Sonoma County (California)

SOMETIMES it seems as if Pinot Noir isn't so much a beverage as an exclusive private club. Scan the pages of wine magazines and you'll find glowing reviews on a bewildering array of Pinots from unfamiliar wineries, each with tiny, hundred-case...

SANTA ROSA, Calif.—Wine-weary visitors to Northern California have a friend in Sonoma County. It's not that wine isn't important here—it surely is with more than 200 active wineries—but people don't get into a lather over wine or the...

SAN QUENTIN -- Deep inside this infamous old prison, Patty O'Reilly stands before eight men doing hard time, her shoulders slumped, a man's gold wedding band hanging from a chain around her neck. Three of the inmates are sobbing. The others sit...

TEHACHAPI-- An inmate was found stabbed to death in a prison yard Monday, allegedly by two other inmates who were serving sentences for murder. Officials at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi say the attack on Evan Broderick, 20...

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles County had the worst overall beach water quality last year in California, according to the 19th annual "Beach Report Card" released by Heal the Bay. Only 70 percent of beach sites in the county earned A or B grades -- a state-...

Arnold Schwarzenegger unleashed Armageddon last week. No, not the sequel to the movie where the giant asteroid threatens Earth, but rather his proposed budget, which seemed to menace California. There were two budgets, actually. One, which assumed voters...

This list of visitor offices was provided largely by the California Division of Tourism in Sacramento. It was edited for space. More information: (800) 862-2543, http://www.visitcalifornia.com . Amador County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, (800)...

Squished together like grapes in a harvesting crate, the weekend wine-tasters are crawling along clogged California 29 through the Napa Valley. The olive trees lining the road whisper of the Other Napa, but the Chardonnay sippers don't know to listen....

IN chocolate circles, it's often said that ganache reveals the true art of the chocolatier. Ganache, that creamy, silky, melt-in-your mouth blend of chocolate, cream and butter, is at the heart of many of the best artisan confections. And more and more...

There we were, in the middle of the afternoon at a graceful Victorian mansion called Madrona Manor, blowing $22 on two glasses of wine. My husband, C.P., selected a 1998 McCray Ridge Merlot; I tried a 1995 Kendall-Jackson reserve Viognier. We trotted...

No, there's never been a fatal bird attack on visitors to this picturesque fishing village an hour's drive north of San Francisco. "Not a one," said local birder Ken Wilson, who is amazed at the hold that Alfred Hitchcock's thriller "The Birds" --...

GETTING THERE From LAX, nonstop service to San Francisco is offered on American and United and direct service (stop, no change of planes) is available on America West. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $163. From LAX to Oakland, service is offered...