AVA · MID

Sonoma County

Location: California, United States

Legal name: Sonoma County appellation of origin

Regulatory body: TTB

Official designation: 27 CFR §4.25 county appellation of origin; not a Part 9 AVA

Sonoma County is modeled here as the appellation/legal-origin layer for the existing EncyclopediaOfWine region row. It identifies the protected label name associated with California, while the original region row remains available as legacy geographic context until downstream links are fully migrated. Sonoma County is not listed as a 27 CFR Part 9 AVA; this row records it as a county appellation of origin because the legacy database row was grouped with AVAs. Commonly associated grapes include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah. AVA status in the United States is origin-based rather than grape-prescriptive: it protects a delimited place-name and does not require one authorized grape list or a European-style production recipe.

Permitted Grapes

No AVA-specific grape restrictions. Commonly associated grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah.

Notable Rules

County appellation label use is governed by 27 CFR §4.25. This row exists to migrate the legacy geographic record into the legal-origin layer, but Sonoma County should not be described as a Part 9 AVA.

Also Known As

Sonoma County, Sonoma County appellation of origin

Sources & References

REFERENCE NOTE

This entry is written as an educational overview and may synthesize public regulatory, historical, and editorial sources. It is not an official regulatory record.