Beyond Napa: Northern Wine Regions You Should Visit 

Last Updated on February 4, 2025 by Tracy

Explore five exceptional wine regions outside Napa Valley in Northern California, including Clarksburg, Amador County, Fair Play, Santa Cruz Mountains, and Russian River Valley. Discover unique wineries, stunning landscapes, and delicious wines for your next California wine-tasting adventure.

When you think about domestically made wines, you almost certainly think about Napa Valley in California. While wines from the Napa Valley are some of the most well known and award winning wines produced in the US, they aren’t the only Northern California wine regions you should be aware of. 

When you are planning your next trip to California to explore their amazing wines, here are five additional wine regions outside of the Napa Valley that you should consider visiting as well.

Wine Regions Outside Of Napa You Should Visit 

Clarksburg

This small grape-growing region is located just 15 minutes outside of Sacramento and is home to more than 20 excellent wineries. The terrain in Clarksburg is mostly flat, which is quite different from some of the other California grape growing regions.The soil is dense and filled with rich nutrients which is key to producing some very fine wines. 

Clarksburg offers the unique opportunity to taste the offering from multiple wineries in one location. The Old Sugar Mill is located in a former beet-sugar refinery that was built in 1934. Here you will find 14 different tasting rooms in one convenient location. 

Old Sugar Mill is open daily, although not every tasting room is open everyday, but there is always at least one open. Tastings range from $10-$35 per tasting, and reservations to each room you would like to visit is highly recommended. For more information on the Old Sugar Mill and the wineries in the Clarksburg region, please see Clarksburg Wine Growers Association and the Old Sugar Mill websites.

Amador County

Keep heading west from Sacramento, and you will start the climb into the scenic Sierra Mountains. The foothills are filled with countless notable wine regions, and one of them is Amador County. Home to more than 45 wineries, this is a favorite stop for local wine lovers in the know. Amador and the Shenandoah Valley are said to produce more wine than any of the  other foothill county wine regions.

Amador County is most well known for its Zinfandels along with some other Italian and French (Rhone) style wines. These wines are known for the ability to thrive in the hot Northern California summers, and the grapes are grown in some of California’s oldest, and highest elevation vineyards. Nearly all of the wineries here are family-owned and operated. 

The Amador 360 Winery Collective tasting room is no longer open, however, they do have a wonderful winery map on their website. Here you can find information about the individual wineries, their location, and a link to each wineries websites for their business hours and reservations. 

Fair Play

The Fair Play wine region is located about an hour outside of Sacramento, in the Sierra foothills of El Dorado county California. Here you will find more than 20 family-owned wineries. Because of its close proximity to Sacramento, this is a very popular region for day trips. The region has well-drained decomposed granite soil, a high elevation to help cool the hot summer days, and grapes of all types thrive here.

White varietals produced in Fair Play include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier. A number of diverse red varietals are grown here as well — Zinfandel, Barbera, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petite Syrah are some of the most well known. 

The Fair Play wineries website has information about all of the wineries in the area. From there you can access the website of all the local wineries and find out more about their hours, pricing, specials, and directions. 

Santa Cruz Mountains

Recognized as one of California’s premier wine regions since 1870, there are more than 80 wineries and 200 growers in this sprawling region that covers nearly a half a million acres. Just an hour south of San Francisco and minutes from San Jose, grapes here are grown in varying elevations from 400 feet to over 3000 feet. 

The high elevations, cool climate, and rugged terrain highly influence the flavor and quality of the wines coming out of the Santa Cruz AVA (American Viticultural Area). This region is easy to explore by car, but it will take several days or multiple trips to fully immerse yourself in the wines of this region. 

You can find a listing of all the wineries in this beautiful mountainous region here. From the link you can find the website of each winery and vineyard for more information about reservations, directions, and pricing. 

Russian River Valley

The Russian River Valley is the second most well-known wine growing region in California after the Napa Valley. It has the best climate for Pinot Noir wine and more soil types than the whole of France. The Russian River valley is where Napa valley growers go for their cool-climate grape vines. 

The Russian River Valley was awarded their AVA status in 1983, and has 15,000 vineyard acres and more than 70 wineries. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel account for the most vineyard acreage followed by Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Savignon Blanc. The Russian River Valley is divided into six smaller growing areas known as neighborhoods and each is very unique. 

The Russian River Valley takes time to explore because it is so large and diverse. You can get a list of all of the wineries here. From there you can access each winery’s website to learn more about operating hours, prices, reservations, and special events. 

All five of these wine regions produce some truly amazing wines, and are worth a visit if you are in the area. If you can’t plan a visit any time soon you still shop these amazing wineries online and have a bottle, or several shipped directly to your door.

Have you been to any of these Northern wine regions? If so, which do you recommend seeing first?

If you are looking for more wineries to add to your wine tasting wish-list, be sure to check out some of my favorites in Napa and Sonoma. Looking for a unique experience? Look into the Napa Wine Train.

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