We decided to focus on two somewhat overlapping appellations in Sonoma County, the Russian River Valley and the Sonoma Coast.

But the wine qualifies for the catchall Sonoma Coast on the label.

As is true all over California, many of the best Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley chardonnays are hard to find.

Sonoma Coast and Russian River:

I already mentioned the pinot noirs from the Sonoma Coast, a rugged and unforgiving area where you are more likely to find wild boar than wine tourists.

The Sonoma regions of the moment, the Russian River Valley and the extreme Sonoma Coast, are not cabernet regions.

The good ones, which taste identifiably like syrah, often come from cooler climate areas, like Santa Barbara County, the Sonoma Coast and Carneros.

The sanctuary includes waters along the Sonoma Coast, which teem with fish and 17 species of whales and porpoises.

The wines they label as Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast are always blends of pinot noir from different growers.

Many appellations - Sonoma Coast, for example, which extends well inland from the Pacific - were drawn for political or marketing purposes.