentious — picnic tables under a pergola, a bocce court.

Founded in 1984 by Doug and Lee Nalle and now run by their son Andrew. Open Saturdays and by appointment, with patio tastings behind the cellar and a wine cave under a living rosemary roof. The focus is restrained, European-style Zinfandel, moderate in alcohol, bright, built to age.

One of Dry Creek Valley's most dramatically sited wineries — a cave carved into the benchland hillside, with estate vineyards including Big River Ranch and Lily Hill. The old-vine Zinfandel draws from the appellation's oldest blocks, yielding wines of depth. The by-appointment cave tasting room is a memorable setting.

Founded in 1997 by George and Linda Unti, Unti is one of California's leading specialists in Mediterranean varieties — 60 organically farmed acres of Barbera, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Ciliegiolo, Grenache, Syrah, Vermentino, and Grenache Blanc. Long maceration, basket press, neutral French oak. The tasting room caps at six guests per appointment.

Lou and Susan Preston farm 125 organic and biodynamic acres on West Dry Creek Road — not just a winery. The tasting room shares space with a farm store selling sourdough, estate olive oil, pickles, produce, and grass-fed lamb. Mediterranean-style Zinfandel, Syrah, Grenache, Carignane, Vermentino, and Roussanne. Friendly cats wander.

Founded in 1981 and owned by Pete and Terri Kight, Quivira takes its name from a mythical realm on early Spanish maps. Certified organic and biodynamic vineyards produce Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, and Rhône varietals. Visitors wander the kitchen gardens, meet the chickens, and spot Mount St. Helena. Family- and dog-friendly.

A Siena-inspired Villa Fiore in the heart of Dry Creek, founded by the Carano family in 1981 and now a Foley Family property. Five acres of Italian gardens, an Enoteca in the underground cellar, and 5,000 tulips blooming late February through March. Twenty-plus wines from six appellations. Adults only.

Founded in 1972 by David Stare, a Loire-inspired Bostonian who drove his family west, the first post-Prohibition bonded winery in Dry Creek Valley, the first to plant Sauvignon Blanc here, and the first to label an American wine 'Meritage.' Still family-owned. The Fumé Blanc is the benchmark; oak-shaded picnic grounds.

The quiet legend of Dry Creek Valley, a family operation farming the same estate since 1974. Third-generation winemaker Shelly Rafanelli makes Zinfandel and Cabernet sold almost entirely through the mailing list — no website, no wide distribution. Honest, structured expressions of Dry Creek terroir draw a fiercely loyal following.

Ridge acquired Lytton Springs in 1991, but the Zinfandel vineyard dates to 1901 — the Dry Creek benchmark against which other Zinfandels are measured. Paul Draper's decades of stewardship set the template for serious California Zinfandel. The straw-bale, earthen-plaster winery looks out on century-old vines from the tasting room.

Founded in 1991 by Frane and Janae Kragic, Croatian immigrants who brought a winemaking tradition from the Dalmatian coast. The estate sits on Olivet Road, head-pruned vines beside the Zora's Pinot Noir block. Sunce, 'sun' in Croatian, makes small lots; Frane often hosts personally, pouring twelve to thirty wines.

Dustin Moilanen founded ACTA in spring 2021 on a 16-acre Highway 128 estate, opening hospitality in autumn 2023 after extensive renovation. Small-production lots — often just a few barrels — under the motto ACTA NON VERBA: deeds, not words. Tasting lounge, vineyard patio, estate olive grove, and organic gardens.

Three former NFL linemen turned a post-football friendship into one of Sonoma's most welcoming tasting rooms — a backyard-style lounge on Broadway pouring award-winning Sonoma and Napa wines. Walk-ins, kids, and dogs are all welcome; the Champion Brut and Linemen blends carry the story in the glass.

Francis Ford Coppola's Geyserville estate is Alexander Valley's most exuberant winery visit — part tasting room, part Italian retreat, part movie museum. Diamond Collection Cabernet and Chardonnay share the property with a swimming pool, bocce courts, the Rustic restaurant, and memorabilia from The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.

