To date, they have been remarkably successful in helping to preserve the region's best features. At stake is the future of one of the most inviting spots on earth. Consider that much of the wine country is little more than an hour from the high culture and cooling fog of San Francisco, and three hours from skiing and gambling around Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada. A short hop over the wind-swept western hills, which bake to a golden brown in summer and yield a carpet of wildflowers and luscious green turf in spring, is the Sonoma County coastline. Beneath the pounding surf there, at the base of a stunning cloister of jagged rock and cliffs, abalone divers match wits with sea otters.
Civilization seems light-years away.
Maybe you're in the mood for strolling through redwoods after a refreshing dunk in the Russian River around Guerneville. Or for meandering along Sonoma County's Farm Trails to pick blueberries and stock up on vegetables and jellies from the source. Or for drifting lazily on a boat in the Napa River as the Napa Valley Symphony performs onshore. Of course, just lounging at home would be an option. But you probably couldn't blame the weather for not wanting to venture out.