I have friends who live in Dry Creek Valley (Healdsburg, Sonoma County, CA) who wine travel widely, and swear that they still think Dry Creek is the most beautiful sight they see each year.
It is lovely, and having Lake Sonoma hidden at the far end, is just icing on the cake.
Anderson Valley is my favorite but there are so many other beautiful appellations. A hidden gem in Southern Oregon is the Illinois Valley. I love Dry Creek Valley, especially the view West from Frick Winery or looking down the valley from Lake Sonoma. Many beautiful views of the RRV along Westside Road. The Redwood valley is very bucolic. The West side of Paso Robles is very pretty especially in the spring when the hills are green. The Santa Cruz Mountains have some incredible scenery and views. A couple of favorites include the views from the top of the hill at Windy Oaks and the view looking down on Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay from Silver Mountain Winery or Burrell School Winery. The Fairplay area of Eldorado AVA has some great scenes. On an incredibly clear day a few years ago we were able to see Mount Diablo from the Holly’s Hill tasting room and the view of the crystal range from Sierra Vista very nice. I could go on…
No contest: Moon Mountain AVA ![[thumbs-up.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f84c5acc11486ee4baba6dee6cf61dbd133abb18.gif "[thumbs-up.gif]"){kind=small}
Hard to beat this:
This one’s for Loren…views from my back deck: http://www.ownthisview.info/
Great stuff, just what I hoped for. I should have added at the bottom of the original posts, “what’s your most beautiful American wine area?”.
I should hasten to add that I think both Sonoma and Napa are very beautiful too (though much of Napa was too treeless for me to love), it was just that the Anderson Valley took our breath away.
It was like finding a great wine area hidden in a verdant valley in western Montana or Idaho. The combo was just enthralling. I don’t think Europe can do that, given that most of their landscapes are comparatively “tamed” (but I bet there are exceptions around the Alps), so there was something just so new world about Anderson.
I haven’t explored Anderson Valley but can vouch for the beauty of the Finger Lakes, Napa Valley with fall foliage, Westside Road in Sonoma County, and the charm of Healdsburg, and Mendocino. One that hasn’t been mentioned yet is Santa Barbara County which I also found very attractive. My introduction to vineyards came on Volksmarches along the beautiful Mosel Valley in Germany. Stunning scenery! Oh, and yes, the Columbia Gorge has incredible scenery. Driving from Portland to Prosser, WA I kept stopping to take photos.
Looking south, down the Willamette Valley, off the deck of Domaine Drouhin or White Rose, is probably the best wine country view I’ve seen in the USA. On a clear day it’s truly amazing to see the rolling hills extend out to the horizon.