Banshee began in 2009 as three friends, eight barrels of Sonoma Coast Pinot, borrowed money, and a contrarian idea: serious wine without the markup. Now a Foley Family label in an Alexander Valley winery, it keeps the unpretentious spirit — vinyl on the turntable, Pinot and Cabernet in the glass.

Three sisters founded Breathless as a tribute to their mother, crafting méthode champenoise sparkling wine just off the Healdsburg plaza. Winemaker Penny Gadd-Coster guides the cuvées, poured as seated flights in an Art Deco tasting room built from reclaimed shipping containers — with sabrage lessons and a garden patio.

On a 2021 bike ride near home, Elizabeth and Tucker Stein spotted a 'For Sale' sign on a farm flanked by Los Carneros vineyards. They named it Cassidy Ranch, pairing organic Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Merlot with a working farm — u-pick flowers, pumpkins, a farm shop, and pickleball.

A family business with deep California roots — Bill Isetta's grandfather was a 1920s cooper, and both his and Marilyn's fathers worked at Christian Brothers. Bill, Marilyn, and son Dominic source Northern Sonoma Valley fruit, with Ryan Kunde as winemaker. The Sonoma Plaza tasting room is open late and family-friendly.

Ron Rubin dreamed of a winery in 1971 as a UC Davis student. Forty years later he bought the Green Valley property, Goldridge soils in the coolest corner of Russian River Valley. Also known as River Road Family Vineyards, it's one of fewer than three dozen Certified B Corp wineries.

Founded in 2003 by husband-and-wife winemakers Kenneth and Laura Juhasz, Auteur built its reputation on small-lot Pinot Noir and non-malolactic Chardonnay from cool-climate Northern California. Robert Parker called the work 'consistently exceptional.' Two tasting rooms: the 1915 bungalow on Sonoma Plaza and a new Russian River estate near Healdsburg.

The Larson family has worked this land since 1899 — first a dairy farm, then home of the Sonoma Rodeo, and since 1977 a vineyard. Five generations later, Tom Larson runs the winery with Shane Anderson as winemaker. The motto: 'We drink what we can, and sell the rest.'

Bill Price — 'Billy Three Sticks' to his friends, for the III after his name — founded the label in 2002 after buying the Durell Vineyard in 1998. The tasting room occupies the 1842 Vallejo-Casteneda Adobe in downtown Sonoma, with wines from six estate vineyards across Sonoma County.

Brice Cutrer Jones, a fighter pilot turned Harvard MBA, founded Sonoma-Cutrer in 1973 as a Chardonnay house in Windsor. The estate has had three Directors of Winemaking, with Cara Morrison the first woman since the 1981 vintage. The tasting room closed in 2025, but the wines continue through Club Cutrer.

The Pellegrini family has been in Sonoma wine since 1925, when brothers Nello and Gino arrived from Tuscany. Vincent and Aida Pellegrini planted the Olivet Lane Vineyard in 1975 — one of the first Russian River Valley Pinot plantings — with fourth-generation Alexia Pellegrini now running the estate.

Courtney Benham bought 1,500 cases of orphaned Martin Ray wine from a San Jose warehouse in 1990 and has carried the legendary winemaker's name forward ever since. The Russian River estate occupies the historic 1881 Martini & Prati site — the oldest continually operating winery in Sonoma County.

Founded in 1974 by Damaris Deere Ford — great-great-granddaughter of John Deere — Landmark is best known for Burgundian-varietal whites and Pinots. The Russian River tasting room at Hop Kiln Estate, acquired in 2016, occupies a National Historic Landmark 1905 stone hop kiln on Westside Road.

Founded in 1979 as La Crema Viñera — 'the best of the vine' — it helped establish Russian River Valley as a cool-climate Pinot powerhouse. Acquired by the Jackson family in 1993, the brand now hosts visitors at Saralee's Vineyard, a restored 1900 hop barn on Slusser Road.

Joe Benziger and artist Bob Nugent founded Imagery in 1987 for the unusual: Lagrein, Teroldego, Barbera, Tempranillo, and varieties overlooked in California. Every label is commissioned artwork, the 442-piece collection archived at Sonoma State. Second-generation winemaker Jamie Benziger leads the program; The Wine Group has the estate listed for sale.

