57 Best Sights in Healdsburg, Napa and Sonoma

Three things often stand out for guests of this two-brand winery's creekside tasting room: the fervor of father-daughter owners Ed and Mia Mascarin to make wines from world-class grapes, the hosts' authentic hospitality, and the sense of discovering an absolute jewel. “Our goal is to express the sites whose excellent fruit we have access to,” notes winemaker Matt Taylor, a third-generation Sonoman. "We're not looking to re-create a recipe." For 32 Winds, Taylor makes Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel wines from sterling sources. The Mascarin wines, from estate and other vineyards whose farming Taylor oversees, include a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir, and a Syrah-based field blend whose 15% white grapes contribute to its unique flavors and texture. Reservations are a must here.

Aesthete may well be the best place in Sonoma County to sample wines this serious for such a modest fee. Adorable rescue animals it’s okay to feed, a cherished creekside sipping area, and the staff's earnest hospitality provide additional incentives to drop by. But the celebrated winemaker, Jesse Katz, constructs the Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Noirs, and Bordeaux reds with such elegance that all distractions fade away during tastings. The estate Drystack Vineyard in the Bennett Valley AVA flies under the radar, but maybe not for long: a recent barrel-aged Sauvignon Blanc from the site scored a 97 from a top reviewer, high for a California wine from this grape. The Pinot Noirs are more full-bodied than many of their Sonoma County peers yet still refined.

As a youth, Jesse Katz tagged along with his photographer father, Andy Katz, to wineries worldwide, stimulating curiosity about wine that led to stints at august operations like the Napa Valley's Screaming Eagle and Bordeaux's Château Petrús. In 2009, Katz started Aperture, a success from the get-go for his single-vineyard Cabernets and Bordeaux blends. Among the whites are Sauvignon Blancs and an old-vine Chenin Blanc that's among California's finest. Katz's wines, which benefit from rigorous farming and cellar techniques, are presented by appointment in an ultra-contemporary hospitality center about 2½ miles south of Healdsburg Plaza. The center's shutterlike windows and other architectural elements evoke Andy Katz's photography career; his images hang on the walls.

The spare, glass-walled, Japanese-inspired tasting room of this much-admired producer of Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs—the name is French for "author"—sits on a knoll overlooking a few acres of its vines and those of neighbors below. The adjacent shaded patio shares the same glorious view. Marquee vineyards from Mendocino County to Santa Barbara supply grapes for the wines that owner-winemaker Kenneth Juhasz intentionally crafts to express vintage and place of origin—a single vineyard or multiple ones from the same appellation—rather than hewing to a particular house style. Hosts of Be Here Now tastings pour these well-authored wines blind, allowing guests to contemplate the nuances on their own before explaining them. Other tastings, some with cheeses selected by Juhasz's wife, Laura, a former cheesemaker, proceed more traditionally.

The boutique wineries of this energetic collective pour mostly Sonoma County wines inside and on patios of Spanish Mediterranean–style buildings bordering a large piazza. Music, art, and culinary events lend the dog- and kid-friendly space a village-square feel. Smith Story, Convene by Dan Kosta, and Dot make Pinot Noir; tasting at more than one reveals the roles of clones, locations, farming, and cellar strategies in the finished product. Comstock also produces a Pinot Noir, along with Zinfandels and a few other whites and reds. The Lopez family of Aldina Vineyards, who developed Bacchus Landing, specializes in Cabernet Sauvignon. So does The Setting, whose partners include Jesse Katz of nearby Aperture Cellars.

Winemakers compete for grapes from the Bacigalupi family, who planted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley in 1964. Doing so was fairly novel then, but the decision proved prescient a dozen years later when the prize-winning Chardonnay at the 1976 Judgment of Paris blind tasting partially came from their grapes. Other wineries still purchase most of the fruit the Bacigalupis grow (the Zinfandel has also long been in demand), but they reserve 10% for wines hosts pour inside a shingled tasting room or on a tree-shaded patio nearby. Two recent additions worth inquiry are the Sauvignon Blanc and Brillante, an unusual sparkling wine containing honey from the property.   A family member leads Friday-morning vineyard hikes from May to October.

The husband-wife team behind Cartograph believes in Pinot Noirs emphasizing "balance, nuance, and complexity, rather than power and intensity." To that end, they select vineyard sites based on climate and clone compatibility, harvest their grapes early, and intervene as little as possible during the wine-making process. The resulting wines please on their own and pair well with food. Unlike many Sonoma County Pinot producers, Cartograph eschews Chardonnay for its still whites, opting for the Alsatian grape Riesling, done in a refreshingly crisp and dry style.  Sometime in 2026, the winery plans to move 2 miles north to 280 Chiquita Road, where it will be open daily for indoor and outdoor tastings.

