By: Virginie Boone

Take a break from the trials and tribulations of the wine world right now and remember there are lots of things to be thankful for in Sonoma County. Here are a few.

A – Apples. Sonoma County still grows a lot of apples, with Gravensteins its most famous type. The value of apples increased in 2024 compared to 2023 by 21%. Gravensteins were worth about $1.65 million/year while other late varieties brought in $2.2 million/year.

B – Bodega Bay. The bay and town are wonderful places to visit and enjoy nature and bring in the fog that cools the Sonoma Coast and other nearby AVAs. Bodega Head is also one of the best places to look for whales.

C- Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay remains Sonoma County’s number-one white grape in terms of acreage and value, worth an estimated $188 million/year in 2024 at nearly 15,000 acres planted. Cabernet Sauvignon is nearly as abundant as our number one red, Pinot Noir, and worth $115 million/year, with about 12,000 acres planted.

D – Diurnal Shift. Sonoma County’s diurnal shift of high daytime temperatures for flavor ripening cooled by colder nighttime temperatures allow the wine grapes that grow here to build up acidity and aromatics and mature more slowly than if the nighttime stayed hot.

E – Earthworms. These soil-eating creatures dig tunnels through the dirt, helping to drain water and bring in oxygen and leave their waste – good organic material for the roots of vines. Some use earthworm colonies to biofilter wastewater as well by feeding them grape skins and seeds to generate nutritious warm castings into the soil.

F – Future Farmers of America. The first Future Farmers organization was established in Virginia in 1925. It served as the model for others, including the Santa Rosa FFA, which became the second official chapter within the California FFA in 1928, bringing together students, teachers and agribusiness to provide a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. The California Association FFA serves over 95,000 students across the state in some 338 schools.

G – Goldridge Soil. Found throughout much of the Russian River Valley and Green Valley AVAs, Goldridge soils stretch as far north as Annapolis and as far south as the Sebastopol Hills. Established in 1915, Goldridge was initially valued for its ability to grow apples and timber. A rare fine-grained sandy loam, known for its excellent drainage, Goldridge soil is light and fluffy in addition to being deep rooting without excessive vigor.

H – Healdsburg’s Sonoma County Wine Library. One of only two Wine Libraries in the country created in 1985 by local journalist Millie Howie, this treasure trove of historic documents, oral histories, and wine resources also hosts events, including a toast to on December 4. Reserve a free ticket here.

I – Italian influence. Look through the members of the Century Club and you’ll find the profound presence of many Italian families who came to Sonoma County more than a 100 years ago to find their own piece of farming heaven, grow grapes and make wine. Many are still farming today.

J – Joel Peterson. The Ravenswood founder behind the No Wimpy Wines declaration who got his start working for Joseph Swan is back at it, working with E & J Gallo to bring the original saver of old-vine Zinfandel back to glory. Peterson has always been a champion of old-vine vineyards and remains a special consultant to the Historic Vineyard Society alongside his son, Morgan Twain-Peterson of Bedrock Wine Co.

K – Kendall-Jackson. Founded in 1982 by Jess Jackson, the Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay produced by KJ, as it’s known, helped drive the growth of Sonoma County and Chardonnay from California. The company, now run by Barbara Banke and her kids, continues to be a leader in sustainability and farm-to-table food and wine experiences at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate and Gardens.

L – Luther Burbank. The man who gave us the thornless blackberry, spineless cactus, plumcots and dozens of other plums and prunes. Burbank started farming 15 acres in Sebastopol in 1885 and eventually introduced more than 800 types of fruits, vegetables, flowers and grains to the world.

M – Merlot. The maligned variety remains an important grape in Sonoma County and a wine people love despite the naysayers. During the 1980s and 1990s Merlot acreage in California grew at a faster pace than that of any other variety, with the first evidence of Merlot vines arriving here from Europe date back to the 1850s. The soft, less tannic wines are making a comeback. It remains Sonoma County’s fourth most-planted red at 3,761 acres, worth nearly $18 million/year in value.

N – Novavine. Based in Santa Rosa since 1998 after starting out in Sebastopol, Novavine produces more than 6 million grapevines every year using sustainable nursery practices and remains family-run.

O – Old Vines. Sonoma County is full of them, gnarled, head-trained, very often Zinfandel-heavy field blends of vines that were planted in the 1800s and continue to be farmed and valued for the complexity that their grapes impart to the wines.

P – Pinot Noir. Sonoma County’s number one grape in terms of acreage (12,967) and value ($193 million/year), Pinot Noir remains synonymous with much of the region’s cooler-climate appellations, from Russian River Valley to the Petaluma Gap.

Q – Quiet Wines. A term for wines that are more reserved (i.e., not loud), gentle in tannins and acidity, with pure fruit and aromatics. “The center of a quiet wine doesn’t announce itself immediately,” is how Chez Panisse Wine Director Jonathan Waters once described it. “A quiet wine is when you have one or two beats of silence between a musical beat. The silence makes you want to taste the wine again.”

R – Russian River. This most important waterway that travels through Sonoma County from the Mendocino border all the way to the Pacific Ocean is a crucial climatic driver of cooling elements that moderate the ripening of the grapes within its midst, pulling fog from the ocean inland to Healdsburg and the warmer Alexander Valley.

S – Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. Sauvignon Blanc in particular is having a moment, and grows magnificently throughout Sonoma County appellations, most famously in the Dry Creek Valley. It accounts for 2,751 acres of vines worth $32 million/year. Brooding, meaty Syrah (aka Shiraz) remains an underdog favorite of many, with 1,300 acres in the ground that brought in $7.8 million/year.

T – Trellising. While old vines often remain floppy without the use of wires, trellising allowed for better canopy management, farmer able to adjust for the air flow and sun exposure specific to their environments and the vagaries of vintages.

U – Underground Cellars. Something that can be hard to find in domestic spaces in California, underground wine cellars have been an important tool in winemaking, especially for the safe aging of wines. Many are naturally cooled.

V – Mariano Vallejo. The Mexican general ran the mission in Sonoma, founding the town in 1835 and planting a small vineyard on his own land. A few years later he was making his own wine. He supplied grape cuttings to new settlers over the years and is credited as the father of commercial wine development in Sonoma Valley.

W – Warren Dutton. A fourth-generation farmer who grew up picking prunes and hops, Dutton and his wife Gail were some of the first in the Sebastopol area to switch from apples to wine grapes, selling Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, among other varieties, to dozens of wineries throughout Sonoma County, a driving force behind the region’s move to fine wine.

X – Cross Pollination. The transfer of pollen from one grape variety to another, intentionally or otherwise, has led to the creation of such important varieties as Cabernet Sauvignon, a cross of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc

Y – Yeast. Native or commercial, wine can’t be made without the presence of these sugar-eaters.

Z – Zinfandel. An integral part of Sonoma County history, Zinfandel remains one of its calling cards, with 4,600 acres planted worth $36 million/year. It was a favorite of the original grape growers of a century ago and many of the vines survived Prohibition as the variety was a favorite of home winemakers and could be shipped east easily.