Founded in 1988 by four friends: winemaker James Hall, Anne Moses, and Donald and Heather Patz. They've built relationships with California's best growers: Hyde, Hudson, Pisoni, Martinelli, Gap's Crown. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the focus; the 2022 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay reached #22 on Wine Spectator's 2025 Top 100.

Founded in 1858, Gundlach Bundschu is California's oldest family-owned winery, now in its sixth generation. The 320-acre Rhinefarm estate sits at the crossroads of Sonoma Valley, Carneros, and Napa. Regenerative Organic Certified, dog-friendly, and unpretentious. Known for Cabernet, Merlot, and Pinot Noir, plus limited Gewürztraminer and Tempranillo.

Founded by master Cabernet-maker Richard Arrowood in 1986, after he'd built Chateau St. Jean's reputation, Arrowood has stayed focused on age-worthy Sonoma Cabernet across four decades and three ownerships. The hillside Glen Ellen tasting room offers a wraparound veranda and views of Sonoma Mountain. Now part of Jackson Family Wines.

Founded in 1999 by Daniel Duncan as a sister winery to Silver Oak, Twomey expanded beyond Napa Cabernet into Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot from Sonoma, Mendocino, and Oregon. The Westside Road tasting room sits on a 109-acre Russian River estate. Winemaker Nate Weis leads. Seated tastings by reservation.

Brothers Andrew and Adam Mariani are fourth-generation farmers who founded Scribe in 2007 on a pre-Prohibition Sonoma winemaking site. Organic and biodynamic farming, non-interventionist winemaking, and a restored 1858 Hacienda turned tasting space have earned a cult following. Tastings are reserved for members of the Scribe Viticultural Society.

The Mayo family has made single-vineyard wines from across Sonoma County since 1993, a portfolio ranging from Chardonnay and Zinfandel into harder-to-find Carignane, Petite Sirah, and Alicante Bouschet. The Glen Ellen tasting room is dog- and family-friendly; the Reserve Room in Kenwood offers a seven-course food pairing.

Morgan Twain-Peterson grew up at Ravenswood and made his first wine at five. One of two California Masters of Wine, he's made Bedrock a voice for old-vine preservation. The Bedrock Vineyard, on a Civil War-era farm, is Regenerative Organic Certified; the tasting room fills General Hooker's 1854 Sonoma home.

Bartholomew Estate sits on the original 1857 Haraszthy property, birthplace of California's premium wine. The Bartholomew Foundation owns the 375-acre site, opened it as a public park, and funds preservation through the winery. Estate tastings, hiking, horseback rides, and an art gallery in a historic corner of Sonoma Valley.

Founded in 1984 by Bruce Cohn, longtime manager of the Doobie Brothers, B.R. Cohn pairs a working winery with rock-and-roll history. The Olive Hill Estate sits between Sonoma Mountain and the Mayacamas, anchored by Cabernet Sauvignon and a heritage grove of 450 Picholine olive trees. Unhurried, music-tinged tastings.

Founded in 1997 by Merry Edwards, the second woman to graduate UC Davis's enology program and early winemaker at Mount Eden and Matanzas Creek; the Sebastopol estate is known for Sauvignon Blanc and single-vineyard Russian River Pinot. Acquired by Louis Roederer in 2019; Heidi von der Mehden now leads.

Founded in 1997 by Dan Kosta and Michael Browne as a hobby funded by waitering tips, Kosta Browne grew into one of California's most coveted Pinot Noir producers. Sold to J.W. Childs in 2009 and Duckhorn in 2018. Winemaker Julien Howsepian leads the Sebastopol cellar. Allocation-list only.

Founded in 2005 by Mary Dewane and Joe Anderson with winemaker Mike Sullivan (ex-Hartford Court), Benovia is a 42-acre estate at the Cohn Vineyard property northwest of Santa Rosa. Focused on single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel from Russian River, Sonoma Coast, and Mendocino. Seated tastings by reservation.

