13 Best Sights in Santa Rosa, Napa and Sonoma

Winemaker-partner Mike Sullivan's Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs would taste marvelous even in a toolshed, but guests to Benovia's unassumingly chic Russian River Valley ranch house will never know. Appointment-only tastings of his acclaimed wines—Benovia also produces Grenache, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon—take place in the brown-hued living room or on the open-air patio. From either vantage point, views of the estate Martaella Vineyard all the way to Mt. St. Helena draw the eye. Weekday vineyard tours focus on the winery's earth-friendly farming practices; production tours track the wine-making process from vineyard to barrel to glass.

Fans of Snoopy and Charlie Brown will love this museum dedicated to the late Charles M. Schulz, who lived his last three decades in Santa Rosa. Permanent installations include a re-creation of the cartoonist's studio, and temporary exhibits often focus on a particular theme in his work. Children and adults can take a stab at creating cartoons in the Education Room.

A multihued garden reminiscent of Monet's surrounds a pond at this hillside winery whose Bennett Valley views and assiduously cultivated wines enthrall in equal measure. Above the fog line on volcanic soil, much of the property is warm enough to grow Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The Bennett Mountain Estate Blend contains both and sometimes other Bordeaux red grapes like Malbec. Syrah is another focus, as are Pinot Noir and Napa Valley Cabernet. Guests pass through not one but two gates on the steep, narrow drive up to the glass-walled hospitality space. Group or private sessions—indoors, on the patio, or amid the garden—usually start with a Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. Reservations are a must.

Two guys who met while on Sonoma State University's rowing team opened this craft brewery, named for a rugged redwood-lined road in West Sonoma County. It's worth the 10-mile drive south from Santa Rosa to Rohnert Park, where enthusiastic staffers pour beers from kettle sours and a Czech-style pilsner to a rye IPA and an oatmeal-milk stout. Old Caz ferments smaller specialty brews at its family- and pet-friendly indoor-outdoor brewpub but makes most of its beers at a production facility nearby.  The kitchen opens for weekday lunch; diverse food trucks appear for dinner on weekdays and all day on weekends.

An unexpected bit of wilderness in the Wine Country, this preserve with African wildlife covers 400 acres. Begin your visit with a stroll around enclosures housing lemurs, cheetahs, giraffes, and rare birds like the brightly colored scarlet ibis. Next, climb with your guide onto open-air vehicles that spend about two hours combing the expansive property, where more than 80 species—including gazelles, cape buffalo, antelope, wildebeests, and zebras—inhabit the hillsides. If you'd like to extend your stay, "glamping” in Botswana-made tent cabins is available.

Other wineries purchase about 90% of the grapes the Balletto family grows on 800-plus acres, with the remainder destined for its own label's wines. The house style—light on the oak, high in acidity, and low in alcohol content—yields food-friendly wines. Sipping Pinot Gris, rosé of Pinot Noir, or a brut rosé sparkler on the outdoor patio can feel transcendent on a warm day, though the Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs steal the show. The winery also makes Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and Zinfandel.

It's winemaker Carol Shelton's motto that great wines start in the vineyard, but you won't see any grapevines outside her winery—it's in an industrial park 4 miles north of downtown Santa Rosa. What you will find (and experience) are well-priced Zinfandels from grapes grown in vineyards from Mendocino to Southern California's Cucamonga Valley. With coastal, hillside, valley, inland, and desert's-edge fruit, the Zins collectively reveal the range and complexity of this varietal that so arouses Shelton's passion.

Best known for Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs, DeLoach also produces Chardonnays, old-vine Zinfandels, and a few other wines. Grapes for some reds are fermented in open-top wooden vats similar to those used in France for centuries to intensify a wine's flavor. On a self-guided tour of the winery's ½-acre Theater of Nature culinary garden, you can learn the role biodynamic farming plays in creating DeLoach wines.  The Kathleen Thompson Hill Kitchen Memories Collection, worth a look, contains cooking utensils of nostalgic and historical value.

"The winemaker is in," reads a driveway sign when owner Kathleen Inman, who crafts her winery's Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and other Russian River Valley wines, is present. Her restrained, balanced, exceedingly food-friendly output also includes rosé of Pinot Noir, sparkling wines, and Pinot Gris. Inman’s zeal to recycle is evident everywhere, most conspicuously in the tasting room, where redwood reclaimed from an on-site barn was incorporated into the design, and crushed wine-bottle glass was fashioned into the bar. Tastings, some held on an outdoor patio, are by appointment. Book a "Meet the Maker" session to learn directly from the source about her farming, fermenting, and aging methods.

Wine writers turned vintners Roger Beery and his late wife Donna parlayed their passion for Pinot Noir into a boutique winery that benefits from connections they made while reporting on the industry. They met their consulting winemaker, Adam Lee, even before he cofounded Siduri Wines, and their vineyard lineup includes stellar sites like El Coro, La Cruz, van der Kamp, and the Martinelli family's The Wedding Block. J. Cage also produces a Chardonnay, a Sauvignon Blanc, a rosé of Pinot Noir, and the Craftsman's blend of Sangiovese, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah. Considering the caliber of the vineyards involved, the wines, poured at a shared storefront space, are reasonably priced.

Renowned horticulturist Luther Burbank lived and worked on these grounds and made significant advances using modern selection and hybridization techniques. The 1.6-acre garden and greenhouse showcase the results of some of Burbank's experiments to develop spineless cacti and such flowers as the Shasta daisy. Use your cell phone on a free self-guided garden tour, or from April through October take a docent-led tour (required to see the house).

In a century-old hop barn with the telltale triple towers, Martinelli's tasting room has the feel of a country store. The winery's reputation rests on complex Pinot Noirs, Syrahs, and Zinfandels, including the Jackass Hill Vineyard Zin, made with grapes from vines planted mainly in the 1880s by the current owners' ancestors. Noted winemaker Helen Turley set the Martinelli style in the 1990s—fruit-forward, easy on the oak, reined-in tannins—and the 21st-century team continues this approach. All visits are by appointment; some tastings unfold on a vineyard's-edge terrace in good weather. Serious wine drinkers gravitate to the Collector's Flight of top-drawer Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, and Zinfandels.

The visitor center at Matanzas Creek sets itself apart with an understated Japanese aesthetic, extending to a tranquil fountain and a vast field of lavender. The winery makes Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon wines under the Matanzas Creek name, and four equally well-regarded bottlings—a Bordeaux red blend, a Pinot Noir, a Chardonnay, and a Sauvignon Blanc—bearing the Journey label. The winery, owned by Jackson Family Wines, encourages guests to enjoy a picnic on the property. Hosts waive the table fee with a wine purchase. Weekend reservations are a good idea.  From late June to mid-August, blooming lavender perfumes the air.