Explore Sonoma County's finest wineries organized by American Viticultural Area. Click any region above to discover wineries, tasting notes, and the winemakers behind the bottles.
A curated selection of Sonoma County wineries worth visiting
Founded by professional race car driver Kevin Buckler — a Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona winner — Adobe Road brings the discipline of motorsports to Sonoma winemaking. Winemaker Garrett Martin has led the cellar since 2015, sourcing fruit from carefully selected vineyards across Petaluma Gap, Russian River Valley, Dry Creek, and Napa. The portfolio ranges from single-vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to the bold Racing Series blends named for moments on the track. Over 100 Adobe Road wines have scored 90+ points from Wine Spectator and Robert Parker. Rated Petaluma's best tasting room.
Aesthete is a contemporary Sonoma label built around Bennett Valley Syrah and Pinot Noir, crafted by Jesse Katz of Aperture Cellars and owned by Charlie Wagner of Copper Cane. The cool, long growing season of Bennett Valley produces a Syrah profile more reminiscent of Crozes-Hermitage than California — pepper, olive, dark fruit, and firm tannin — and Katz's winemaking brings a modern, polished precision to it. A serious, underrated producer championing one of Sonoma's most underappreciated varietals from a design-forward tasting room in downtown Healdsburg.
Albini Family Vineyards is one of Sonoma County's smallest bonded operations — a Windsor family estate making 275 to 500 cases a year of unfiltered Merlot and Zinfandel from their Russian River Valley vineyards. Don and Lynne Albini do every step by hand, from harvest through bottling. Strictly by appointment. The most uncompromised garagiste experience in the county.
Aldina Vineyards is a small Latina-owned family estate on the volcanic hillsides above Santa Rosa, in the Fountaingrove District AVA. Winemaker Belén Ceja produces about 1,500 cases a year, anchored by an estate Cabernet Sauvignon and rounded out with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, rosé of Cabernet, and a Bordeaux-style red blend. Poured from Bacchus Landing in Healdsburg.
Alexander Valley Vineyards has been farming estate land in the heart of the appellation since 1975, the same year Alexander Valley received its AVA designation. The Cyrus red blend — a Bordeaux-style assemblage of the estate's best blocks — is the flagship, with the Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel rounding out a reliably well-made portfolio. Family-owned across three generations. The 19th-century schoolhouse tasting room on Highway 128 is one of the most charming in the appellation.
Founded in 2012 by Jan Holtermann (a former Costa Rica wine importer) 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 a handful of sourced cool-climate sites. Now wholly operated by Kemp.
Founded in 2005 by Richard Arrowood — one of California's most celebrated winemakers and the founder of Arrowood Winery — Amapola Creek was his personal statement estate on Moon Mountain, a final-chapter project on volcanic soils adjoining the historic Monte Rosso Vineyard. Brion and Ronda Wise of neighboring B. Wise acquired the estate in 2020 when Arrowood retired; he stayed on as consultant. Today the wines are made by Massimo Monticelli of the B. Wise winemaking team, preserving Arrowood's structured, age-worthy approach to Cabernet from certified organic vineyards. A true winemaker's winery in every sense.
Established in the late 1990s when Jess and Barbara Jackson set out to find a Sonoma site that could rival Grand Cru Bordeaux. Vigneron Pierre Seillan — also of Vérité — produces small quantities of single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from two estate hillside vineyards in Knights Valley: Helena Dakota and Helena Montana. The wines reflect Seillan's micro-cru farming philosophy, refined over half a century in France and California. Tastings are hosted at the Jackson estate complex on Thomas Road in Chalk Hill.
A. Rafanelli is the quiet legend of Dry Creek Valley — a family operation that has farmed the same estate since 1974, making Zinfandel and Cabernet that are sold almost entirely through the mailing list. No website, no widespread distribution, no fanfare. The wines are honest, beautifully structured expressions of Dry Creek terroir, and the Rafanelli family's commitment to restraint and consistency over decades has earned them a fiercely loyal following. If you can get on the list, do it.
Argot is the small-lot Sonoma Mountain specialist founded by self-taught winemaker Justin Harmon, who learned the craft under 100-point Cabernet specialist Russell Bevan before launching his own label in 2007 with a single ton of Syrah. About 3,000 cases a year of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet, and Sauvignon Blanc — over 100 90+ scores, Wine Spectator-profiled, allocation only.