Founded in 1979 by amateur winemakers Burt Williams and Ed Selyem in Forestville, Williams Selyem became the most coveted Pinot Noir mailing list by the mid-1990s. Sold to John Dyson in 1998, it moved to a Westside Road estate in 2010. Jeff Mangahas has led the cellar since 2011.

Joe Rochioli Sr. came to Westside Road in 1938, and son Joe Jr. planted the seminal West Block of Pinot Noir in 1968, among the first Pinot vines in the Russian River. Founded as a winery in 1976, Rochioli is run by third-generation Tom Rochioli, winemaker since 1985. Allocation only.

The Martinelli family has farmed the Russian River Valley since Giuseppe and Luisa Martinelli planted vineyards in the late 1800s, after emigrating from Tuscany. Today the family makes Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Syrah from estate vineyards including the legendary 60-degree Jackass Hill Zinfandel block. Tasting room on River Road.

Founded in 1996 by veteran winemaker David Ramey and Carla Ramey after stints at Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus, and Rudd, the label is known for low-intervention Burgundian Chardonnay and Bordeaux-influenced Cabernet. Now run by son Alan and Claire Ramey, with David still consulting. Tasting room on Healdsburg Avenue.

Founded in 1882 by Czech immigrants Francis, Anton, and Joseph Korbel, the Guerneville estate has been the Heck family's home since 1954. One of America's oldest operating sparkling-wine houses, Korbel sits on 600 acres along the lower Russian River, its brick winery and rose garden listed on the National Register.

Founded in 1982 by Gary Farrell, assistant to Davis Bynum and Rochioli collaborator, who built the glass-walled winery on a Westside Road hillside in 2000. Farrell sold in 2004; now owned by Bill Price (Three Sticks, Durell, Gap's Crown) and Vincraft. Director of Winemaking Theresa Heredia has led since 2012.

Founded in 1896 by Giovanni Foppiano, a Genoa Gold Rush immigrant. The family survived Prohibition selling winemaking kits; a 1926 raid dumped 100,000 gallons into a creek. In 1967 Louis J. Foppiano released the first commercial Petite Sirah, the house's longtime anchor. Sold to Courtney Benham's CMB Wines in 2024.

Founded in 1965 by Davis Bynum, the first winery on Westside Road. Bynum bottled the first single-vineyard Russian River Pinot Noir, the 1973 Rochioli, and helped establish the appellation. Sold to the Klein family in 2007, with winemaker Greg Morthole leading since 2010. Tastings now pour at Rodney Strong.

Founded in 2002 by Al and Janis McWilliams, who bought the 36-acre Westside Road estate in 2004 and planted it in 2006. Winemaker Matt Courtney joined in 2013 after a decade at Marcassin; sons Mark and Ben now run the business. Native ferment, unfined and unfiltered, in a Japanese-garden setting.

Established in 1998 by Jess Jackson and Bordelais vigneron Pierre Seillan. Vérité makes three blends: La Muse (Merlot-led), La Joie (Cabernet-led), and Le Désir (Cabernet Franc-led), from sixty micro-blocks across Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill, Knights Valley, and Bennett Valley. A stone chai-style winery opened on Chalk Hill Road in 2019.

Founded in 2001 by the Roth family, producing Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley. Bill Foley acquired it in 2012, adding Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to the Bordeaux foundation. The hospitality estate on Chalk Hill Road, across from Chalk Hill Estate, features an 8,500-square-foot brick-lined cave and terraces.

Patrick Sullivan grew up on his family's Bennett Valley ranch, then made wine at Peter Michael, Paul Hobbs, Lewis, and Rudd before founding Grey Stack in 2004. Estate fruit comes from Four Brothers Vineyard, straddling the Bennett Valley and Sonoma Mountain AVAs. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir lead the portfolio.

Founded in 1973 by Fred and Juelle Fisher on 100 acres of hillside in the Mayacamas above Santa Rosa. The mountain estate, at 1,200 to 1,500 feet, sits in the Fountaingrove District AVA. Three second-generation siblings, Whitney, Rob, and Cameron, lead the family's classically balanced Chardonnay and Bordeaux reds.

