The most famous of California's wine producing regions
is the Napa Valley. Napa is a wine touring area where
you can find almost anything from Cabernet Sauvignon
to Chardonnay to Ports. The Napa Valley is by far the
most visited wine region in California. As such, it
probably has the best known tourist facilities from
hotels to restaurants to winery tours. Napa Valley
is a little over 35 miles in length and is home to
almost 300 wineries, which a majority can be found on
Highway 29. Many wineries such as the
Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville offer guided tours
of their facilities including the underground
limestone caves and storage casks.

Another popular wine region is Sonoma County.  The
Sonoma region is located on the coast of California
south of Mendocino and north of San Francisco. This
area is less crowded than the Napa Valley and 
has numerous tasting rooms and wineries.
From the southeast, the Sonoma Valley begins
in the Carneros thru Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood.
Heading north from Santa Rosa is Chalk Hill and then
the Russian River Valley and Green Valley. Continuing
north are Healdsburg, Dry Creek Valley, Knights Valley
and the Alexander Valley. The history of the Sonoma
wine industry is closely tied to the early Spanish
missionaries. Sonoma is also known as having
ideal conditions for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
production.