40 Best Sights in Napa and Sonoma, California

A long, sometimes narrow road meanders east from the Silverado Trail through Conn Valley to this 17-acre Howell Mountain estate. Grant Long Jr., its resourceful proprietor, made his first batch of wine while still a teen. After proving his mettle at a few Napa wineries, he started his own label. While guests sip wines on the cliffside tasting room's lofty deck, taking in views of vineyard rows sloping sharply into the valley, uniformly cheery staffers fill in the details of Long's compelling wine journey. Cabernet Sauvignon and the Mountains Proprietary Blend, both Napa Valley, and a Sierra Foothills Grenache-heavy blend stand out among a mostly reds lineup. The appointment-only winery advises making a reservation at least a month ahead. Tastings and the wines are reasonably priced—how Long manages this in America's costliest growing region is part of the Aonair (pronounced "ay-oh-nair") mystique.

Three entrepreneur-investor types established AXR with a winemaker-partner, Jean Hoefliger, who describes a vineyard as "the soul of a wine" and his job in the cellar "to create an emotion." Hoefliger, who in 2021 completed a 15-year run with the Napa Valley's Alpha Omega Winery, crafts multilayer Chardonnays from sourced grapes (including an often highly rated entrant from Sonoma County's Ritchie Vineyard) and dense yet supple 100% Cabernet Sauvignons. The Cabs come from notable sites like Sleeping Lady in Yountville, Denali in St. Helena, and the estate V Madrone Vineyard. Hosts at one-on-one tastings convey the passion, science, and experience underlying Hoefliger's wines and the history of the redwood-studded AXR property. Some sessions unfold in a renovated barn, others in an 1876 house once part of a pre-Prohibition restaurant and inn that thrived here.

When Donn and Molly Chappellet established their renowned Pritchard Hill winery in 1967, most Cabernet Sauvignon was grown on the Napa Valley floor, but the couple and other early adopters proved that mountain fruit could produce complex ageworthy wines. The Chappellets chose their rocky, tree-studded, now 640-acre property for its grape-growing potential, but the striking views north to Lake Hennessey and Mt. St. Helena undoubtedly played a role, too. The winemaker and vineyard manager have worked here for more than three decades, and with the family's second generation in charge, a sense of purpose and continuity prevails. Relaxed tastings of wines that might also include Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc often take place in the cavernous original winery amid rows of stacked oak barrels. A tasting of current releases follows the once-a-month group hike of Pritchard Hill, highly recommended for those in shape.

Respected for three 100% Cabernet Sauvignons, Corison Winery harks back to simpler days, with tastings alfresco in view of the half century–old Kronos Vineyard or amid oak barrels inside an unadorned, barnlike facility. The straightforward approach suits the style of Cathy Corison. One of post-1960s Napa Valley's first women owner-winemakers, she eschews blending because she believes her sunny St. Helena AVA vineyards (and other selected sites) can ripen Cabernet better than anywhere else in the world. Critics tend to agree with her approach, often waxing ecstatic about these classic wines. The highly recommended Library Tasting, which starts with a brief winery and vineyard tour, includes recent releases and older vintages that together illustrate Corison's consistency as a winemaker and how gracefully her wines mature. All visits are by appointment.

Since this winery founded in 1961 changed hands in 2018, its valley-floor tasting room has morphed from a humble site to sip collector-worthy single-vineyard Cabernets into a white-tablecloth salon with prices to match. The premier experience—an estate cellar tour 5 miles away, an excursion to two vineyards, and a tasting—tops out at $1,000 a person. A more straightforward session, culminating with the legendary Martha's Vineyard Oakville Cab, unfolds inside the Salon at Heitz Cellar or on the stone structure's terrace, which juts east into a Cabernet vineyard. Crafted from certified organic grapes, the wines are magnificent, and the reasonably priced optional food pairing reveals additional complexity. Nostalgic critics have decried Heitz's grander iteration as a marker of "the real Napa Valley" slipping away. Perhaps, but the wines' restrained style recalls the great Cabs (including Heitz's) of the 1960s–70s, and the present-day hospitality couldn't be more welcoming.