Founded in 2002 by Al and Janis McWilliams, with the 36-acre Westside Road estate purchased in 2004 and planted in 2006 in partnership with vineyard manager Ulises Valdez. Winemaker Matt Courtney joined in 2013 after a decade at Marcassin; sons Mark and Ben McWilliams have run the business since 2012. Native fermentation, unfined and unfiltered. Visits by appointment in a Japanese-water-garden setting.
Founded by master Cabernet-maker Richard Arrowood in 1986 — after he'd already built Chateau St. Jean's reputation — Arrowood Vineyards has remained focused on age-worthy Sonoma Cabernet across four decades and three ownerships. The hillside Glen Ellen tasting room offers a wraparound veranda and a clear-eyed view of Sonoma Mountain. Now part of the Jackson Family Wines portfolio.
The Bacigalupi family has farmed 121 acres on Westside Road since 1956, when Charles and Helen Bacigalupi (a dentist and pharmacist) bought what was then Goddard Ranch. They planted some of the earliest Wente-clone Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Russian River Valley in 1964 — the same Chardonnay that made up 40% of the 1973 Chateau Montelena that won the 1976 Paris Tasting. Estate label launched 2011; today four generations work the property under winemaker Ashley Herzberg.
The Balletto family has been farming the Sebastopol Hills since 1977, growing vegetables before transitioning to wine grapes in the 1990s. Today the estate farms 650 acres of certified sustainable vineyards in Russian River Valley and West Sonoma Coast, supplying fruit to top producers while producing their own acclaimed lineup. The winery is known for exceptional value across a broad range of varietals — Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio all over-deliver for the price. One of Sonoma's most family-driven estates.
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 a dramatic Alexander Valley winery, it keeps the unpretentious spirit — vinyl on the turntable, Pinot and Cabernet in the glass.
Bartholomew Estate sits on the original 1857 Haraszthy property — the literal birthplace of California's premium wine industry. The Bartholomew Foundation owns the 375-acre site, opened it to the public as a park, and funds preservation through the winery itself. Estate tastings, hiking, horseback rides, and a working art gallery — all in one of Sonoma Valley's most historically dense corners.
Morgan Twain-Peterson grew up at Ravenswood and made his first Pinot at five. Today, as one of only two California winemakers with the Master of Wine credential, his Bedrock Wine Co. is a serious voice for old-vine preservation. The historic Bedrock Vineyard — planted on a Civil War-era farm — is now Regenerative Organic Certified, and the tasting room sits in General Joseph Hooker's 1854 Sonoma home, just off the Plaza.
Bella Vineyards is one of Dry Creek Valley's most dramatically sited wineries — a cave-based operation carved into the benchland hillside, with estate vineyards including the Big River Ranch and Lily Hill sites. Their old-vine Zinfandel program draws from some of the oldest planted blocks in the appellation, producing wines of real depth and concentration. The cave tasting room, accessible by appointment, is one of the more memorable settings in Sonoma wine country.
Bennett Valley Cellars is the second-generation Italian Zanin family's estate — founded by Emilio Zanin, who emigrated from the Veneto in 1969, with son Luca leading the operation today. Forty-five acres of estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay across two Bennett Valley vineyards. Winemaker Toni Stockhausen, daughter of Australian winemaking “living legend” Karl Stockhausen, leads the program from inaugural vintage in 2008. Tasting rooms in downtown Sonoma and at the family ranch.
Founded in 2005 by Mary Dewane and Joe Anderson with winemaker Mike Sullivan (ex-Hartford Court), Benovia is a 42-acre estate at the historic Cohn Vineyard property northwest of Santa Rosa. Focused on single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel from Russian River, Sonoma Coast, and Mendocino. Reservations required for seated tastings at the winery.
California's biodynamic pioneer — an 85-acre Sonoma Mountain ranch operating as a self-sustaining ecosystem since the 1990s. Sheep graze between vines, ponds host beneficial insects, a half-acre insectary feeds the program. The award-winning Biodynamic Tractor Tram Tour winds through the estate and cave to a seated tasting paired with local cheese.
Founded in 1984 by Bruce Cohn, the longtime manager of the Doobie Brothers, B.R. Cohn pairs a working winery with 45 years of 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. Tastings are unhurried, music-tinged, and unmistakably Sonoma.
