A patchwork of vineyards, farms, orchards and gnarled oak trees covers toast-colored hills in Northern California’s pastoral Wine Country. Extending from the cool, foggy Pacific coast to the parallel hot, inland Sonoma and Napa Valleys, Wine Country is mesmerizing and idyllic. It’s also one of the world’s premier viticulture regions and goes tête-à-tête with some of France’s greatest
terroirs. And to 'keep it real', you can still chat with Janice and Diane - you know the 'girls' from the Happy Cow campaign for Real California Cheese. You'll see them looking for the next good earthquake for a solid hoof massage anywhere between the rolling grass hills that separate these two valleys. And they say it's the sun that keeps Janice and Diane happy. We think it's the wine.
In the farming village of Sonoma, you'll here the locals refer to their home as ‘Slow-noma.’ Indeed, the kick-back vibe is infectious. Anchoring the 17-mile-long valley, the town of Sonoma makes a good jumping-off point and has important California-historical sights and the state’s largest town square. Back in the day you'll recall a silver DeLorean jet propelled back to the future over the town square's leafy oaks and sugar pines. If this pace is still too fast, head to itty-bitty Glen Ellen, a town right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Explore the quieter, rustic side of Sonoma County, which extends along the Russian River Valley from Healdsburg all the way out to the Pacific Ocean.
The Wine Country’s tradition of high-quality batch production dates to 1857, when Hungarian Count Ágoston Haraszthy established the state’s first commercial winery, Buena Vista, in the rural Sonoma Valley. But it wasn’t until the mid-1970s that the region’s wineries first won worldwide acclaim. The turning point was a blind wine-tasting competition in France in 1976, when two Napa Valley entries - Chateau Montelena’s 1973 chardonnay and a 1973 cabernet sauvignon from Stag’s Leap - outscored a venerable collection of French Bordeaux. Today there are over 450 wineries in Napa and Sonoma Counties. Though a quarter of California’s 1300 commercial wineries are located here, Napa and Sonoma make only 10% of the state’s total production. Quality, not quantity, sets this region apart.
And the quality of experience only continues ramping up culinarily as the food you pair with all those bottles of one is of paramount importance to the locals and all who visit. Napa Valley is a partner to San Francisco’s high-end culinary scene. You’ll eat well here - really well, if you want to - but you don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune doing so. Remember, Wine Country is an agricultural region. Despite all the hype about ‘Wine Country style, ’ the area is basically farmland. You’ll find fabulous fresh fruit, lip-smacking jams, brick-oven bread and wonderful cheeses, as you eat your way from Sonoma to the town of Napa on to Yountville into Rutherford and St. Helena and on to Calistoga. A stop and an experience at the world reknowns Culinary Institute of America is a must! Plan to picnic, or sit al fresco, or burrow into a moist candlelit cave... And pack a corkscrew. You’re gonna need it!