In 2022, LVMH's Moet Hennessy division purchased the winery the late Joseph Phelps founded a half-century before, a changing of the guard that reinforced Napa's stature as an international luxury-lifestyle player. Phelps produces excellent whites, along with Pinot Noir from its Sonoma Coast vineyards, but the blockbusters are the Bordeaux reds, particularly the Cabernet Sauvignons and Insignia, a luscious-yet-subtle Cab-dominant blend. Insignia, which often receives high-90s scores from respected wine publications, is always among the current releases poured at the one-hour seated Terrace Tasting overlooking grapevines and oaks. Other experiences, including one involving food pairings, unfold inside the main redwood structure, a classic of 1970s Northern California architecture. Participants in the Insignia Retrospective Tasting, offered a few times a month, sample several vintages of the flagship wine.

Playful labels by artist Jeanne Greco, whose past clients include Aerosmith, Mattel (for Barbie), and the post office, are the first indication that something offbeat is afoot at Lang & Reed. The second: the wines themselves. In the land of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, husband-wife owners John and Tracey Skupny focus on Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc. In making the Cab Francs, John strives to create wines that are "delicious and fruity but not simple." He succeeds. Son Reed Skupny's worldwide quest for wine knowledge found him in the Loire Valley, eventually becoming obsessed with crafting noteworthy Chenin Blanc. His Chenins, clean on the palate with pleasing acidity, achieve his objective. Lang & Reed pours its wines in a restored Victorian, sometimes on its front porch. A block from Main Street, the casual setting evokes the slower-paced Napa of yore.

This winery 2,200 feet up Spring Mountain straddles Napa and Sonoma counties, confusing enough for visitors but even more complicated for the wine-making staff: government regulations require separate wineries and paperwork for each side of the property. It's one of several Pride Mountain quirks, but the winery's "big red wines," including a Cabernet Sauvignon that earned 100-point scores from a prominent wine critic two years in a row, are serious business. On a visit, by appointment only, you can learn about the farming and cellar strategies behind Pride's acclaimed Cabs. The winery also produces Syrah, a Cab-like Merlot, Claret, Cabernet Franc, and noteworthy Chardonnay and Viognier whites. The views here are knock-your-socks-off gorgeous.

The enduring beauty of this 280-acre estate reveals itself most vividly atop an oak-laced vineyard's-edge ridge with views across much of the Rutherford appellation. Fortunately for guests, many tastings take place here, some at open-air seating areas, others in steel, glass, and stone pavilions that open or close to the elements as needed. This land was a cattle ranch until Agustin and Valeria Huneeus purchased the property in 1989, convinced it could produce collector-worthy wines. Time has proven them correct, as the single Bordeaux-style red blend made each vintage, aged in caves dug deep into the hillside, annually garners mid- to high-90s scores from top critics. Tastings, by appointment only, start with the Illumination Sauvignon Blanc and include at least one library (older) Cabernet for comparison.

Trying to sell his wife, Sally, on his late-1970s notion of planting a vineyard on their woodsy Spring Mountain property, contractor Fred Schweiger assured her, "It'll just be a hobby." Over time that hobby evolved into the lifestyle the family now shares with guests to its indoor and outdoor tasting spaces, whose gasp-worthy elevation-2,000-feet views include some of the original vines and extend across the Napa Valley to Howell Mountain. One of Fred's mentors advised him to plant the "king and queen of grapes," Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. For a decade the family sold all the fruit, but in 1994 son Andy began making Schweiger wines, eventually adding Sauvignon Blanc, more Bordeaux reds, Pinot Noir, and two port-style dessert offerings. For an exhilarating and educational spin through the vines, some on steeply terraced slopes, book (May–August) the All-Terrain Vineyard Experience.

For a glimpse of the Napa Valley before things got precious, head up Spring Mountain to the vineyard Stu Smith purchased in 1970 and still farms. His low-tech winery is a family affair: brother Charlie has made Smith-Madrone's critically acclaimed wines for more than four decades, and son Sam is Charlie's assistant. Blissfully informal outdoor tours and tastings of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Riesling take place by appointment three days a week, starting at the weather-worn no-frills redwood barn where Charlie makes the wines. He mostly lets the grapes do the talking, but profound wisdom underlies his restraint: these food-friendly wines are marvels of acidity, minerality, but most of all flavor. The view across the valley to Howell Mountain is often fantastic.