Established in the late 1990s when Jess and Barbara Jackson sought a Sonoma site to rival Grand Cru Bordeaux. Vigneron Pierre Seillan — also of Vérité — makes single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from two Knights Valley vineyards, Helena Dakota and Helena Montana. Tastings are at the Jackson estate in Chalk Hill.

Founded in 1998 when fifth-generation farmer Steve Dutton, son of Warren Dutton, who planted Dutton Ranch in 1969, teamed with winemaker Dan Goldfield to bottle the ranch's fruit. Goldfield made wine at La Crema and Hartford Court before co-founding the label. Today: about 14,000 cases, 75% from Dutton Ranch.

Founded in 2002 by Eric Sussman — a Cornell-trained winegrower who apprenticed at Mouton-Rothschild and in Burgundy before four years as associate winemaker for Dehlinger. The 42-acre biodynamic estate sits above Occidental on Goldridge soils ten miles from the Pacific. Single-vineyard Pinot, Chardonnay, and Syrah; native ferment, unfined, unfiltered.

Founded by Baron Ziegler (also of Banshee Wines) and winemaker Rob Fischer, Marine Layer opened its downtown Healdsburg tasting room in 2021. The label sources Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from cool, fog-influenced Sonoma Coast sites: Petaluma Gap, Gap's Crown, Sebastopol Hills, Green Valley, Occidental, and the estate Marine Layer Vineyard.

Founded in 2012 by Jan Holtermann and winemaker Carroll Kemp (co-founder of Red Car), Alma Fria — 'cold soul' — produces small-lot Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Holtermann family's 2.5-acre vineyard above Annapolis and sourced cool-climate sites. Now wholly operated by Kemp.

Founded in 2001 by David Cobb and his son Ross. The Coastlands Vineyard, planted in 1989 on a Sonoma Coast ridge above Occidental, supplied Williams Selyem from 1992; Ross now farms it himself. The family makes single-vineyard Pinot Noir from three estate sites and partners, Chardonnay, and a little Riesling.

Founded in 2011 by Steve Kistler, the longtime Kistler Vineyards principal, Occidental is a tightly focused Pinot Noir house on a southwest-facing ridge in the Freestone-Occidental area east of Bodega. Three estate vineyards feed five single-vineyard bottlings, allocated by mailing list and vinified by Kistler with daughters Catherine and Elizabeth.

The Bacigalupi family has farmed Westside Road since 1956, when Charles and Helen, a dentist and pharmacist, bought the Goddard Ranch. Their 1964 Wente-clone Chardonnay went into the 1973 Chateau Montelena that won the 1976 Paris Tasting. The estate label launched in 2011; four generations farm under winemaker Ashley Herzberg.

Phil and Sylvia Hurst founded Truett Hurst in 2007 in Dry Creek Valley on a biodynamic ethos. After a turbulent public-company chapter sold the original property, Phil repurchased the brand in 2024 with vintner Ken Wilson. The winery now pours from the Hudson Street Tasting Barn in downtown Healdsburg.

Erik Miller named his winery for his Indiana hometown, founding it in 2004 with 500 cases of Cabernet. In partnership with fourth-generation Dry Creek farmer Randy Peters, Kokomo produces 20+ varietals from the east bench of Dry Creek Valley, plus a natural-wine sublabel, Breaking Bread. Hoosier hospitality, single-vineyard rigor.

Rodney D. Strong founded Sonoma County's 13th bonded winery in 1959; the Klein family has owned it since 1989. Fifteen estate vineyards across five appellations anchor a serious single-vineyard program — Alexander's Crown, Rockaway, and Brothers Ridge Cabernet lead the Alexander Valley wines. Justin Seidenfeld leads winemaking.

Stephen and Paula Hawkes bought the Home Ranch Vineyard in 1971 and planted Cabernet in 1972, twelve years before Alexander Valley became an AVA. The family farms eighty-five hillside acres of Cabernet, Merlot, and Chardonnay in the southern valley. Small lots, family-run, irreverent, and among the appellation's respected Cabernet houses.