Founded by the Hanson family in 2017 — “bricoleur” being the French term for an inventive handyman who builds something thoughtful from what's at hand. Head Winemaker Tom Pierson took the cellar lead in November 2025 after Cary Gott's retirement, working alongside co-winemaker Bob Cabral. Pond-side pavilions, bocce under olive trees, a refurbished milk barn, rose and vegetable gardens supplying a six-course menu under Charlie Palmer's culinary direction. Reservation only.
Before there were vineyards in every valley north of San Francisco, there was Buena Vista — California's first premium winery, founded in 1857 by Hungarian immigrant Count Agoston Haraszthy. The original 1862 Press House and hand-dug Champagne Cellars remain a National Historic Landmark. Restored by Jean-Charles Boisset in 2011. Tastings on the stone floors where California winemaking effectively began.
One of Moon Mountain's most ambitious projects — three winemakers, a master cooper who hand-selects French oak trees, and Cabernet, Petite Sirah, Tannat, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah from volcanic basalt at altitude. Founded by Brion Wise in the 1990s. Walk-in lounge in Kenwood; the Moon Mountain Estate Cave is by appointment, with hospitality alcoves carved into fermentation tunnels.
Founded in 2005 by David Jeffrey on a 17-acre Chalk Hill hillside above Windsor — fractured shale and sandstone with 360-degree views toward Mount St. Helena. Planted to the five red Bordeaux varieties plus Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Philippe Melka consults; Jeffrey himself farms, blends, and often pours. Six wines per vintage, intimate by design.
Capo Isetta is a family wine business with deep roots in California winemaking — Bill Isetta's grandfather "Giac" was a cooper in the 1920s; his father Andy worked at Christian Brothers Winery and later started Old Pioneer Wine Company; Marilyn Isetta's father Ray was Treasurer at Christian Brothers for 35 years. Today Bill, Marilyn, and their son Dominic source from Northern Sonoma Valley vineyards, with Ryan Kunde as winemaker. The Sonoma Plaza tasting room is known for being open late, family-friendly, and game-day welcoming.
In 2021, Elizabeth and Tucker Stein were on a bike ride near their new Sonoma home when they spotted a "For Sale" sign on a small farm flanked by Los Carneros vineyards. They fell in love, bought it, and named it Cassidy Ranch. Today the 5-acre property combines 10 acres of organic Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Merlot with a working farm: u-pick flowers, pumpkin patches, a farm shop, pickleball court, and wine tastings. Family-friendly, organic, and unlike any other Sonoma wine experience.
The founding voice of the Chalk Hill AVA — 1,477 acres of heritage oak woodlands with 60 small vineyards meandering through the volcanic tuff soils that give the appellation its name. Frederick Furth's 1972 vision, now a Foley Family property. Elevated tasting pavilion with sweeping vineyard views; Hummer tours, culinary garden walks, and seated estate flights.
Founded in 1973 and named for Jean Sheffield Merzoian, sister-in-law and wife of the three founders. The 1920s chateau was originally a summer home built by industrialist Ernest Goff; its oak-paneled rooms now serve as the Reserve Tasting Room. The Cinq Cépages Bordeaux blend is the flagship. Bocce, rose gardens, redwood groves for picnicking.
Fred Cline founded the label in Contra Costa in 1982 working with ancient-vine Mourvèdre, Zinfandel, and Carignane, then moved to this 350-acre Carneros former horse farm in 1989 to expand into Rhône varieties. Now practices Green String regenerative farming with sheep and goats. Tasting room sits inside an 1850s farmhouse on a former Miwok village site.
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 produces single-vineyard Pinot Noir from three estate sites plus partner vineyards (Rice-Spivak, Emmaline, Doc's Ranch), Chardonnay, and a small Riesling — mostly through a mailing list.
A 40-acre mountaintop estate at 1,500 feet above Bennett Valley, built by John and Jan Graves with Monet-inspired water lily ponds dug by hand. Cabernet Sauvignon from Bennett Mountain and Napa's Oakville, Howell Mountain, and Coombsville. Every visit begins with a 90-minute walk through hillside vineyards and gardens, ending in a seated tasting with charcuterie.
