Sonoma Valley

Founded in 2003 by husband and wife 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.

Morgan Twain-Peterson grew up at Ravenswood and made his first wine at five. A Master of Wine, he has 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.

The second-generation Zanin family, founded by Emilio Zanin, who emigrated from Veneto in 1969, with son Luca leading. Forty acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay span two Bennett Valley vineyards. Winemaker Toni Stockhausen, daughter of Karl Stockhausen, has led since the 2008 debut. Tasting rooms in Sonoma and the ranch.

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 work with partner growers such as the Sangiacomo, Cuneo, and Kunde families, with Ryan Kunde as winemaker. The Sonoma Plaza tasting room is open late and family-friendly.

Robert Mark Kamen (screenwriter of The Karate Kid, Taken, and The Fifth Element) bought 280 acres on Moon Mountain with his first screenplay check. Phil Coturri planted organically farmed vines in volcanic rock at 1,100 to 1,450 feet. Mark Herold has made the wines since the early 2000s.

The Sonoma Plaza face of three sister wineries (Pangloss, Repris, and Texture) in a restored 1902 stone showpiece. Wines are made at Repris on Moon Mountain and barrel-aged in natural rock caves. Winemaker Erich Bradley sources Pinot, Chardonnay, Chenin, Grenache, and Sauvignon Blanc from heritage Sonoma vineyards.

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.

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.

Bill Price ('Billy Three Sticks' to his friends, for the III after his name) founded the label in 2002, building it on the Durell Vineyard, where his story in wine began. The tasting room occupies the 1842 Vallejo-Casteñada Adobe in downtown Sonoma, with wines from six estate vineyards across Sonoma County.

Phil Coturri's personal winery, California's most influential organic viticulturist, who has farmed Kamen, Amapola Creek, and Moon Mountain for 40+ years. The tasting house is a 120-year-old Sonoma Plaza farmhouse with antique theater seats, a vinyl turntable, and original Stanley Mouse Grateful Dead art. Single-vineyard organic wines Phil farms himself.

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.

Buena Vista is California's first premium winery, founded in 1857 by Hungarian immigrant Agoston Haraszthy. The original 1862 Press House and hand-dug Champagne Cellars remain a California Historical Landmark (No. 392), restored by Jean-Charles Boisset in 2011. Tastings unfold on the stone floors where California winemaking began. Winemaker Brian Maloney leads.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 is anchored by Cabernet Sauvignon and a heritage grove of more than 450 Picholine olive trees. Adair Family Wines bought B.R. Cohn in late 2024.

John Lasseter, longtime creative director of Pixar and Disney Animation, and his wife Nancy founded the estate just outside Glen Ellen, overlooking Sonoma Valley. Two estate sites: a 35-acre home vineyard and high-elevation Trinity Ridge atop Moon Mountain. Rhône and Bordeaux varietals plus an 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'd inherited a unique clone now known as the Laurel Glen Clone. After 30 vintages, Bettina Sichel's group acquired the estate; organic since 2014, farmed by Phil Coturri.

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.

Founded in 2005 by Richard Arrowood, one of California's most celebrated winemakers, as his personal statement estate on Moon Mountain, adjoining historic Monte Rosso. Brion and Ronda Wise of neighboring B. Wise acquired it in 2020; winemaker Massimo Monticelli sustains Arrowood's structured, age-worthy Cabernet from certified-organic vineyards.

One of Moon Mountain's most ambitious projects: three winemakers, a master cooper who hand-selects French oak trees, and Cabernet, Petite Sirah, Tannat, and Syrah from volcanic basalt at altitude. Built by Brion Wise on a former cattle ranch. A walk-in lounge in Kenwood; the Moon Mountain Estate Cave is by appointment.

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, and the Estate Picnic beneath the redwoods.

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, with a new commissioned artist's label each vintage. Korbel's Gary Heck reacquired the estate in 2026.

Five generations of the Kunde family built this upper Sonoma Valley estate from the Wildwood ranch Louis Kunde bought in 1904: today 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. Adair Family Wines bought Kunde in late 2024.

A 16,000-square-foot French Normandy castle on Highway 12, designed entirely by founder Steve Ledson and built by the Ledson family. Conceived as a family home, the structure proved so striking during construction that it became a winery, opening to the public in 1999. Three tasting bars, a Gourmet Marketplace for Oak Grove picnics. Small-lot wines, more than 70 a year.

Native Sonoman Ty Caton farms 40 acres of hillside vines within a 108-acre Moon Mountain property, the rest preserved as habitat. His Caton Cabernet Collection brings seven single-block bottlings from distinct micro-sites, each shaped by its own soil, sun, elevation, and clone, volcanic bedrock often just inches below.

Evan Pontoriero and Brent Bessire planted the home vineyard atop Sonoma Mountain in 2007, above the fog line, where earlier sun and warmer nights produce riper fruit without long hang time. The estate vineyards sit within the Petaluma Gap; visitors taste at the Sugarloaf Wine Company room in Sonoma Valley.

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.