Soda Rock is the historic Alexander Valley store and post office, site of the first bonded winery in 1880. Ken and Diane Wilson restored it in 2000; the facility burned in the 2019 Kincade Fire, but the century-old barn survived. Bordeaux varietals from Wilson vineyards across Alexander and Dry Creek.

Harry 'Red' Coturri and sons Tony and Phil founded Coturri in 1979 on Sonoma Mountain above Glen Ellen, long before natural wine had a name. Tony has made zero-additive wine from organic, dry-farmed vines since 1964: native yeast, no sulfites, no filtration. He's the granddaddy of natural wine in California.

Founded in 1970 by John Sheela and brothers-in-law Mike and Marty Lee on the historic 1906 Pagani Brothers site, Kenwood helped define modern Sonoma Valley. It's famed for the Artist Series Cabernet and Jack London Vineyard bottlings from Sonoma Mountain. Korbel's Gary Heck reacquired the estate in 2026.

Mac McQuown, a Chalone investor since 1970, founded Stone Edge Farm in 2004 with former Mayacamas winemaker Jeff Baker. The estate spans 18 mountain acres atop Moon Mountain plus 4.5 on the valley floor, farmed organically by Phil Coturri. Alejandro Zimman is winemaker; two-Michelin-starred Enclos completes the program.

Repris is crafted at the Moon Mountain Vineyard, a 300-acre property planted in the 1880s and once known as Glen Ellen Vineyard, then Carmenet. Jim Momtazee bought it in 2011 as a faithful steward. Winemaker Erich Bradley makes small-lot Bordeaux and Rhône wines from organic blocks above the fog line.

George Hamel Jr., co-founder of ValueAct Capital, and his wife Pam bought a 2006 Kenwood home that came with an acre of Cabernet. The side project became a family operation: organic, biodynamic vineyards across Sonoma Valley and Moon Mountain, with son John winemaker since 2017, crafting Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc.

Former Kosta Browne, Dutton-Goldfield, and Ravenswood winemaker Garry Brooks and his wife Joanne founded Brooks Note in 2012 — small-batch, elegant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from hidden corners of Sonoma, Marin, and Napa. In 2022 they opened a tasting room in downtown Petaluma, in a renovated 1921 Studebaker dealership.

Kamal and Parichehr Azari discovered a Petaluma Gap parcel on a 1988 drive, planted vineyards, and founded the winery in 2000. Their Tuscan-villa estate is now a Gap hospitality landmark, where winemaker Joel Akin crafts a Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Shiraz program named for the family's roots in Shiraz, Iran.

John Sweazey founded Anaba in 2006 at the western edge of Carneros, where anabatic winds sweep upward across the vineyards and give the winery its name. It was Northern California's first wind-powered winery; today Katy Wilson, VinePair's 2025 Winemaker of the Year, crafts Rhône and Burgundian wines from estate vineyards.

After a 1986 rupture with the family Sebastiani Winery, Sam Sebastiani founded Viansa in 1989 with his wife Vicki, a Tuscan-style villa devoted to Italian heritage varieties at Sonoma Valley's southern entrance. The 130-acre estate holds a 97-acre wetland preserve and Italian marketplace, now run by sons Chris and Jon.

Anne Moller-Racke founded The Donum Estate in 2001 and ran it nearly two decades before stepping away in 2019 for Blue Farm, her Pinot Noir and Chardonnay project, anchored by the Anne Katherina Vineyard behind her Victorian farmhouse in Carneros. Winemaker Kenneth Juhasz draws on five vineyards across five AVAs.

California's founding house of traditional method sparkling, founded in 1986 by Barcelona's Ferrer family — the name behind Freixenet. They chose Carneros because the fog-swept hills reminded them of Penedès. Four decades later, winemaker Kyle Altomare and the long Spanish-influenced terrace still set the appellation benchmark.

