What are the hot wineries to visit in Napa & Sonoma nowadays? Going to be there in June.

HI-I suspect you will get a lot of response to this. I was there in February-I will interpret "hot" as popular/busy. These two were packed: Darioush and Rombauer. Darioush was very upscale-I liked it; Rombauer-more casual and tastings were free. Both have websites. I also liked Artesa - very pretty location; also popular.

jbass,
Ex-nay on the Rombauer-scray....there are already too many people crammed into the tasting room.
Nobody goes there...it's too crowded.
:-"

I have to agree with Kal. Too many people there..... and their chardonnay is horrible.

(psst, you think they bought it)?

ssm... >
YOU'RE PURE EVIL!!!!!

Last time we were there I had to leave the tasting room because I kept getting wacked by women with LARGE purses and poor depth perception.

I wish they'd take better care of their grounds, too. :-"

The gondola ride up to Sterling to beautiful, vino ok. Silver Oak has some nice wines.

i loved chateau montelana (very nice!)in napa, and murphy-goode (great, more casual)in sonoma.

I think the "hottest" wineries in Sonoma are Roshambo (very hip) J's with it's food pairings, Ledson and Ferrari- Carano. Hot in terms of who's winning big awards would be Wilson Winery with the SF double gold. Dutcher Crossing is new and I think they're making some good wines.

What is a "hot" vineyard?!? Generally the crowded ones are the worst -- tourist traps that pour mediocre wine.

A couple I like in Sonoma are Schug and Nicholson Ranch.

Hot meaning, new finds, or small wineries making great wines, not the traditional big name producers. I'm planning on going to Cakebread, maybe Peju and Chimney Rock. Other suggestions?

I just had a '97 Cakebread Three Sisters Cab last night for for my Bride's mumble mumble mumble b'day.

Almost as terrible as their charddy.

Wineries and bakeries....smellllls soooo good!

There is a plethora of small wineries making great wines in small production. Do a little research- I know Wine Spectator is loved and loathed by oenophiles, but on occasion rates the biggest taste for the buck. So do online sites. Look at the winners of California wine competitions. Ask restaurant owners. If you're in a place smaller than the ones you mentioned (by the way tres big $$$ for the wines) once you've bought from them , tell them what you like and ask them for winery suggestions. Honest- they are happy to share.

OMG, I love Cakebread!

We enjoyed the "real" zins at Ravenswood.