As you unwind at the end of another perfect summer day in the Wine Country, sitting on a winery patio sipping a glorious cabernet while surrounded by fragrant lavender and bathed in the golden glow of the late afternoon sun as it casts long shadows over the endless green corduroy of the vineyards, it’s hard not to dream of picking up and moving here.

You wouldn’t be the first. As the wine and nature have worked their magic over the centuries, people from all over the world have been lured by the lush forests, tall mountains, abundant rivers, and warm valleys that make up Northern California’s Wine Country, creating a rich historical, cultural, and agricultural tapestry.

In the 1800s, early winemakers chose this giant, geographically diverse area of the then-largely unpopulated state to grow grapes—a testament to just how ideal the conditions and climate are. Ever since fine wine production took off almost 150 years ago, it has remained the center of California’s wine industry, flourishing in Victorian times as other popular wine growing regions came and went. Even as wine making has spread up and down the California coast in the past few decades, Napa, Sonoma, and the Santa Cruz Mountains remain the center of it all, able to boast some of the best (some maintain the best) growing conditions in the state for virtually every major type of wine grape.

Despite its well-earned position as California’s Wine Country jewel, the Napa Valley accounts for less than five percent of the wine produced in the state. As more visitors saturate the Napa Valley in search of its wine, food, and luxury accommodations, attention is turning to neighboring Sonoma County and the many other important wine producing areas that are within easy reach of the Bay Area’s gateway cities. It is these other areas where the diversity of the Wine Country and its wines can really be seen.

Yet Northern California is more than just the source of world-class wines. From the hot lowlands of Sonoma to the foggy heights of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Northern California’s wine lands are as culturally diverse as they are geographically varied. Visitors can indulge in hedonistic pleasures far removed from their daily lives, sampling the fine wine and food that have made Napa and Sonoma famous around the world, being pampered in spas, soaking up the sun on sandy beaches, exploring the great outdoors, or shopping in unique boutiques.

The appeal is that there’s a lifestyle for every dream. This Wine Country lifestyle can be as diverse as the land, people, and history of the region it draws from. A little corner of Tuscany with sumptuous Mediterranean meals drenched in fresh olive oil and shared with your family on a warm, brick patio with a bottle of sangiovese. A personal retreat while hiking through redwoods and past waterfalls to picnic on a lofty meadow overlooking peaceful, verdant valleys. Enjoying a cosmopolitan atmosphere as you indulge in a luxurious spa treatment followed by an afternoon of shopping at designer boutiques before finishing off the evening with signature cocktails and late-night jazz.

But it is the wine that brings people here, and there’s no better place in the world to learn about this mysterious libation than in Northern California’s Wine Country. There are a greater variety of styles and types of red and white wines made here in just a few hundred square miles than in almost any other place on earth. And just as there’s a lifestyle for every taste, there’s a wine to suit every palate.

In many ways Northern California’s Wine Country shares the same characteristics as some of its world-class wines. There are numerous layers of bold, complex flavors and nuances to discover, from the aromas of fresh spring flowers to the dusty hints of rich earth on a warm fall day. These layers continue to develop and change with time, revealing a few new surprises in every taste and visit. The Wine Country and its wines undoubtedly leave those who come here remembering some unique feature more appealing than any other, planting the desire to return or perhaps even the dream to pick up and move here.