Halfway through a wine-and-food pairing at this serenely rustic Dry Creek Valley winery, you may find yourself asking, "How does she do it?"—"she" being Dr. Mary Roy, Cāpo Creek Ranch's proprietor, winemaker, chef, and hostess with the mostest. The answer might simply be that running a winery isn't likely to faze someone who raised six kids while operating a bustling radiological imaging center. Whatever the reason, in "retirement" Roy has created a magical showcase for her mostly Rhône-style whites and reds (the stars) along with Cabernet Sauvignon, estate old-vine Zinfandel, and numerous blends. Most tastings occur outdoors facing east toward the heritage-Zin vineyard, with the cave and tasting room alternative possibilities.  You can taste wines without food, but this place is all about the pairings.

Regenerative organic and biodynamic farming is a core priority of this forward-thinking winery devoted to wines from Italian grapes. Names like Vermentino, Sangiovese, Barbera, and Primitivo may ring a bell, but the revelations here include the Falanghina and Fiano whites and Sagrantino, a lush yet earthy wine that’s as pleasingly complex as a Bordeaux red. There’s also Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir in Italian). All wine tastings involve oils from olives grown on-site (one session explores only the oils), but for a total immersion, consider the experience that starts with a tour past olive trees and into a fruit, vegetable, and flower garden over to the pigpen.

Palmer Emmitt and Michael Scorsone operate their boutique winery out of a warehouse-like facility whose garden sits above a sharp Russian River bend. The two make the wines, and guests at tastings meet one or both, learning firsthand how they started their winery “with no investors, consultants, or employees,” no mean feat these days. Cabernet Sauvignon drives the Judge Palmer brand (Emmitt's namesake grandfather was a Gold Country judge), which also produces Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Franc. The reds of the Domenica Amato label, named for Scorsone's Sicilian grandmother, include blends, Barbera, and a Grenache that critics consistently praise. The whites come from distinctive Italian grapes like Cortese, Falanghina, and Fiano.  It's okay to bring a picnic; a noted chef pairs the wines with his food on weekends.

The founders' appreciation for Burgundian-style food-friendly wines from cool-climate grapes informs the viticulture and wine making of this small winery with a dapper in-town tasting room. The space's muted greens and browns and furnishings inspired by mid-century modern style echo the restraint and balance of the estate Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs from West Sonoma County AVA fruit. Look also for less-seen whites like Aligoté and Petite Arvine and reds like Trousseau. The latter's grapes, from Mendocino County, are picked as soon as their sugar levels begin attracting local bears.  Healdsburg hosts pour wines by the glass, flight, or bottle; flights only are offered at the winery's shared production facility in Windsor.

A family from New Orleans founded this winery named for the dancing torchbearers at Mardi Gras. Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that go into separate estate wines flourish in the iron-rich Flambeaux Vineyard, up a winding road on the Dry Creek Valley AVA's western slope. Among the other wines made by Ryan Prichard, also of Sonoma's Three Sticks Wines, are a Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and an Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from sourced fruit. Book an Agricultural Experience at the vineyard for an intimate introduction. The Crescent City hospitality and views across the valley to Geyser Peak uplift a visit all the more.

The steel, glass, and wood architecture here discreetly astonishes but ultimately yields to the surrounding gardens, redwoods, vineyards, and distant hills, the entire ensemble a dramatic backdrop for tastings of this illustrious winery's Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Their grapes, grown far to the west in wild Pacific Coast terrain thought years ago too cool and harsh to produce fruit sufficiently ripe, undergo minimal cellar intervention during their transformation into wines recognized for their balance and vibrancy. Sessions unfold indoors or out, sometimes accompanied by small bites underscoring the wines’ food-friendliness.

A lengthy driveway curves a steep hill to this winery with knockout Russian River Valley views. The namesake founder departed two decades ago, but successive winemakers have crafted the Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs in similar ways, picking early to preserve acidity and focusing on "expressing the site" or appellation. The Elevation Tasting of single-vineyard wines provides a good introduction; other tastings in the two-tiered tasting room or on its exterior terrace involve a winery tour or library wines. Visits are by appointment; same-day reservations are possible on weekdays, but call ahead.

Founders Tom and Sally Jordan erected the French-style château here in part to emphasize their goal of producing a single Russian River Valley Chardonnay and Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon each year to rival ones from the Napa Valley and France itself. Since taking the helm, their son John has overseen replanting much of the estate vineyard and a shift to all-French barrels for aging, further elevating quality. A sampling of the two current releases (and the estate olive oil) and a winery tour that includes a tasting are offered year-round. As part of these experiences and a few seasonal events, the executive chef prepares small bites and dishes whose ingredients come mainly from Jordan's organic garden. All visits are by appointment.

