There’s the “Sonoma Coast” and then there’s the “True Sonoma Coast”. “Sonoma Coast” is the largest single AVA in Sonoma County. It meanders from Mendocino County in the north to San Pablo Bay in the south, Napa County in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It encompasses more than half a million acres (about 7,000 planted to vines), offers a wide array of soils, elevations, aspects, inclinations, temperature ranges and mesoclimates, and is capable of ripening everything from Pinot Noir to Zinfandel.

The “True Sonoma Coast,” lies directly above the rugged Pacific Coastline. With its marine sedimentary soils, long bright sunny days above the fog, gentle sea breezes and mild climate, these steep coastal ridges have become one of the most promising cool-climate growing regions in California. While not an official AVA yet, there are plans to create a new Fort Ross-Seaview AVA reflecting the distinctive climate of “True Sonoma Coast.” The two varieties that thrive here are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The Fort Ross Vineyard is on the “True Sonoma Coast,” less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean, eight miles north of the Russian River and two miles southeast of the historic town of Fort Ross. Perched on a mountain top above the coastal fog, at elevations from 1200 up to 1700 feet above sea level, Fort Ross is one of the closest, if not the closest vineyard to the ocean in all of California.