Last Updated: June 18, 2026
California’s Central Valley stretches roughly 450 miles from Bakersfield in the south to Redding in the north, flanked by the Coast Ranges to the west and the Sierra Nevada to the east. It’s one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world, producing more than half of the United States’ fruits, vegetables, and nuts. It’s also home to two of California’s most underrated wine destinations — Amador County and Lodi — where old-vine Zinfandels grow in volcanic soil that wine drinkers in Napa have never even heard of. We spent several weeks here by RV, working our way between river marinas, lakeside resorts, foothill wineries, and an orange grove in Bakersfield. Because of ongoing winter storms we skipped the northern end of the valley, but what we found in the middle and south was more than enough.
