The Sonoma Valley cradled between two mountainous ranges only 45 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge, welcomes you with the best that California has to offer. Though close to San Francisco, this is an easy-going place, where festivities range from ox roasts to wine auctions, and people are as comfortable in cowboy boots as they are in designer jeans.

The birthplace of the California wine industry, the valley may be best known today for its award-winning wines produced in dozens of wineries of all sizes.

Numerous small farms, many of them welcoming visitors, raise almost everything from poultry to Christmas trees.

The 17 mile long valley is lined with hundreds of acres of vineyard lands where many of the state's world class wines are created.

Location: Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau, 453 First Street East, Sonoma California 95476 Telephone 707-996-1090 Fax 707-996-9212

Other upcoming events include: San Francisco Jazz Festival San Francisco continuing thru November 21