California Napa Valley

Since Spanish religious orders first planted vineyards in their Californian missions in the 16th century, California soon emerged as a world-famous wine paradise.

North to south, California abounds in diverse and ideal growing climates; with dozens of appellations from Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma to Central Coastal areas to Temecula and other coastal regions inland from San Diego, the state is the single largest wine producer in the United States.

Thanks to Napa pioneers like Robert Mondavi in the 1960s and 1970s, California quickly established international respect for its finely crafted reds, whites, rosés and sparkling wines. With the arrival of French multinationals—read Moët Hennessy, Mumm and Louis Roederer, among others—the state’s sparkling and still wine production earned even greater renown.

Thanks to multi-generational drive to innovate, and supported by research and teaching centers such as the University of California, Davis, in the state’s Central Valley, these institutions attracted students/winemakers from around the world. Many graduates remained to work in the state’s wineries, but many others returned home to both New and Old World wineries of their homelands, solidifying California’s growing influence from France to New Zealand.

Today, Napa and Sonoma are some of the wine world’s most visited wine destinations by wine lovers the world over, and whose most sought-after wines sell out every vintage.