The Best and Worst California Wine Regions
California is a large and diverse State, however, the wine regions are not all the same. We want to provide you with a quick and easy guide to what we feel are the best and worst regions to purchase grapes from.
According to Nerdwallet, the top regions outside of Napa are ranked in the following order:
- Russian River
- Sierra Foothills
- Livermore Valley
- Clarksburg
- Paso Robles
- Santa Cruz Mountains
- Mendocino
As you can see, a majority of these are located within the San Francisco Bay Area, however, not all regions within the Bay Area are the same. The Bay Area can largely be split into three regions:
- North Coast
- Central Coast
- Inland Valleys
Soil deposits along the base and plains of mountain ranges have resulted in the most prestigious wine growing regions in the world. However, inland California regions, once under water, such as the Inland Valley are considered lower end of the market. From Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley to Tracy and more inland is considered inland valley. Although you can make very good wines from these regions, they simply do not currently have the market appeal like other regions.