Since decamping for California, Hoosier winemaker Erik Miller, who named his winery after his Indiana hometown, has raked in awards for his single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Grenache, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a few other wines. Fans of the Pauline's Vineyard Grenache Rosé snag most of the supply within weeks of release. Some guests sit amid the potted plants fronting the industrial-parklike production facility, though the banter in the main tasting area, high rows of oak aging barrels its focal point, lures many inside. (The adjacent room for club members is a veritable party even midweek on some summer days.) Make an appointment if possible; call for same-day visits.

The rocky clay soils of this winery's northeastern sliver of the Russian River Valley AVA combine with foggy mornings and evenings and hot sunny afternoons to create the swoon-worthy Zinfandels (critics love 'em) produced here. The estate 1910 Block Zinfandel comes from old-style head-trained vines planted more than a century ago. Fruit from this block adds richness and depth to the flagship Russian River Zinfandel, whose grapes also come from nearby sources. You can taste Limerick Lane's Zins and a few Rhône-style wines in or outside a restored stone farm building with vineyard and Mayacamas Mountains views. Tastings are by appointment; call ahead for same-day visits.

Busy enough throughout the day, the hip-casual downtown tasting room and sidewalk patio of vintners Matt and Sara Licklider often fill up after 5 pm, when service shifts and only wine by the glass or bottle is offered (no flights), and their peers from other indie wineries materialize to unwind. Lioco produces Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and "outliers" like Cortese, an Italian white, and old-vine Valdiguié, a French red. Matt describes the wines as "high tension, high energy," intentionally "a little more fresh and zingy,” partly because the grapes are harvested on the early side, when acidity is still high. An additional benefit: the wines are also lower in alcohol. Matt and Sara are often on hand to share their story, with vinyl from their collection providing the soundtrack.

The winery's name references the Sonoma Coast fog rolling off the Pacific, allowing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes to ripen more slowly than further inland. With spare elegance, the loungelike tasting room's soft lighting, soothing white tones, and alternately gray, dark brown, and light mahogany hues also evoke the shoreline. The winemaker and owner have worked together previously; this project evolved out of a yearning to craft cool-climate, appellation-specific wines from high-pedigree sites.  Flights are poured until 5 pm, after which hosts serve wines by the glass (no reservations taken) until closing.

Winemaker Clay Mauritson's Swedish ancestors planted grapes in what is now the Rockpile appellation in the 1880s. Much of the original homestead lies submerged under human-made Lake Sonoma, but the remaining acres produce the distinctive Zinfandels for which Mauritson is best known. Cabernet Sauvignon, other red Bordeaux grapes, Syrah, and Petite Sirah grow here as well, but the Zinfandels in particular illustrate how Rockpile's varied climate and hillside soils produce vastly different wines, some soft and almost Pinotlike, others more tannic. The Mauritsons also grow grapes in Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill, and Dry Creek Valley, where the winery and tasting room are located.

A participant in a worldwide movement promoting earth-friendly regenerative farming techniques, this winery established in 1998 produces small-lot wines from organic grapes grown at 338-acre Bell Mountain Ranch. The estate Cabernet Sauvignons garner the most acclaim, but the other wines—among them a brut-style sparkler, a Chardonnay, two Sauvignon Blancs, and Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, and Syrah reds—are also well made. In addition to a standard tasting, you can book an evocative self-guided audio tour or experience the ranch on an excursion led by a wine educator. Ames Morison, the winery's eloquent co-founder and winemaker for the first two decades, leads vineyard walks on Fridays. Visits require an appointment. Closer to Healdsburg, Medlock Ames operates a tasting room in a converted century-old country store.

On a ranch farmed by the same family for five generations, this resolutely old-school winery produces restrained low-alcohol Zinfandels. Aged in French oak and elegant in ways Zinfandel often is not, they score well in competitions and with critics. Two other notable bottlings are a Russian River Pinot Noir from Swan clone grapes and the estate Dry Creek Valley Cabernet. These crackerjack wines would be worth a trip on their own, but getting to know the family behind them—Doug and Lee Nalle, who founded this small operation, and their son Andrew, the current winemaker, and daughter-in-law April, a viticulturist—makes a visit all the more fulfilling, as does seeing the aboveground, rosemary-covered "living roof" wine-aging "cellar." 

