322 Best Sights in Napa and Sonoma, California

Owner-winemaker Bart Hansen offers guests a curious portal into local wine history: his tasting room, known as "The Tank," occupies a 10,000-gallon-plus former redwood fermenting vessel a winery across the street first used more than a century ago. With long stints at nearby Benziger, Lasseter, and Kenwood wineries, Hansen is steeped in Sonoma Valley lore and, more consequentially, the area's best vineyard sources. Old-vine Zinfandel is one concentration, but he also crafts a Sauvignon Blanc from 1980s vines at Glen Ellen's Beltane Ranch and a red Rhône blend from Rossi Vineyard, first planted in 1910. Tastings of these and other wines sometimes occur on a patio outside The Tank.

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.

Owners Mike and Sandy Davis transformed a ramshackle property into a plush winery whose predominantly Bordeaux-style wines live up to the magnificent setting. In fashioning the couple's haute-rustic appointment-only hospitality center, the celebrated Wine Country architect Howard Backen incorporated cedar, walnut, and other woods. In fine weather, many guests sit on the open-air terrace's huge swinging sofas, enjoying broad valley views while tasting Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay whites, with Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Cabs and Cab-heavy blends among the reds. Tastings, by appointment, include small bites.

A visit to this majestic château is an opulent way to enjoy the Carneros District—especially in fine weather, when the vineyard views are spectacular. The château was modeled after an 18th-century French mansion owned by the Taittinger family. Carved into the hillside beneath the winery, the cellars produce sparkling wines reminiscent of those made by Taittinger, using only Los Carneros AVA grapes. Enjoy flights of sparkling wines or Pinot Noirs with cheese and charcuterie plates, caviar, or smoked salmon. Tastings are by appointment.

The team at this prominent Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producer prizes viticulture—selecting vineyards with superior soils and microclimates, planting compatible clones, and farming organically with rigor—over wine-making wizardry. Tasting areas that include a contemporary white board-and-batten structure and a pavilion with a conical multicolor glass canopy afford hilltop views of Los Carneros, San Pablo Bay, and beyond. Appointments (last-minute unlikely) are required to taste these wines hailed for their "power yet elegance.” The nearly five dozen large-scale museum-quality contemporary sculptures placed amid the vines, including works by Ai Weiwei, Louise Bourgeois, Keith Haring, and Anselm Kiefer, add a touch of high culture to a visit here.

In the 1990s, winemaker Dan Goldfield teamed up with fifth-generation farmer Steve Dutton to establish this small operation devoted to cool-climate Pinot Noirs. Goldfield is less involved with day-to-day wine making than before, but the goal remains the same: to take Dutton's meticulously farmed fruit, along with sourced grapes, and "make the winemaker unnoticeable." Well, not quite. What impresses the most about these wines, which include a Pinot Blanc, two Chardonnays, a Pinot Noir rosé, and Syrah, is their sheer artistry. Dutton and Goldfield helped revive the remaining acres of the 1880s vineyard that produces grapes for the juicy, spicy Morelli Lane Zinfandel.

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.

Sommeliers and critics extol the Pinot Noirs and Cabernet Sauvignons of Csaba Szakál, En Garde's Hungarian-born winemaker and owner. To create what he describes as “aromatic, complex, lush, and juicy” wines, Szakál selects top Sonoma County vineyards for the Pinots and the Napa Valley's Diamond Mountain, Mt. Veeder, and other high-elevation sites for the Cabernets. The hosts at his highway's-edge tasting room provide a wealth of knowledge about his wine-making goals and methods. If you're lucky, Szakál will be around to discuss his wines (he loves to), which also include Chardonnay, other whites, and rosé of Pinot Noir.

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.

The same West County Goldridge sandy loam soil that produces world-class wine grapes does the same for the 20 apple varieties in this cidery's 3½-acre certified-organic orchard. Topics at tastings include the regenerative farming practices the owners believe yield healthier fruit. The dry (as in not sweet) ciders crafted here might contain the juice of several apple types or only one, with herbs, spices, oak aging, or particular yeasts employed to enhance texture, flavor, and vibrancy. The tank area doubles as the tasting room (reservations recommended); picnic tables are just outside. Ethic also produces two apple brandies and always has a nonalcoholic alternative available.

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.

Six miles from the downtown Napa whirl, husband-and-wife team Jeff and Karen Fontanella's hillside spread seems a world apart. In addition to his formal studies, Jeff learned about wine making at three prestigious wineries before he and Karen, a lawyer, established their own operation on 81 south-facing Mt. Veeder acres. The couple braved an economic recession, an earthquake, and wildfires in the first decade but emerged tougher, if no less gracious to guests lucky enough to find themselves tasting Viognier, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon on the patio here. Tastings often end with a Zinfandel-based Port-style wine. Weather permitting, the reserve tasting includes the opportunity to stroll the estate, whose views south to San Francisco and east to Atlas Peak are terrific.