Founded in 1965 by Davis Bynum, the first winery on Westside Road. Bynum bottled the first single-vineyard Russian River Pinot Noir (1973 Rochioli) and helped establish the appellation. Sold to the Klein family in 2007; winemaker Greg Morthole has led the cellar since 2010. Tastings now poured at Rodney Strong's tasting room — Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and a celebrated River West Vineyard estate program.
Founded in 1975 by Cecil DeLoach on Sebastopol's Goldridge sandy loam, acquired in 2003 by the Boisset family of Burgundy who converted to certified biodynamic — among the first in California at this scale. Burgundian winemaking with open-top wood fermentors and native yeast. Half-acre culinary garden, sheep, chickens, and a Theatre of Nature on a 20-acre estate.
Joe Donelan fell in love with the Northern Rhône and set out to replicate its elegance on Sonoma's hillside sites. Single-vineyard Syrah and Chardonnay from Chalk Hill and Knights Valley; Robert Parker called the Obsidian Syrah "a candidate for perfection." The tasting room sits in a Santa Rosa warehouse district — a member of the family often pours.
Founded in 1972 by David Stare, a Loire-inspired Bostonian who packed his family into a station wagon and drove 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.
Six generations of Sonoma farmers, working 1,400+ acres of grapes and organic apples across Russian River, Green Valley, and Sonoma Coast — among the county's most sought-after grower contracts. Winemaker Mat Gustafson has led production since 2001. The Spanish-style winery sits on Green Valley Road; the family also makes sparkling hard cider from heritage apple orchards.
Founded in 1998 when fifth-generation farmer Steve Dutton — son of Warren Dutton, who began planting the original Dutton Ranch vineyards in 1969 — teamed up with winemaker Dan Goldfield to bottle some of the ranch's best fruit. Goldfield trained at UC Davis after years at Lawrence Berkeley Lab, then made wine at La Crema and Hartford Court before co-founding the label. Today: ~14,000 cases, 75% from Dutton Ranch vineyards.
Founded in 1999 by Brice Cutrer Jones (formerly Sonoma-Cutrer) with one mission: New World Pinot Noir of grand cru caliber. Two dry-farmed estates — Hallberg Ranch and Pinot Hill — where deep clay beneath Goldridge soil lets vines tap stored water at depth. Dry farming is almost unheard of in California. USA Today named it the country's #1 Winery Tour.
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 manicured Italian gardens, an Enoteca tucked into the underground cellar, and 5,000 tulips that bloom from late February through March. Twenty-plus wines from 1,200 acres across six appellations. Adults only.
Founded in 1973 by Fred and Juelle Fisher on 100 acres of unplanted hillside in the Mayacamas Mountains above Santa Rosa. The mountain estate at 1,200 to 1,500 feet sits in what is now the Fountaingrove District AVA (recognized in 2015). Three second-generation siblings — Whitney, Rob, and Cameron — lead the family business today. Classically balanced estate-grown Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Syrah.
Founded in 1989 by Walt and Joan Flowers, who left the Pennsylvania wholesale flower business to pioneer viticulture on the far Sonoma Coast. The original Camp Meeting Ridge and Sea View Ridge vineyards above 1,800 feet were considered too cold by most of the wine world; they proved otherwise. Hosted at the House of Flowers in Healdsburg.
Evan Pontoriero and Brent Bessire planted the home vineyard atop Sonoma Mountain in 2007 — deliberately above the fog line, where earlier morning sun and warmer nights produce riper fruit without extended hang time. Sits within the Petaluma Gap AVA but the vines push above its defining wind and fog. Public pour at Sugarloaf Wine Company.
Founded in 1896 by Giovanni Foppiano, who came to California from Genoa during the Gold Rush. The family survived Prohibition selling home winemaking kits and famously had 100,000 gallons of bootleg wine dumped into a creek in a 1926 federal raid. In 1967, Louis J. Foppiano introduced the first commercial Petite Sirah, the variety that anchored the house for nearly sixty years. Sold by Louis M. Foppiano to Courtney Benham's CMB Wines in 2024.
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 working 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." Fifty-three vineyard acres, thirty-three blocks.
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. Open Thursday through Monday.
Akiko and Ken Freeman founded the winery in 2001 after vetting more than 300 vineyard sites in pursuit of a Burgundy-inspired vision. Their 9-acre Gloria Vineyard and 14-acre Yu-ki Estate sit at 1,000 feet, five miles from the Pacific. The Ryo-fu Chardonnay — "cool breeze" in Japanese — was served at the Obama White House for Prime Minister Abe.
