California wine country - witness the wine magic.

Considering that more than seventy percent of the country's wine originates from this state, California wine country has created it's own clout on the world map of wines. The state has seven major areas where wine growing is "the" core occupation and vocation - the Sonoma, Napa Valley, Mendocino, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara; though it is the first three that holds the maximum weight age when considering the California wine country.

There is a whole industry that has been set up around the wine lover's and the tourist's attraction to the California wine country. A rich and diverse offering awaits any outsider visiting the region, that is supposed to be as memorable as it is quite unique.

The Napa county has a predominantly rural outlook and flavour of all the major counties of the California wine country. The maximum concentration of the population resides in the town of Napa itself. The quaint districts and streets house businesses that are largely wine- and tourism-driven. The town of St. Helena is often highlighted as a symbolic mascot of the Napa valley, with its well-manicured micro-garden plots, sidewalks with canopies,
and white-painted cottages. Well-known towns in this county are the Angwin and Calistoga.

The Sonoma county does not share this single-minded focus on wine, and has fruits such as apples, plums and peaches, and dairy products as alternative businesses to fall back on, in lean wine times. Santa Rosa, its biggest city,  has the largest population amongst the cities in the California wine country. The tourist pamphlet self-consciously describes the place as "The City Designed For Living". Petaluma is another busy commercial town with an attitude. The Alexander Valley town is an attraction for its widely spaced vineyards and meandering hills. The town of Sebastopol almost entirely depends on the Gravenstein apples for its economic wellbeing; and it is host to the annual Gravenstein apple fair.

The Mendocino county laid its claim to fame on the map of the California wine country when the Mendocino Brewing Company began its operations at Hopland in 1982. Till then, lumber and fishing were the main sources of livelihood. The town of Ukiah, situated in the Yokavo valley near the Lake Mendocino, is the largest town in this county, and due to its
geography has become a financial and business hub for three adjoining counties as well. The Fort Bragg is a historical landmark in this county.

Lake County is not dependent on viticulture at all - its main business is agriculture. Bartlett pears is a major produce that comes out of this agricentric region, with gold mining and geothermal power generation taking up major attention of the waking hours of its residents. The world's
largest geothermal power generation plant is located at the Geysers steam field in this county. Middletown, Cobb, Lower Lake, Clearlake, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Lucerne, Nice and Upper Lake are important tourist and business places that are worthy of a visit.

The entire California wine country offers wine tours and tastings festivals  to tourists throughout the year. There are interesting variations such as hot-air ballooning, fishing, horseback riding, spa, etc., that are guaranteed to take the breath away, besides breaking the monotony of visiting vineyardsafter vineyards. Truly worth a visit!

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