Sonoma County · Appellation

Los Carneros

Straddling the Napa-Sonoma county line at the head of San Pablo Bay, Los Carneros was established in 1983 as the first AVA in the United States defined purely by climate rather than geographic or political boundaries. Fog and steady afternoon bay breezes keep the growing season remarkably cool and even, ripening Pinot Noir and Chardonnay slowly enough to preserve the natural acidity that makes the region a mainstay of California's traditional-method sparkling wine houses. Its shallow, clay-heavy soils and near-constant wind give Carneros fruit a lean, bright character distinct from warmer appellations just a few miles inland.