Founded in 1982 by Gary Farrell — assistant winemaker to Davis Bynum and an early Rochioli collaborator — who built the architecturally striking glass-walled winery on a Westside Road hillside in 2000. Farrell sold in 2004; the winery is now owned by Bill Price (Three Sticks, Durell, Gap's Crown) and Vincraft Group. Director of Winemaking Theresa Heredia has shaped the program since 2012.
Hollywood actor Squire Fridell and his wife Suzy run GlenLyon as a genuine mom-and-pop winery on a hillside between the Sonoma and Mayacamas ranges. Production under 1,000 cases of small-lot Syrah, plus a sparkling "Lexy's Toast" and a port-style dessert wine. Tours are Scottish-themed, story-driven, and hosted personally by Squire himself.
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.
Patrick Sullivan grew up on the Sullivan family ranch in Bennett Valley and went on to winemaking roles at Peter Michael, Paul Hobbs, Lewis Cellars, and Rudd before founding Grey Stack Cellars on the family property in 2004. Estate fruit comes from Four Brothers Vineyard, a steep hillside site straddling Bennett Valley and Sonoma Mountain AVAs. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir lead the small portfolio, joined by Chardonnay, Syrah, and Grenache.
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 Valley. Regenerative Organic Certified, family-run, dog-friendly, and proudly unpretentious. Known for Cabernet, Merlot, and Pinot Noir, with limited-production Gewürztraminer and Tempranillo.
Ross and Jennifer Halleck planted a one-acre hilltop vineyard in 1993 — the first Pinot Noir in the hills above Sebastopol, intended as a college fund for their three sons. The first vintage was judged Best Pinot Noir in the United States in 2002, and the recognition has compounded ever since. By appointment only at the family home.
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 high on Moon Mountain. The Alexander Valley tasting room sits on a hillside ten minutes from Healdsburg, with a long covered veranda looking toward the Mayacamas.
Founded in 1953 by Ambassador James D. Zellerbach to rival the great wines of the Côte d'Or — pioneering stainless steel fermentation tanks and small French oak barrels in California. The Ambassador Vineyard contains America's oldest continuously producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines. A 200-acre Moon Mountain estate with the rare distinction of having a tasting room on the mountain itself.
Founded in 1994 by Don and Jennifer Hartford, now part of Jackson Family Wines — specializing in single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and old-vine Russian River Zinfandel from century-old blocks few California producers can match. Single-vineyard bottlings can be as small as 93 cases. The Forestville estate is surrounded by towering redwoods.
David Hirsch planted his ridge above Fort Ross in 1980 — one of the first to recognize that extreme coastal sites could produce great Pinot Noir. The estate is now widely regarded as the birthplace of the true Sonoma Coast style. A 72-acre vineyard shaped by the San Andreas Fault, biodynamic since 2014. Daughter Jasmine now leads winemaking.
Joe Benziger and Sonoma County artist Bob Nugent founded Imagery in 1987 as a project for the unusual — Lagrein, Teroldego, Barbera, Tempranillo, and other varietals overlooked elsewhere in California. The labels are commissioned artwork (the original 442-piece collection is now archived at Sonoma State). Second-generation winemaker Jamie Benziger leads the program. The estate is currently listed for sale by The Wine Group, though the tasting room continues operating.
When Barry and Audrey Sterling bought an abandoned prune farm in Green Valley in 1976, they were told it was too cold for grapes. They proved the doubters spectacularly wrong. Iron Horse has served sparkling wines at the White House across seven consecutive presidencies since Reagan. The outdoor redwood barn tasting room sweeps to Mt. St. Helena.
Fred and Nancy Cline opened Jacuzzi in 2007 across the road from Cline Cellars as a tribute to Fred's grandfather Valeriano Jacuzzi — inventor of the namesake spa pump and the man who first taught Fred to farm grapes. The 18,000-square-foot villa is modeled on the Jacuzzi family's ancestral home in Casarza della Delizia, with deliberately Italian varietals throughout.
