We set out on a crisp Fall morning, eight friends in a Mercedes Sprinter van, to celebrate a milestone birthday and explore the terroir of Sonoma, a land the indigenous people called The Valley of the Moon. Throughout our week-long tour, a river followed us.
From its calm headwaters in Mendocino to a wide estuary in Jenner, the Russian River runs for 115 miles, delivering a million gallons of fresh water each day to the Pacific where Goat Rock punctuates the rugged coast.
Winding lazily through Northern California's most celebrated wine appellations, the river supplies water to 600,000 people and connects hundreds of vineyards, from Coppola in Geyserville to Korbel in Guerneville.
In Sonoma County, the Russian River has provided abundance for millennia, from grains cultivated 12,000 years ago by Native Americans to grapevines first planted by Russian settlers in the early 19th century.
Today, the region boasts 63,000 acres of vineyards and 425 wineries, including major producers (Rodney Strong, Kendall Jackson) and small, family-owned estates (Ridge, Kosta Browne).
We focused on just four: Flowers, MacRostie, Kamen, and La Rochelle.