The Wine Library has so much to check out.
The definitive historical archive of the North Coast wine industry.
The Wine Library is one of the most comprehensive collections of wine information in the world.
Dedicated in 1989 it is the definitive historical archive of the North Coast wine industry. The esteemed collection includes 5,000 books (with over 1,000 rare books dating back to 1514), subscriptions to some 40 periodicals, and more.
Whether industry, academic, enthusiast…welcome to your Wine Library.
The mission of the Sonoma County Wine Library is to preserve, make available, and distribute information regarding viticulture, enology, and wine history, with particular emphasis on the California North Coast Region. The Wine Library strives to support its mission and our community by providing information and resources that engage, inspire, and support the local community. By providing access to information as well as physical and virtual spaces for study and collaboration, we hope to support the local wine industry, preserve local history, and promote wine appreciation.
To contact the Wine Library, email Megan at mjones@sonomalibrary.org or call 707-433-3772 x 0416.
Welcome to the extraordinary bounty of Sonoma County.
Because of its regional and sub-regional climates, its rich soils, and its determined grapegrowers and winemakers, the North Coast of California is known globally as a producer of some of the best grapes and wines in the world. Its reputation attracts the best of the best winemakers and grapegrowers and they are regular patrons of the Wine Library. Others range from amateur to high-tech winemakers and grapegrowers, academics and interested neighbors, all with a passion for learning about how the region consistently produces the best wine from the best fruit.
Bacigalupi from the 1970s
Learn about our celebrated history from the icons who created it.
One of the most important roles for the Wine Library historically has been the creation and preservation of oral histories from those fabled winemakers, growers, researchers, advocates, and investors whose vision, fortitude, and grit forged Sonoma County’s distinctive signature in the global wine community. These transcripts can be checked out from the Library, and certain transcripts and full audio are available for streaming and downloading through our digital collections site: digital.sonomalibrary.org.
Go online and find out how George III would regulate wine.
Our collection of rare and historical books is astonishing. From proclamations of George III on wine regulations to letters describing the grape production in Sonoma Valley vineyards, the Sonoma County Wine Library’s collection includes a wide range of historical texts on all aspects of viticulture and winemaking. The books, pamphlets, and ephemera in the public domain (published before 1923) have been digitized and are available online.
Check out everything wine in our extensive collection of books and DVDs.
The Wine Library has nearly 3,000 books and DVDs available to check out. These materials cover the entire wine world with topics such as grapegrowing, winemaking, wine tourism, tasting, and wine business. Materials can be checked out by anyone with a Sonoma, Lake or Mendocino County library card at any library branch in the three counties.
Get a library card! – https://sonomalibrary.org/get-a-library-card
Research, refresh, rejoice in our wide range of the journals and magazines.
The Wine Library has subscriptions to some of the best academic journals and trade publications on wine. Visitors can browse the issues at the Wine Library or check them out to take home and read. Some popular titles are the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, Journal of Wine Economics, Wine Business Monthly, and Wine Spectator. We also subscribe to international publications such as Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, South African Journal of Enology and Viticulture, The World of Fine Wine, and La Semana Vitivinícola.
Join Us
With your help we can make even more of our resources free and accesible worldwide on the internet. Our current priority is the digitization of historical materials and other parts of the collection. Your contributions will help make this happen. Gifts of every size make a difference. Join us.
The Wine Library preserves and makes available historical materials from the Sonoma County wine industry including photographs, ephemera files, posters, maps, wine bottles and labels. The ephemera collection covers hundreds of wineries, other wine businesses, and individuals, saving items like newspaper articles, brochures, business correspondence, menus, and postcards that tell the story of our local wine industry.
