This study examines the regional brand image of selected California wine regions and the effect of that image on consumers' quality perceptions when included on wine labels. It also seeks to examine the importance of regional brand image with respect to information other than place-of-origin provided on the wine labels. Finally, the study seeks to define consumer preference for selected California wine regions, with a deeper look at Sonoma, and their preference for appellations within those regions. Data collection took place by means of a highly-structured online survey of male and female wine consumers, during a two-week period in May 2006 across the USA. There was a response rate of 5.7%, resulting in 570 usable surveys. The perceived quality of a wine region raises the quality expectation of the sub-regions or appellations within that region. This was especially evident in the case of Sonoma County. The wine region is the most important information to predict quality on wine labels. Almost without exception, the addition of regional information on a label increased consumer confidence in the quality of the product. The ever-increasing number of American viticultural areas results in a fragmented offering in terms of the place-of-origin marketing strategy to consumers and is not desirable.