Tokyo-born winemaker Akiko Freeman and her businessman husband Ken produce cool-climate Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs critics hail for their grace and personality. Private tastings of these sensitively crafted wines usually unfold in the couple's ivy-covered cave, down a country lane 4 miles from downtown Sebastopol. The fruit comes from two estate vineyards and a few cherished Sonoma Coast sources; Freeman describes herself as an interpreter of these sites and a given vintage. The year's best lots go into the Akiko's Cuvée Pinot Noir. A pretty good barometer of how things played out, the blend concludes most sessions.  It’s best to make a reservation here.

The tour at eco-friendly Frog's Leap is a fun way to enhance your wine education. Conducted by hosts with a sense of humor, the tour stops by a barn built in 1884, an acre of organic gardens, and a frog pond topped with lily pads. The winery produced its first vintage, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel, in 1981, adding Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon the following year. Merlot, Petite Sirah, and the Heritage Blend of classic Napa Valley varietals, including Charbono and Valdiguié, are among the other reds these days. It’s best to make a reservation, but walk-ins are sometimes accommodated. The tour is recommended, but you can forgo it and taste under an arbor in the Garden Bar.

Unlike most of his neighbors, third-generation farmer Tom Gamble doesn't trumpet his boutique winery's tasting room with a sign along St. Helena Highway. When confirming guests' (required) appointments, the concierges describe the mailbox to look for. The low-key branding is among the clues that a visit here is less about flash and more about substance. Gamble, whose family settled in Oakville more than a century ago, sells grapes to A-list wineries, reserving a portion for wines that include collector-quality single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons, a Bordeaux-style red blend, a Bordeaux-style white blend, and a Sauvignon Blanc. Hosts pour these wines in a farmhouse and the winery barn. The amiable Gamble often drops by tastings to say hi.

During private tastings at this 100-acre property, you may find yourself swept away by husband-and-wife Justin Miller and Karin Wärnelius-Miller's passion for their land and determination to craft collector-worthy wines. Justin grew up on the ranch, which his father purchased in 1963; Karin emigrated from Sweden with her parents, who owned vineyards and a winery nearby. Chardonnay, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, and the rare-in-California Scheurebe are among the white grapes grown here. Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varietals go into the flagship Tesserae red blend. Justin and Karin jointly make their small label's wines, only releasing the red after eight years in bottle.  Visit the winery’s website and join the mailing list to schedule a tasting, which includes a vineyard tour.

Business and life partners Joey Wołosz and Jeff Durham welcome guests to their refurbished 1926 Craftsman bungalow for intimate tastings of small-lot rosé, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Bordeaux-style reds. Dishes cooked in the moment in an au courant demonstration kitchen accompany the wines. An eloquently told story lies behind everything from the furnishings, dinnerware, and articles like the rescued tabernacle converted into a Julia Child shrine to family recipes, among them Yountville native Durham's version of malfatti, a century-old Napa variation on ravioli. This rarefied experience is intentionally akin to dropping by a relative's home for a lovingly prepared meal that elevates the conversation and vice versa. Reservations are essential for breakfast, lunch, and dinner experiences, but "when the door is open," walk-ins can sip by the glass or bottle.

On a clear day this Spanish hacienda–style winery's Vista Terrace lives up to its name as guests at seated tastings sip sparkling and still wines while taking in views of Los Carneros AVA and beyond it San Pablo Bay. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes from the vineyards in the foreground are the product of old-world wine-making knowledge—generations of the founding Ferrer family made Cava in Spain—but also contemporary soil-management techniques and clonal research. Hosts well-acquainted with the winery's history as its appellation's first sparkling-wine house serve wines by themselves, with tapas and other small bites guests can order à la carte, or as part of full culinary pairings best booked at least a day ahead.

Pam and George Hamel Jr. purchased a vineyard mainly for the scenery but quickly got bitten by the wine bug: the family now owns four biodynamic, mostly dry-farmed (no irrigation) vineyards. Collector-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon, the flagship Isthmus red blend, and a bottling each of Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache, and Zinfandel account for the bulk of production. Pam and George's son John, who makes the wines, also supervises the farming, striving for "purity of fruit" that, he says, requires little of him post-harvest. He's too modest. His choices during fermentation and aging beget magnificent wines. Appointment-only tastings take place at the steel-and-glass Estate House, where guests indoors or on the broad stone terrace take in valley and mountain views.

Olive trees ring the outdoor wine garden attracting most of the action at Greg and Lindsay Hamilton's roadside tasting room. The two—he's from Scotland, she's a Californian—started their journey as vintners making garage wine together. These days, Sonoma Valley native Jess Wade crafts a sparkling blanc de noirs, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and two blends—a GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre), and The Phoenix (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot). The last wine's name refers to Greg and Lindsay's rise from the ashes of the home they lost in the 2017 Wine Country fires. The Hamiltons credit the calamity with spurring them to achieve their goal of establishing a wine brand more quickly.