A historic winery with a forward-looking agricultural focus, Spottswoode makes a flagship Cabernet Sauvignon critics and collectors champion for its structure, grace, and purity of fruit. Tastings also include another Cabernet and a delectably suave Sauvignon Blanc. The estate vineyard, certified organic and biodynamic, sits at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains on a site where wine grapes have been cultivated since the 1880s. Three structures remain from that era, but Spottswoode's current cachet dates to 1972, when the Novak family purchased adjoining parcels totaling 46 acres. After selling grapes to other wineries for a decade, the family created its revered label. Appointment-only Spottswoode sees a few dozen visitors a week (book well ahead in summer).

Until the 2020 Glass Fire swept through this historic property, the tales hosts shared revolved around the estate's illustrious past, but these days the topics also include heroism and resilience. Although several 19th-century buildings perished, the longtime vineyard manager helped save the 1885 Miravalle mansion (famous for a star turn in TV's Falcon Crest) even as his own home on-site burned to the ground. He fought as well to preserve the vineyard, most of which survived, as did caves holding many previous vintages. Spring Mountain produces Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir, but the calling cards are the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and signature Elivette Bordeaux-style blend, both bold and robust, reflecting their mountain origin. Despite its brush with disaster, the winery remains worth a visit (appointment required) for its wines, views, and staff's courtly hospitality.

Painterly westward-facing views of vineyards, the Napa River treeline, and Spring Mountain provide the backdrop for indoor and outdoor tastings at this low-key valley-floor winery. The concrete-and-glass production facility and hospitality center, completed in 2015, skews new, but the setting feels timeless. Grapes have been growing on this ranch for more than a century, and the agricultural history dates to the mid-1800s. After arriving in 1968, the first Titus family generation sold grapes to Beaulieu and other Napa Valley stalwarts. Next-generation brothers Eric and Phillip Titus (the latter famed Chappellet's longtime winemaker) oversaw significant replantings in the past quarter-century, ensuring a steady flow of mostly Bordeaux grapes for the family's label. Cabernet Sauvignon comprises more than half the production, with Viognier, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Zinfandel among the other bottlings.

A long, narrow lane with two sharp bends leads to workaday Tres Sabores, where the sight of sheep, golden retrievers, guinea hens, pomegranate and other trees and plants, a slew of birds and bees, and a heaping compost pile reinforces a simple point: despite the Napa Valley's penchant for glamour this is, first and foremost, farm country. Owner-winemaker Julie Johnson specializes in single-vineyard wines that include Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel from estate-grown certified-organic Rutherford bench vines. She also excels with Petite Sirah from dry-farmed Calistoga fruit, Sauvignon Blanc, and the zippy ¿Por Qué No? (Why not?) red blend. Tres sabores is Spanish for "three flavors," which to Johnson represents the land, her vines, and, as she puts it, "the spirit of the company around the table." Tastings by appointment only are informal and usually held outside.

Sophisticated whimsy is on full display at the Chateau Potelle tasting room. Jean-Noel Fourmeaux, its bon vivant owner, fashioned this jewel of a space out of a nondescript 1950s bungalow south of downtown St. Helena. The residence, decorated with contemporary art (some wine-themed), and the Moroccan-tented outdoor patio are the scene of leisurely paced, sit-down, appointment-only tastings, some accompanied by gourmet bites from Napa's La Toque restaurant. Fourmeaux prefers fruit grown at higher elevations because he believes the extended ripening time grapes require in a cooler environment produces more complex and flavorful wines. His Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and other reds support this thesis. The Chardonnay stars among the whites. Be sure to ask what "VGS" stands for.

On a 92-acre Howell Mountain property with valley views west to the Mayacamas range, this boutique winery was established in 1986. Founder Delia Viader bucked conventional wisdom by planting her vines vertically down a 32% slope instead of terracing them horizontally. Her three principal red blends, these days assembled by her son Alan, are similarly atypical in that they're not, per Delia, "trying to hijack your palate with high tannins or alcohol." Smooth and supple yet intense and aromatic, the wines are the product of tender yet exacting farming and wine-making processes. A curving knoll of oaks, madrones, and manzanitas separating the two vineyard sections holds the winery and nearby tasting room. The latter's vistas and terrace are as alluring as the much-sought-after wines. Visits to Viader require an appointment, preferably made at least a day or two ahead.

