Sonoma County Buyer's Guide 2025

In late 2025, I spent considerable time traveling around and tasting my way through Sonoma County. The featured photo of this post is of Skipstone, an absolutely breathtaking vineyard in Geyserville, California, tucked into a private valley in the mountains above Alexander Valley.

Geographically, Sonoma is just a ridge away from Napa, in the western reaches of the Mayacamas mountains, fanning out north, south, and west. The County is home to over 400 wineries spread across 19 different AVAs, spanning roughly 55-60 miles in length and at least 50 miles wide. Napa, by contrast, is 30 miles in length and just 3-5 miles wide with nearly 500 or so wineries. So, close to one another, but worlds apart in terms of geographical differences and density of wineries and plantings.