The Hanson family makes grape-based organic vodkas, one traditional, the rest infused with cucumbers, ginger, mandarin oranges, Meyer lemons, or habanero and other chili peppers. A surprise to many visitors, the Hansons make a blended white wine before distilling it into vodka. The family pours its vodkas and a Japanese-style single-malt whisky in an industrial-looking tasting room heavy on the steel, with wood reclaimed from Deep South smokehouses adding a rustic note. In good weather, some sessions take place on a small pond's landscaped shore.

The private tastings at this hillside winery known for collector-worthy Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs take maximum advantage of the Sonoma Valley views. James Zellerbach, a businessman and later U.S. ambassador to Italy who became smitten with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on trips to Burgundy, founded Hanzell (his wife's name was Hana) in 1953. At the time, neither grape had much of a foothold in California, but his hunch that each would do well here paid off. A few acres of Cabernet Sauvignon planted later provide grapes for the Bordeaux red blend that closes most sessions, led by gracious, well-informed hosts proud of this winery's legacy, organic farming practices, and studiously crafted wines.

Pinot Noir lovers appreciate the subtle differences in the wines Hartford's team crafts from grapes grown in several Sonoma County AVAs, along with fruit from nearby Marin and Mendocino Counties and Oregon. The winery also produces a Chenin Blanc and several Chardonnays and old-vine Zinfandels. If the weather's good, enjoy a flight on the patio outside the main winery building. At private library tastings, guests sip current and older vintages.

A country lane edged by vines and residences leads to this multibrand winery whose unhurried tastings, often outdoors, have a backyard-casual feel. One of his colleagues likens HQ's winemaker, Russell Bevan, to "a water witch without the walking stick" for his ability to assess a vineyard's weather, soil, and vine positioning and intuit how particular viticultural techniques will affect wines' flavors. Bevan farms judiciously, striving later in the cellar to preserve what nature and his efforts have yielded rather than rely on heavy manipulation. Guests can choose flights from three brands, all of which make Cabernet Sauvignons and Bordeaux red blends: Elyse (also two whites, a rosé, and Zinfandel), Addax (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir), and Institution (Napa Valley Proprietary Red). Tastings are held three times a day by appointment.

Vintner-filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola's many wine-world contributions include resurrecting the historic Inglenook estate. Over the decades, he reassembled the original property acquired by Inglenook founder Gustave Niebaum and remodeled the Finnish-born sea captain's ivy-covered 1880s château. Inglenook's place in Napa Valley history is among the topics discussed at tastings, one (worth considering) devoted entirely to the winery's 22,000-square-foot eco-friendly wine cave and production facility. Some sessions involve food pairings, and most see a pour of the signature Rubicon, a Cabernet Sauvignon–based blend with a classic Rutherford profile. Visits require an appointment; call for same-day availability. Reserve a table at The Bistro, a wine bar with a picturesque courtyard, to sip wine by the glass or bottle.

A meandering one-lane road leads to this winery known for its sparkling wines and estate Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. The sparklers have made history: Ronald Reagan served them at his summit meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev, and Barack Obama included them at official state dinners. Despite Iron Horse's brushes with fame, a casual rusticity prevails at its outdoor tasting area (large heaters keep things comfortable on chilly days), which gazes out on acres of rolling vine-covered hills. Tastings are by appointment.

"Darn fine barn wine" is the motto of this throwback operation whose oldest vines—Zinfandel in a block that fronts the winery—date to 1908. Owner Jim Rickards purchased 60 hillside acres 2 miles north of Geyserville in 1976 and restored the vines, later planting Cabernet Sauvignon and other grapes. Amiable hosts staff the barn's tasting room, but the tree-shaded south-facing patio invariably lures most patrons outside for the vineyard views. Estate and sourced grapes go into wines well worth the modest tasting fee, among them Gewürztraminer, Muscat Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier whites and reds that include Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and the spicy but elegant old-vine Zin. Make a reservation on Friday and Saturday in summer.

The pleasures are pastoral and intellectual at author Jack London's Beauty Ranch, where 30-plus miles of trails skirt vineyards and meander through firs, redwoods, oaks, and madrones. The House of Happy Walls Museum displays manuscripts and personal artifacts detailing London's travels, literary passions, humanitarian and conservation efforts, and promotion of organic farming. London and his second wife, Charmian, whose equally compelling story the museum also documents, spent two years constructing their dream home, Wolf House, but it burned down in 1913, days before they were scheduled to move in. The remaining stone walls and fireplaces provide a sense of the building's grand scale. Also worth a peek is the posh pigsty, based on the writer's agricultural research, that neighbors and a newspaper columnist derided as the Pig Palace.

A boutique operation with a loyal following, Black Kite makes cool-climate Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs critics often score in the mid-90s. The grapes come from prestigious Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley sites and the estate Jasper Freestone Vineyard, planted across the Bohemian Highway from the winery’s wood-clad hospitality house. The Freestone vineyard and hospitality space are named for surveyor Jasper O'Farrell, who owned much of the town in the 19th century. Longtime winemaker Jeff Gaffner crafts the Black Kite wines to last, but they're drinkable upon release. All visits are by appointment.  The winery also conducts tastings at its Windsor production facility.