Northern Sonoma AVA
American wine region
Northern Sonoma is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Sonoma County, California. The appellation covers most of the county with the notable exceptions of the Los Carneros AVA, Petaluma Gap AVA and Sonoma Valley AVA wine regions, which are located in the southern portion of the county. It was established as the nation's 78th, the state's 45th and the county's eleventh wine appellation on May 16, 1985 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after reviewing the petition proposing the viticultural area named "Northern Sonoma." The creation of the Northern Sonoma AVA was largely based on the petitioning of the E & J Gallo Winery as part of their expansion of their Gallo of Sonoma brand. The viticultural area entirely encompasses Alexander Valley AVA, Chalk Hill AVA, Dry Creek Valley AVA, Knights Valley AVA, Russian River Valley AVA, Sonoma Coast AVA appellations, and portions of the Green Valley of Russian River Valley AVA and Rockpile AVA.
The majority of the grape varieties grown in Sonoma County are grown in Northern Sonoma AVA, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel. Zinfandel is more commonly grown in the Rockpile and Dry Creek Valleys. Gallo Family Vineyards are known for their Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay while Rodney Strong Vineyards is known for its Zinfandel and Sauvignon blanc. Bacigalupi Vineyards, situated in the Russian River Valley, are known for their Chardonnay.
The plant hardiness zone ranges from 9a to 10a.
“Northern Sonoma AVA” enters the record as american wine region. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Northern, Sonoma and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1454419. Authority coordinates are 38.500, -122.800. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1985.
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