Tom and Sally Jordan founded the estate in 1972 with an explicit homage to the great châteaux of Bordeaux; their son John continues the project today. Twelve hundred acres in the warm Alexander Valley hills, only a quarter under vine — the rest left as habitat. Every visit is built around the kitchen, with seated pairings of estate Cabernet and Chardonnay.
A working family farm at the northern end of Alexander Valley — 45 sustainably farmed acres on Chianti Mountain, including original 1908 Zinfandel vines that still produce. Jim Rickards bought the ranch in 1976 and revived the old vineyard; the winery launched in 2005. The Darn Fine Brown Barn anchors a casual, deeply hospitable visit.
Robert Mark Kamen — screenwriter of The Karate Kid, Taken, and The Fifth Element — bought 280 wilderness acres on Moon Mountain in 1980 with his first screenplay check. Phil Coturri planted 40 organically and biodynamically farmed acres in fractured volcanic rock 1,450 feet above the valley. Mark Herold has produced the wines since 2003.
Arturo and Deborah Keller, a Mexico City couple with a love of vintage cars and old-world winemaking, bought 650 acres on the eastern edge of the Petaluma Gap in 1989. Daughter Ana now leads as winemaker. The Legorreta-designed gravity-flow winery sits twenty miles from the Pacific yet still catches coastal fog — translating to wines of unusual acidity and tension.
California's most-visited winery destination — and one of the few large-format producers to genuinely deliver on farm-to-table. Founded in 1982; the Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay built the brand. The Wine Estate & Gardens in Fulton anchors four acres of culinary, sensory, and demonstration gardens designed by farmer Tucker Taylor, all feeding Executive Chef Justin Wangler's kitchen.
Founded in 1970 by John Sheela and brothers-in-law Mike and Marty Lee at the site of the historic 1906 Pagani Brothers Winery, Kenwood Vineyards was one of the wineries that defined modern Sonoma Valley before the AVA system existed. Famous for the Artist Series Cabernet and Jack London Vineyard single-vineyard wines from Sonoma Mountain. Now back in local family hands — Korbel's Gary Heck reacquired the estate in March 2026 — with the tasting room reopened in May 2026.
Founded 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 continuously operating sparkling wine houses, Korbel sits on 600 acres along the lower Russian River with a brick winery and rose garden listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours and tastings daily.
Founded in 1997 by friends Dan Kosta and Michael Browne as a hobby project 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 to Duckhorn in 2018. Winemaker Julien Howsepian leads the cellar from the Sebastopol facility. Allocation-list only.
Five generations of Kunde farming in upper Sonoma Valley since 1904 — 1,850 acres running from valley floor to ridgeline at 1,400 feet. The defining feature is range: Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier down low to Cabernet, Zinfandel, and Syrah on the hillsides. Mountain Top tour ends at a tasting deck overlooking the Valley of the Moon.
Founded in 1979 as La Crema Viñera — "the best of the vine" — La Crema helped establish Russian River Valley as a cool-climate Pinot powerhouse. Acquired by the Jackson family in 1993, the brand now hosts visitors at the storied Saralee's Vineyard, a restored 1900 hop barn on Slusser Road.
One of Dry Creek Valley's oldest continually operating wineries, established in 1975 and quietly elegant ever since. Patti and Ray Chambers acquired the property in 1993 and pared production to 7,000 cases a year, building a reputation for handcrafted, age-worthy wines from sustainable farming. Redwood barrel room and garden patio set among towering redwoods on West Dry Creek Road.
Where three appellations meet — southern Alexander Valley brushing against Chalk Hill and Knights Valley — and the vineyard is planted entirely to the five classic red Bordeaux varieties plus Sauvignon Blanc, across 24 distinct blocks. Eugene Silva designed the winery in 2001; over 9,000 square feet of caves are dug directly into the hill. Reservations only.
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.
John Lasseter, longtime creative director of Pixar and Disney Animation, and his wife Nancy founded the estate just outside Glen Ellen — a tucked-away property with a shaded patio overlooking Sonoma Valley. Two estate sites: a 35-acre home vineyard and the rugged, high-elevation Trinity Ridge atop Moon Mountain. Rhône and Bordeaux varietals plus old-vine Zinfandel field blend.
Cabernet was first planted at this east-facing Sonoma Mountain site in 1968. Founder Patrick Campbell, who bought the property in 1977, discovered he had inherited a unique clone now recognized by UC Davis as the Laurel Glen Clone. After 30 vintages, Bettina Sichel's group acquired the estate; certified organic since 2014, managed by Phil Coturri.
