2023’s Best California Wine Counties

California

By Staff Writer

California is the nation’s wine garden and wine cellar, but which counties produce the most award-winning reds and whites, host the most wine tours, and are most popular and affordable for wine connoisseurs to visit?

LawnStarter pored over the data to uncork 2023’s Best California Wine Counties.

We compared all 58 counties based on five categories broken down into 18 key metrics.

See which Golden State counties earned a gold star in our ranking below. You’ll also find highlights, lowlights, and expert insights on what makes California wines stand out.

County Rankings

See how each county fared in our ranking:

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1	Napa	72.27	2	2	2	4	20
2	Sonoma	65.86	1	10	3	1	9
3	San Luis Obispo	52.37	3	3	4	5	2
4	Santa Barbara	42.85	4	12	15	6	3
5	San Diego	41.67	6	6	12	2	5
6	Stanislaus	36.86	26	42	1	34	51
7	Riverside	34.07	19	7	9	9	1
8	Mendocino	32.22	8	18	6	15	15
9	Los Angeles	31.39	5	38	11	3	40
10	Monterey	30.34	7	33	25	11	7
11	San Joaquin	27.36	11	31	5	28	50
12	Lake	27.07	15	21	18	31	8
13	Solano	26.45	20	4	19	22	39
14	El Dorado	25.49	16	19	22	26	26
15	Orange	24.84	17	32	28	8	27
16	Santa Clara	24.49	10	22	13	10	53
17	Ventura	24.47	25	15	25	14	24
18	Calaveras	24.28	31	11	28	27	22
20	San Mateo	24.24	22	14	10	13	47
19	Sacramento	24.26	12	13	28	12	49
21	Placer	24.01	28	29	25	25	12
22	Alameda	23.89	14	20	7	21	55
23	Yolo	23.89	23	17	8	23	44
24	Amador	23.67	24	24	14	16	34
25	San Francisco	23.02	9	35	23	7	57
26	Humboldt	22.97	33	25	28	33	4
27	Marin	22.47	27	23	20	19	31
28	San Benito	22.35	13	39	28	29	18
29	Santa Cruz	22.19	18	28	28	17	46
30	Fresno	21.17	30	1	16	39	33
31	Shasta	20.72	32	5	28	41	23
32	Contra Costa	20.02	21	30	28	18	52
33	San Bernardino	19.56	47	26	17	36	10
34	Tehama	18.53	41	8	28	41	30
35	Nevada	17.74	34	16	28	37	25
36	Tuolumne	16.84	37	27	28	41	21
37	Mariposa	16.29	38	34	28	40	14
38	Butte	15.54	42	37	28	30	37
39	Madera	15.47	39	36	21	37	17
40	Kern	15.39	29	44	28	24	48
41	Mono	14.92	43	49	28	20	19
42	Siskiyou	14.37	40	40	28	41	13
43	Yuba	12.59	35	9	28	41	41
44	Trinity	11.95	36	43	28	41	28
45	Tulare	11.4	44	47	28	32	36
46	Del Norte	10.79	57	49	28	41	6
47	Sutter	10.27	51	41	28	35	54
48	Sierra	9.97	49	49	28	41	11
49	Plumas	9.13	46	49	24	41	16
50	Glenn	8.73	48	46	28	41	43
51	Inyo	6.76	57	49	28	41	29
52	Lassen	6.53	54	49	28	41	32
53	Imperial	6.22	54	49	28	41	35
54	Alpine	5.72	50	49	28	41	38
55	Modoc	5.44	53	45	28	41	58
56	Colusa	5.1	56	49	28	41	42
57	Merced	4.54	45	48	28	41	45
58	Kings	2.43	51	49	28	41	56

Highlights and Lowlights

On Cloud Wine in the North Coast

Napa is our Best California Wine County again this year, a foregone conclusion considering Napa Valley is the most recognized U.S. wine region both domestically and internationally.

You won’t go thirsty at the home of the three-Michelin-starred The French Laundry. Napa outnumbers all other California counties in vintners, with nearly 270 more than Sonoma (No. 2) and 840 more than San Luis Obispo (No. 3). What’s more, Napa wines earned the most gold medals over the past four years, and the county’s wineries are the most reviewed (aka the most popular) by consumers.

It’s hard to reference Napa without pairing it with Sonoma, the next most recognizable name in California wine and unsurprisingly our silver medalist. Previously in third place, Sonoma overtook Stanislaus County in our ranking this year, thanks to Sonoma’s unmatched access to wine, numerous awards, and the most events celebrating the county’s amore for vino.

“Dry” Counties

The counties at the bottom of our ranking should come as no surprise — viticulture isn’t a big industry here. Kings County finished last overall, bested by Merced, Colusa, Modoc, and Alpine counties (in that order).

Although these counties ranked poorly across all categories, there are a few bright spots in individual metrics. Modoc’s wineries, for one, earned an above-average consumer rating at No. 22. Merced offers five wine bars for casual sippers not interested in big winery tours. Meanwhile, Alpine County boasts a high number of affordable accommodations for all visitors, oenophiles or otherwise.

These counties might lack their own famous wines, but close proximity to California’s top wine regions is a huge advantage. Merced, for example, lies just south of Stanislaus County (No. 6). Kings shares a border with both Central Region counties Monterey (No. 10) and Fresno (No. 30). Colusa is a short drive — or Uber ride, depending on how much you drink — to Napa, Sonoma, and Lake (No. 12).

The Grape Escape

One day is not enough to explore all of California’s amazing wines — let alone a single county saturated with wineries.

If you can swing it, plan at least a three-day tour of clustered counties, and make sure your itinerary includes counties that balance both high-quality wine and (inebriated) visitor-friendliness.

The most tour-friendly counties include some of our top five, such as Sonoma (No. 2) and San Luis Obispo (No. 3), but don’t overlook counties outside of that elite group.

Riverside (No. 7), for example, ranks decently in taste and placed first in Accommodations. Mendocino (No. 8) is another excellent choice, with high marks in Access and Accolades, as well as top-15 rankings in both Entertainment and Accommodations. Placer (No. 21) is a third great option, with top-30 rankings across all categories.

In Case You Also Love Queso

Is there a better companion to wine than cheese? If you’re an oenophile and a turophile, Sonoma (No. 2) and Los Angeles (No. 9) counties can satisfy both cravings at once.

Santa Rosa, in Sonoma County, is our No. 8 Best City for Cheese Lovers. Los Angeles ranks No. 4 while its suburbs, such as Long Beach (No. 12) and Pasadena (No. 23), aren’t far behind.

Don’t go sniffing out cheese in Salinas, though. Although this city is located in Monterey County, our 10th placer and the birthplace of Monterey Jack, it offers jack to queso aficionados. Salinas came in last among the 200 biggest U.S. cities in cheese lover-friendliness.