Founded in 2001 by friends Craig Haserot and Erich Bradley, Sojourn built its reputation on single-vineyard Pinot Noirs from revered sites — Gap's Crown, Rodgers Creek, Sangiacomo — plus small-lot Chardonnay and Cabernet. The winery owns no vineyards, partnering with growers. The downtown Sonoma salon is steps off the Plaza.

Founded in 1979, St. Francis has spent over four decades on elegant, fruit-driven Sonoma wines — Cabernet and Zinfandel from Dry Creek hillsides, Chardonnay and Merlot from Sonoma Valley, Pinot from Russian River. Its national reputation rests on Chef Peter Janiak's seated wine-and-food pairings, repeatedly ranked among OpenTable's best.

Samuele Sebastiani arrived from Tuscany in 1895 and founded the winery in 1904, one of California's oldest family-named estates. The original downtown Sonoma property remains the tasting room, with redwood tanks, antique tools, and an event space. The Cherryblock Vineyard, planted in 1961 behind the winery, makes the flagship Cabernet.

Five generations of Kunde farming upper Sonoma Valley since 1904 — 1,850 acres from valley floor to 1,400-foot ridgeline. The range: Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier down low to Cabernet, Zinfandel, and Syrah on the hillsides. The Mountain Top tour ends at a deck overlooking the Valley of the Moon.

The first winery travelers reach north from San Francisco, perched above 28 organic acres at southern Sonoma Valley, with Carneros rolling toward San Pablo Bay. Founded in 2011 by Jeff O'Neill, it draws on Durell, Gap's Crown, Hyde, Hudson, and Sangiacomo for restrained Chardonnay and Pinot, made by Joe Nielsen.

Founded in 1973 and named for Jean Sheffield Merzoian, sister-in-law and wife of the founders. The 1920s chateau began as a summer home built by Ernest Goff; its oak-paneled rooms serve as the Reserve Tasting Room. The Cinq Cépages Bordeaux blend is the flagship. Bocce, rose gardens, redwood picnic groves.

Daniel and Marion Schoenfeld have farmed their 110-acre homestead at the headwaters of Wild Hog Creek since 1977, opening the solar- and hydro-powered winery in 1990 — among California's earliest minimalist winemakers. Certified organic since 1983: permanent cover crop, dry-farmed vines, no synthetics. Forty-five minutes on dirt roads from Cazadero.

Brothers Nick and Andy Peay planted a 50-acre vineyard above Annapolis in 1996, four miles from the Pacific. With winemaker Vanessa Wong, formerly of Peter Michael, they make single-vineyard Pinot, Chardonnay, Syrah, and white Rhônes from one of California's coldest sites. No public tasting room; visits by appointment.

Founded in 1989 by Walt and Joan Flowers, who left the Pennsylvania flower business to pioneer viticulture on the Sonoma Coast. Their Camp Meeting Ridge and Sea View Ridge vineyards above 1,800 feet were considered too cold by most; they proved otherwise. Hosted at the House of Flowers in Healdsburg.

Founded in 1994 by Lester and Linda Schwartz on a 957-acre property rising from the Pacific to 1,700-foot ridgetops — among the only wineries with a tasting room on the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA itself. Sunset's Peter Fish called it 'the most spectacularly sited tasting room in California.'

David Hirsch planted his ridge above Fort Ross in 1980, among the first to see that extreme coastal sites could grow great Pinot Noir. The estate is now regarded as the birthplace of the true Sonoma Coast style, a 72-acre vineyard along the San Andreas Fault. Daughter Jasmine now leads.

Where three appellations meet, southern Alexander Valley brushing Chalk Hill and Knights Valley, the vineyard is planted entirely to the five classic Bordeaux reds plus Sauvignon Blanc, across 24 blocks. Eugene Silva designed the winery in 2001; over 9,000 square feet of caves are dug into the hill. Reservations only.

Roger and Carmen Stuhlmuller bought the 150-acre property in 1982 and built a reputation as growers, supplying Chateau Souverain, Simi, and benchmark producers. Son Fritz launched the estate label in 1996, converting the red barn into a small cellar. It sits where Alexander Valley, Dry Creek, and Russian River meet.

