2 Best Sights in Napa and Sonoma, California

The 40,000-square-foot market's two dozen stands provide an introduction to Northern California's diverse artisanal food products. Swoon over decadent charcuterie at the Fatted Calf (great sandwiches, too), slurp oysters at Hog Island, or enjoy empanadas at El Porteño. Sample wine (and cheese) at the Oxbow Cheese & Wine Merchant, ales at Fieldwork Brewing's taproom (at  1046 McKinstry, near Fatted Calf), and barrel-aged cocktails at the Napa Valley Distillery. The owner of Kara's Cupcakes operates the adjacent Bar Lucia for (mostly) sparkling wines and rosés. Milestone Provisions is a combination butchery, restaurant (California country cuisine including sublime fried-chicken sandwiches), and creamery known for velvety ice cream. Among the few nonfood vendors here is Napa Bookmine, which also operates a larger store elsewhere downtown.

A multibuilding complex on a 12½-acre former apple-cannery site, The Barlow celebrates Sonoma County's "maker" culture with tenants who produce or sell wine, beer, spirits, crafts, clothing, art, and artisanal foods. The anchor wine tenant, Kosta Browne, receives only club members and allocation-list guests, but other tasting rooms are open to the public, among them Region wine bar, which promotes small Sonoma County producers. Crooked Goat Brewing makes and sells ales, Golden State Cider pours apple-driven beverages, and you can have a nip of vodka, gin, sloe gin, or wheat and rye whiskey at Spirit Works Distillery. Over at Fern Bar, the zero-proof (as in nonalcoholic) cocktails entice as much as the traditional ones. The bar serves food, as do Blue Ridge Kitchen (Southern-influenced comfort fare), Acme Pizza, Red Bird Bakery (excellent breakfast and lunch fare), Sushi Koshō, and the affiliated Oyster Bar, and a few other spots.