A 16,000-square-foot French Normandy castle on Highway 12, designed and built entirely by founder Steve Ledson. Originally conceived as a family home, the structure was so striking during construction that the Ledsons pivoted to opening it as a winery in 1997. Three named tasting bars, a Gourmet Marketplace for picnics in the Oak Grove. Direct-to-consumer only.
Ted Lemon studied in Burgundy at Domaine Guy Roulot and returned in 1993 to make Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the extreme Sonoma Coast with Côte d'Or rigor. He founded Littorai — Latin for "of the shore" — and became the philosophical voice of West Sonoma Coast wine. The Sebastopol estate is a fully integrated biodynamic farm.
The oldest continuously operating winery in Glen Ellen, founded in 1863 and returned to its original 1880s name in 2015 after a Stewart family restoration. The original 1887 stone barrel cellar still anchors the property alongside 100-year-old Zinfandel vines and a culinary program from Chef Stephanie Gagne. Annual production around 3,500 cases.
Marimar Torres, fourth-generation member of the Catalan Torres dynasty, planted the Don Miguel Vineyard in 1986 and built a traditional masía farmhouse winery in 1991. Daughter Cristina now leads as General Manager — the first daughter-to-mother handoff in the family's 400-year history. Albariño, Godello, and Tempranillo set the estate apart from every other Green Valley producer.
Founded by Baron Ziegler (also founder of Banshee Wines) and winemaker Rob Fischer, Marine Layer Wines opened its downtown Healdsburg tasting room in September 2021. The label sources Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from cool, fog-influenced sites across the Sonoma Coast — Petaluma Gap, Gap's Crown, Sebastopol Hills, Green Valley, Occidental, and the estate Marine Layer Vineyard.
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 fourth and fifth generations — Lee Sr., Carolyn, and their children — make small-lot Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Syrah from estate vineyards including the legendary 60-degree Jackass Hill Zinfandel block. Tasting room on River Road.
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 1977 by Sandra MacIver with Merry Edwards as the inaugural winemaker — the estate that essentially founded the Bennett Valley AVA, securing official designation in 2003. Sits in a horseshoe-shaped pocket where Petaluma Gap winds meet volcanic hillsides. The lavender fields are the other landmark — a working commercial crop visible from every tasting vantage.
Six generations of Mauritsons have farmed Sonoma's Dry Creek and Rockpile hillsides since 1868 — the family's original 4,000-acre Rockpile homestead reshaped by Prohibition and the building of Lake Sonoma. Clay Mauritson, an Oregon Ducks linebacker before founding the modern label in 1998, now produces single-vineyard wines across Dry Creek, Alexander Valley, and Rockpile.
The Mayo family has been making single-vineyard wines from across Sonoma County since 1993, with a portfolio that ranges from familiar Chardonnay and Zinfandel into harder-to-find Carignane, Petite Sirah, and Alicante Bouschet. The main Glen Ellen tasting room is dog- and family-friendly with a relaxed courtyard; the Reserve Room in Kenwood offers a serious seven-course food pairing.
Nan McEvoy, heiress to the San Francisco Chronicle's de Young family, bought 550 acres west of Petaluma in 1990 to make America's best Tuscan-style olive oil. The wine program, layered in over time, is the lesser-known half: small-lot Pinot, Syrah, Cabernet, Montepulciano, Refosco, Vermentino, and Rosé from a working organic farm. Visits by reservation through the Bunny Gate.
Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison founded the project in 1998: small-production Bordeaux varieties from one mountain vineyard, farmed organically without compromise. Their 338-acre Bell Mountain Ranch holds only 44 vineyard acres; 80% is managed for native oak, grassland, and wildlife. Tasting room in a restored century-old crossroads building at Highway 128 and Alexander Valley Road.
Founded 1997 by Merry Edwards — the second woman to graduate UC Davis's enology program (1973) and the original winemaker at Mount Eden Vineyards and Matanzas Creek — the Sebastopol estate is known for its Sauvignon Blanc and single-vineyard Russian River Pinot Noir. Acquired by Maison Louis Roederer in 2019. Merry remains winemaker emerita; Heidi Bridenhagen leads the cellar.