Anointed by Wine Spectator a "legend of California Chardonnay," David Ramey has been making acclaimed age-worthy wines for four-plus decades. Collectors and wine lovers appear daily at his spick-and-span industrial space, where hosts convey the passion, artistry, and deep knowledge of wine-making chemistry underlying his output. Seated appointment-only sessions begin with a few Chardonnays, followed by equally accomplished reds. Cabernet Sauvignon receives the most accolades of the latter, but Ramey also does well by Pinot Noir and has a soft spot for Syrah. His children own and run the winery now—Ramey chuckles that he's become their employee—and a longtime associate handles the day-to-day wine making, but the vision remains emphatically his.

Kelly and Noah Dorrance present their expressive cool-climate wines at a secluded enclave up a forested hill off Dry Creek Road. With views of vineyards fanning magic carpet–like to the south, the outdoor tables here often spark daydreams accelerated by the Chardonnay or rosé of Pinot Noir commencing many sessions. (If the day's brisk, the indoor space's country-chic sensibility—high wood-beamed ceilings, black walls, dried and fresh flowers, and handcrafted furniture, all courtesy of Kelly—also inspires reveries.) You're here for winemaker Noah Dorrance's Pinot Noirs, though, all terrific and in ways that illuminate the differences among clone types and variations in vineyards' soils, elevations, and weather. Tastings are by appointment; call ahead for same-day visits.

Ridge stands tall among local wineries, and not merely because its 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon rated second-highest among California reds competing with French ones at the Judgment of Paris blind tasting of 1976. The winery built its reputation on Cabernets and Zinfandels of unusual depth and complexity, but you'll also find Rhône-grape blends. Single-vineyard estate wines, such as the Lytton Springs Zinfandel from fruit grown steps away, are the focus of tastings. You can sit outside in good weather, taking in views of rolling vineyard hills while you sip. The educational Century Tour & Library Tasting begins with a spin around the property in an electric cart.

The views and architecture are as impressive as the wines at the 113-acre Sonoma County outpost of the same-named Napa Valley winery. As in Napa, the Healdsburg facility—an ultramodern, environmentally sensitive winery with a glass-walled tasting pavilion—produces just one wine each year: a well-balanced Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon aged in American rather than French oak barrels. Reservations aren’t needed for at-the-bar sips of the current Alexander Valley and Napa Valley Cabernets, but make one for other tastings, including pours of older vintages.

Down a country lane less than 2 miles south of Healdsburg Plaza, James MacPhail's modest production facility seems well away from the upscale fray. MacPhail makes wines for Sangiacomo and other labels, but Tongue Dancer's Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are handcrafted labors of love. From choice vineyard sites, the small-lot wines impress—sometimes stun—with their grace, complexity, and balance. The flagship Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is poured at most tastings. Either the winemaker or his co-owner and wife, Kerry Forbes-MacPhail will host you, their aim to "create an approachable experience for guests we hope will leave as friends." It's best to book a day or more ahead.

Set amid Chalk Hill's rolling countryside, Vérité earns consistently high scores for three collector-worthy Bordeaux-style blends—La Muse (Merlot-forward), La Joie (Cabernet Sauvignon), and Le Désir (Cabernet Franc)—whose grapes come from estate properties in four Sonoma County appellations. Since 2013, sixth-generation French-born winemaker Pierre Seillan has crafted these gems with his daughter, Hélène, and with no drop-off in quality: a top critic bestowed 100 points on her debut vintage. Tastings end with Le Diamante, a Sauvignon Blanc. The French-style hospitality makes a visit here enchanting. Appointments, required, are best made a week ahead.

Most winery owners would love to be in Steve Zichichi's shoes: wines from his flagship vineyard, some of whose vines were planted in the 1920s during Prohibition, are largely sold out before they're bottled. As a result, customers of this northern Dry Creek Valley operation taste some wines while they're still aging in barrels and purchase "futures" available for shipping or pickup months or more later. The highlight, only sometimes available for tasting, is the Old Vine Zinfandel. Zichichi makes another Zinfandel and a Petite Sirah from his main vineyard and one of each from another Dry Creek property. There's also a 100% Cabernet from the Chalk Hill appellation. Tastings, by appointment, often take place on a porch overlooking the historic vines.

Except for the production facility backing into tree-lined Sausal Creek, this family-owned winery's Mission-style hospitality space might be confused for an upscale residence, not inappropriate considering the founders' zeal to make guests feel, as one host describes, "like you're stepping into a friend or family member's home who just happens to have really cool wines." They're also well made, especially the Merlot-heavy Deeds proprietary red blend of Alexander Valley fruit and Russian River Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Most of the wines, which also include Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, and rosé of Zinfandel, are produced in lots of as small as two barrels (about 50 cases).