Farming estate land in the heart of the appellation since 1975, the year Alexander Valley earned its AVA. The Cyrus, a Bordeaux-style blend, is the flagship, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel rounding out a reliable portfolio. Family-owned across three generations, with a charming 19th-century schoolhouse tasting room on Highway 128.

Giuseppe and Pietro Simi founded the winery in 1876 and began making wine in their stone Healdsburg cellar in 1890; the same building has made wine ever since. Simi is also a landmark women-in-wine lineage, with female head winemakers from Mary Ann Graff in 1973 through Zelma Long.

The Young family has farmed the 448-acre Alexander Valley ranch since 1858, six generations on the same land. Patriarch Robert Young first planted Cabernet in Alexander Valley in 1963, launching the region's identity. The estate winery followed in 1997; only the top 5% of fruit goes into the Scion label.

Dr. Elias Hanna founded the winery in 1985, and his daughter Christine has run it for decades, building a portfolio across Russian River, Alexander Valley, Dry Creek, and the Bismark Vineyard on Moon Mountain. The Alexander Valley tasting room sits on a hillside ten minutes from Healdsburg, facing the Mayacamas.

Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison founded the project in 1998: small-production Bordeaux varieties from one organically farmed mountain vineyard. Their 338-acre Bell Mountain Ranch holds just 44 vineyard acres; 80% is managed for native oak, grassland, and wildlife. Tasting room in a restored crossroads building at Highway 128.

Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke established the Alexander Mountain Estate in 1995 as a test of what California could do at altitude. 5,300 acres rise from the valley floor into the Mayacamas, with 170 micro-vineyards between 400 and 2,400 feet across 26 soil types. Cabernet and Chardonnay built by altitude.

Silver Oak began with a 1972 handshake between Raymond Twomey Duncan and Justin Meyer and one premise: Cabernet Sauvignon alone, aged in American oak and built to age. The 113-acre estate sits in Alexander Valley; the tasting room, rebuilt after a 2006 fire, frames the vineyard beneath the water tower.

Tom and Sally Jordan founded the estate in 1972 in homage to the great châteaux of Bordeaux; son John continues today. Twelve hundred acres in the warm Alexander Valley hills, a quarter under vine, the rest habitat. Every visit is built around seated pairings of estate Cabernet and Chardonnay.

Giovanni and Julia Pedroncelli bought this Geyserville property in 1927, with 25 acres of Zinfandel and a former winery that had spent Prohibition as a barn. Four generations later, the family farms 115 sustainably certified acres. The tasting room stays unpretentious — picnic tables under a pergola, a bocce court.

Founded in 1984 by Doug and Lee Nalle and now run by their son Andrew. Open Saturdays and by appointment, with patio tastings behind the cellar and a wine cave under a living rosemary roof. The focus is restrained, European-style Zinfandel, moderate in alcohol, bright, built to age.

One of Dry Creek Valley's most dramatically sited wineries — a cave carved into the benchland hillside, with estate vineyards including Big River Ranch and Lily Hill. The old-vine Zinfandel draws from the appellation's oldest blocks, yielding wines of depth. The by-appointment cave tasting room is a memorable setting.

Founded in 1997 by George and Linda Unti, Unti is one of California's leading specialists in Mediterranean varieties — 60 organically farmed acres of Barbera, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Ciliegiolo, Grenache, Syrah, Vermentino, and Grenache Blanc. Long maceration, basket press, neutral French oak. The tasting room caps at six guests per appointment.

Lou and Susan Preston farm 125 organic and biodynamic acres on West Dry Creek Road — not just a winery. The tasting room shares space with a farm store selling sourdough, estate olive oil, pickles, produce, and grass-fed lamb. Mediterranean-style Zinfandel, Syrah, Grenache, Carignane, Vermentino, and Roussanne. Friendly cats wander.

Founded in 1981 and owned by Pete and Terri Kight, Quivira takes its name from a mythical realm on early Spanish maps. Certified organic and biodynamic vineyards produce Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, and Rhône varietals. Visitors wander the kitchen gardens, meet the chickens, and spot Mount St. Helena. Family- and dog-friendly.