The Araujo family, renowned for elevating Calistoga's Eisele Vineyard to world-class status, celebrates an earlier Napa Valley clan at this 11-acre valley-floor property. Part of a larger late-19th-century parcel assembled by two generations of the Wheeler family, the current site contains a flower and culinary garden, a small fruit orchard, and 7-plus acres of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, all farmed organically and biodynamically. One of two contemporary stained-cedar buildings holds a state-of-the-art winery and cellar, where the Wheeler and similarly collector-worthy brands' wines are made, the other a handsome hospitality center. The latter space, with views north through floor-to-ceiling windows to Mt. St. Helena, comes off more upscale Wine Country living room than tasting venue. In its unshowy elegance, the presentation here mirrors the wines, served with small bites prepared in an open kitchen.

Spring Mountain Road winds past oaks and madrones and, in springtime, sprays of wildflowers to this winery's lofty east-facing hillside setting. Most tastings are held outside to take advantage of views across the northern Napa Valley rivaling those from a balloon. Barnett's winemaker, David Tate, makes restrained balanced wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot from the steeply terraced mountain estate and Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sourced from prestigious vineyards. Quietly dazzling, the wines will draw your attention from those vistas. Tastings are by appointment.

Brothers Frederick and Jacob Beringer opened the winery that still bears their name in 1876. One of California's earliest bonded wineries, it's the oldest one in the Napa Valley never to have missed a vintage—no mean feat, given Prohibition. Some tastings take place inside or on the veranda of Frederick's grand Rhine House Mansion, completed in 1886 and surrounded by mature landscaped gardens worth a stroll themselves. Beringer is known for several widely distributed wines, but many poured here are winery exclusives. The Legacy Tasting & Tour surveys Beringer's history; the tasting takes place where the brothers crafted their first vintage. The winery prefers that all guests make a reservation, but same-day visits are often possible when no food is involved.

On a clear day, the views from this Howell Mountain winery's hospitality center and gravel patio—complete with infinity waterfall and Robinia shade trees—stretch south down the valley to Carneros. The exceptional tableau befits the collector-worthy Cabernets created by a team deservedly proud of its eco-friendly farming and production practices. Winemaker Danielle Cyrot's attention to detail begins in the vineyard and continues in the cellar, where she uses five dozen barrel types from two dozen coopers to bring out the best in the frisky (as in highly tannic) mountain fruit. All visits are by appointment, best made at least a day or two ahead.

A historically sensitive renovation of its 1874 Redwood Cellar Building transformed the former production facility of the Napa Valley's oldest winery into an epic hospitality center. Charles Krug, a Prussian immigrant, established the winery in 1861 and ran it until his death in 1892. Italian immigrants Cesare Mondavi and his wife, Rosa, purchased Charles Krug in 1943, operating it with their sons Peter Sr. and Robert (who later opened his own winery). Still run by Peter Sr.'s family, Charles Krug specializes in small-lot Yountville and Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignons plus Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. All visits are by appointment.

Cyclists swarm to the tasting room of Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford, best known for the Clif energy bar, a staple of many a pedaling adventure. Cycling trips through Italian wine country inspired the couple to establish a Howell Mountain winery and organic farm whose bounty they share at some of this merry hangout's tastings. The estate Cabernets served at the Cima—King of Mountain Experience show winemaker Laura Barrett at her most nuanced, but she crafts whites, a rosé of Grenache, and reds for all palates. If hungry, you can pair the wines with soups, salads, and bruschette (open-faced grilled-bread sandwiches) from the Bruschetteria food truck parked outside from Wednesday through Sunday.

