One of the five wine-growing regions in California (also known as the Northern California Coast). It runs for around 160 kilometres along the coast of the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay in the south up to Mendocino in the north, with an average width of around 80 kilometres.

The region is one of the oldest wine-growing areas in California. The first vines were planted here in the 19th century by missionaries and European immigrants. One important pioneer was Agoston Haraszthy (1812-1869), who settled in Sonoma and is considered one of the fathers of Californian viticulture. The region suffered a massive setback during Prohibition (1920-1933), but developed into one of the leading quality centres for US wine from the 1960s onwards. The international breakthrough came in 1976 at the Paris Wine Tasting competition, where Californian wines from the North Coast outperformed top French wines.
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