California

Source of more than 90 percent of all US wine — a diverse, largely beneficent climate producing a profusion of styles from dozens of grape varieties, and one of the world's most technologically oriented wine regions.

About the region

More than 90 percent of the wine made in the United States is made in California. The state's incredibly diverse yet largely beneficent climate and geography allow its wines to be made in a profusion of styles from dozens of different grape varieties, and while winemaking here has spanned four centuries, California is one of the most modern, technologically oriented wine regions in the world. Its industry began with the Spanish explorers and missionaries who moved north from Mexico in the mid-1700s and secured Alta (Upper) California with a string of missions, each a day's journey from the next; wine was needed for the Catholic mass and for the friars themselves. Difficulties along the supply route from Mexico led California's Franciscan fathers to plant their own vineyards, using cuttings of the Spanish grape listán prieto — known in Mexico as misión and later, in California, spelled 'mission' after the missions where it was planted. As the nineteenth century dawned settlers began planting small vineyards of their own, all initially based on the mission grape alone; by the 1830s commercial wineries had begun in Los Angeles, and a decade later in Sonoma and Napa counties.

Within California

Central Coast

Stretching from San Francisco to Santa Barbara, Central Coast channels Pacific fog and wind through transverse valleys. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay dominate cooler AVAs; Syrah and Grenache thrive in warmer inland sites.

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