The grapes for this winery's Cabernet Sauvignons come from most of the Napa Valley's 16 subappellations. To provide insight into the factors winemakers consider when crafting a Bordeaux-style red, Conn Creek developed the Barrel Blending Experience. An affable educator supplies the lowdown on basics like the characteristics of five Bordeaux varietals and how variations in soils and microclimates of valley-floor and mountain vineyards affect tannin structure. Armed with this information, participants set about blending, bottling, corking, and labeling a wine to take home. Even among friends, the competition to produce a successful blend is sometimes intense. Trivia: Koerner Rombauer, who later founded the famous Chardonnay house bearing his name, got his Napa Valley wine-making start as a Conn Creek partner. The blending seminar is great fun.

Cabernet Sauvignons expressing "power and elegance" and "a deep sense of place" are the main event at this winery jointly owned by businessman Charlie Crocker and founding winemaker Pam Starr. The wine-making team also crafts Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec, along with the Bridesmaid series Sauvignon Blanc and a Cabernet Franc–dominant red blend. Crocker & Starr was established in 1997, but James Dowdell, a St. Helena wine pioneer, planted grapes and built a winery and a brandy facility on this land in the late 1800s. Hosts of the Current Release Vineyard Experience recount the Dowdell family's story during a brief foray into the vineyards and peek at the winery, followed by a seated tasting in an arbor. There's also an exploration of estate reds. All visits require an appointment, same-day sometimes possible.

Merlot's moment in the sun may have passed, but you wouldn't know it at Duckhorn, whose Three Palms Merlot was crowned wine of the year by Wine Spectator as recently as 2017. Duckhorn also makes Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and a few other wines you can sip in the high-ceilinged tasting room or on a fetching wraparound porch overlooking carefully tended vines. "Elevated" experiences, some not offered daily, include a tasting of estate and single-vineyard wines and private hosted tastings guests can customize to suit their preferences. All visits are by appointment.

New and old blend seamlessly at this winery whose 1886 tasting room's contemporary decor benefits from the gravitas and sense of history the original stone walls and exposed redwood beams impart. Winemaker Laura Díaz Muñoz crafts complex Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and other Bordeaux-style wines from 40 acres of organically farmed estate grapes. Seated appointment-only tastings focus on the growing practices and the winery's intriguing history, including its 19th-century glory days, Prohibition hijinks under new owners, and the property's late-20th-century revival by a dynamic French couple.

An architect's spirited redesign of an 1876 Victorian—brooding exterior and heavy ground-floor hues contrasting with bright, open, and airy upstairs spaces—mimics the dark-and-light themes of Germany's Faust legend. Up a terraced hill from Highway 29, Faust Haus serves as a showcase for estate Coombsville AVA wines like The Pact (as in Faust's pact with the devil), a balanced, fruit-forward 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Tastings, some including wine-friendly food, unfold inside the house or on exterior terraces, one of which looks east across the valley to Howell Mountain. All visits are by appointment, best made at least a day ahead.

The Cabernet Sauvignons produced here are works of art born of the latest in organic-farming science and wine-making technology. A glass-walled tasting room allows guests to see some of the high-tech equipment winemaker Megan Gunderson employs to craft wines that also include Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Sauvignon Blanc. Looking westward from the second-floor tasting area, rows of neatly spaced Cabernet vines capture the eye, and beyond them the tree-studded Mayacamas Mountains. Hard to miss as you arrive along Highway 29, Lawrence Argent's 35-foot-tall Bunny Foo Foo, a stainless-steel sculpture of a rabbit leaping out of the vineyard, is one of many museum-quality artworks on display at appointment-only Hall (call for same-day). The Art of Cabernet tasting provides a solid introduction to this prominent producer's output. Another worthwhile tour takes in the grounds and the artworks. Sister winery Hall Rutherford hosts an exclusive wine-and-food pairing atop a Rutherford hillside.

A 100-point score for its Lot No. 1 Cabernet Sauvignon and a snappy renovation of the original 1933 winery added 21st-century luster to this operation whose namesake was a founding Napa Valley Vintners member. Established well before the valley's preoccupation with Cabernet Sauvignon took hold, Martini, owned for more than two decades by E&J Gallo, also makes Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux-style red blends, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Muscat, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, and dessert wines. A basic tasting includes a few of these. The more comprehensive Heritage Tasting of small-lot wines is highly recommended, with or without the optional food pairing. Fun fact: 10 of the St. Helena AVA acres the winery occupies cost Louis M. a whopping $3,000 (total) in 1933.