What's in a name: Sonoma

The fog retreating from the mountains in Sonoma on a beautiful early October morning

Although Sonoma is one of Northern California wine country's most venerable regions, the exact origin of the name isn't clear. The Spanish and Mexican settlers who came to the area in the very early 1800s believed it was a word from the Coast Miwok and Pomo tribes in the area and meant "valley of the moon." (Jack London's 1913 novel The Valley of the Moon put that name on the map.) This translation was first recorded in an 1850. I can tell you firsthand, that when the full moon rises over the mountains, it is a sight to behold. I don't know that I've seen a more beautiful moonrise in my life.

Another theory, also linked to the two tribes, focuses on the grammar of the natice languages. Tso meant "earth" and noma meant "village." Together tsonoma says "earth village."

Other sources say Sonoma comes from the Patwin tribes west of the Sacramento River, and their Wintu word for "nose." Per California Place Names, "the name is doubtless derived from a Patwin word for 'nose', which Padre Arroyo gives as sonom."

One last theory is that Spaniards found an Indian chief with a rather large nose, and applied the nickname of Chief Nose to the village and the territory. Other scholars believes the name applied originally to a nose-shaped geographic feature.

Regardless of what the name may mean, Sonoma County, California is a wine region rich in history and natural beauty.