Northern Sonoma is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Sonoma County, California. The appellation covers most of the county with the notable exceptions of the Los Carneros AVA, Petaluma Gap AVA and Sonoma Valley AVA wine regions, which are located in the southern portion of the county. It was established as the nation's 78th, the state's 45th and the county's eleventh wine appellation on May 16, 1985 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after reviewing the petition proposing the viticultural area named "Northern Sonoma." The creation of the Northern Sonoma AVA was largely based on the petitioning of the E & J Gallo Winery as part of their expansion of their Gallo of Sonoma brand. The viticultural area entirely encompasses Alexander Valley AVA, Chalk Hill AVA, Dry Creek Valley AVA, Knights Valley AVA, Russian River Valley AVA, Sonoma Coast AVA appellations, and portions of the Green Valley of Russian River Valley AVA and Rockpile AVA.