322 Best Sights in Napa and Sonoma, California

Brook Bannister's appreciation for his mother's wine-industry achievements inspired him to, as he puts it, forsake his career as a furniture maker "to keep her dream alive." That dream, which Martha "Marty" Bannister initiated in 1989, was to make layered, graceful, age-worthy wines. Brook continues this tradition with the core lineup of Chardonnay, Riesling, several Pinot Noirs, and Zinfandel, supplemented in recent years by wines from lesser-known grapes like Ribolla Gialla. The gallery-style tasting room, opened more than a century ago as a bank, is an enchanting space to learn more about this multigenerational labor of love.

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.

Grape growing at Bartholomew Estate, surrounded by a 375-acre park with 3 miles of trails (no fee to hike), dates back to an 1840s vineyard a Native American man planted during California's Mexican era. These days, the park's nonprofit foundation makes Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Zinfandel, and other wines mostly from vines it farms organically. Tastings often take place on an oak knoll overlooking some of them, with Sonoma Valley as the bucolic backdrop. You can also purchase a bottle and picnic in a separate grove.  On Fridays and weekends, a talented caterer prepares Mediterranean appetizers (order ahead) that pair well with the wines. 

In 1973, teenager Mario Bazán traveled north from Oaxaca, Mexico, intending to earn money to start a business back home. Five decades later, he's still in the Napa Valley. After rising through the ranks as a vineyard laborer and foreman, Mario opened his own management company, now overseeing a few hundred acres of vines. He and his wife Gloria, who is from Michoacán, founded Bazán Cellars in 2005. Sauvignon Blanc, rosé, and Pinot Noir set up the stars, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The influential André Tchelistcheff (1901–94), who helped define the California style of wine making, worked his magic here for many years. BV, founded in 1900 by Georges de Latour and his wife, Fernande, makes several widely distributed wines, but others are produced in small lots and available only at the winery. The most famous, the Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which debuted in the late 1930s, has scored as high as 100 points in recent years.  Book a Hewitt Vineyard Cabernet Tasting to sample wines from a heralded Rutherford vineyard.

Known for valley-floor Cabernet Sauvignons, this far-northern Napa Valley winery also produces Merlot and the Maximus Red Feasting Wine, a Cab-heavy red blend nicely priced considering the quality. On the lighter side are a Chardonnay and the Maximus White Feasting Wine blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Muscat. When the weather's pleasant, flights of current-release whites and reds unfold in a garden whose pergola frames vineyard and Calistoga Palisades views. Other tastings, in the living-room-like salon or the winery, highlight the Cabernets. An engaging game here teaches participants about wines' aromas, and there's a blending seminar.

Guides conducting Benziger's popular tram tours explain the biodynamic practices employed in farming the estate vineyard and the benefits of the 360-degree sun exposure its bowl-like setting enables. The former include extensive plantings to attract beneficial insects and the deployment of sheep to trim vegetation between the vines, tilling the soil with their hooves and fertilizing it. Known for Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and multiple red blends, the winery is a beautiful spot for an alfresco tasting, even if you don't take the tour.

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. Beringer is known for Cabernet Sauvignons from several Napa Valley AVAs and Knights Valley in Sonoma County; many poured here are winery exclusives. 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. A tour surveying Beringer's history passes through the wine caves before a tasting in the old facility where the brothers began making wine.

Noah and Kelly Dorrance of Reeve Wines are behind this more casual winery producing Albariño, Chenin Blanc, Tocai Friulano, Pinot Noir, Grenache, and other decently priced wines from well-sourced grapes. The light-filled tasting space's urban/country-cool decor hints at the panache behind the enterprise, whose servers appear to have been chosen for their ebullience. Cheeses, olive tapenade, and prosciutto are available for pairing.

The Napa Valley Vine Trail's St. Helena–Calistoga leg passes through this park's redwoods, Douglas firs, oaks, and madrones. A hiking path beginning near the visitor center loops up a hill to an opening with views encompassing much of the valley. Shorter trails circle a vineyard and lead to historical sites. Before 19th-century American and European settlers arrived, the Indigenous people later known as Wappo lived off this land. You can camp and picnic here, and a pool opens on summer weekends.  Take care on hiking trails; poison oak grows in abundance.

Tranquil Bouchaine lies just north of San Pablo Bay's tidal sloughs—to appreciate the off-the-beaten-path setting, step onto the terrace of the semicircular hilltop tasting room and scan the skies for hawks and golden eagles soaring above the vineyards. The alternately breezy and foggy weather in this part of the Carneros works well for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These account for most of the wines, but also look for Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, and Riesling whites, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Meunier, and Syrah. Some outdoor tastings take place on the terrace, others in the garden below it.

As a lad, winemaker Alex Bowman made hobby wines with his father, an electrical contractor with deep West County roots, but by his late-20s he yearned to make wines "for real." His debut wine won a double-gold ribbon at the local county fair, prompting him to draw on the experience of wine-industry relatives to establish Bowman Cellars with his wife Katie, whose family has long owned a roadside produce market in Sebastopol. The two pour their wines in a casual tasting room fronted by a patio twice as large. Alex shows a light but knowing touch with the winery's two stars, a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir, both from the Russian River Valley.

The mood’s downright bubbly (pardon that pun) at the oasislike garden patio of this sparkling-wine producer in an industrial park ½ mile northwest of Healdsburg Plaza. Established by three sisters, Breathless sources grapes from Sonoma County and a few places beyond. The small indoor tasting area was fashioned out of shipping containers, though in fine weather nearly everyone sips—by the glass, flight, or bottle—in the umbrella-shaded garden. Splurge on the Sabrage Experience to learn how to open a bottle with a saber, a tradition Napoléon's soldiers supposedly initiated.

This winery with a contemporary stone, glass, and metal facility across from the Four Seasons resort takes its name from its son (Brian Harlan) and father (Arden Harlan) vintners. Brian, who makes the wines, has early memories of a 19th-century Lake County Zinfandel vineyard his family still farms, but his passion for the grape grew out of wine-related work in the restaurant industry. Wines to look for include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec. Guests sip these wines and a few others in the tasting room or on an outdoor patio, both with Calistoga Palisades views, enjoying them with small bites or cheeses. The Chef Experience ($$$$)—per the website: "please come hungry!"—is the most popular tasting.

The architectural focal point of the winery considered the birthplace of modern California wine making is the rehabilitated stone former press house, built in 1864 to squeeze crushed grapes into wine. Now the main tasting space—no wines are made on-site—it doubles as a minimuseum whose exhibits tell the story of the Hungarian-born Count Agoston Haraszthy (his title was self-bestowed), who founded Buena Vista in 1857. Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, Cabernet Sauvignons, and several Bordeaux-style red blends are the strong suits among the several dozen wines produced.

The boundless wit, whimsy, and creativity of the Venetian-born Carlo Marchiori, this gallery's owner-artist, finds expression in paintings, watercolors, ceramics, sculptures, and other artworks. Marchiori often draws on mythology and folktales for his inspiration. A stop at this magical gallery might inspire you to tour Villa Ca' Toga, the artist's Palladian home, a tromp-l'oeil tour de force open May–October for appointment-only Saturday tours.

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. Visits are by appointment, best made a day or two ahead.

Jack and Dolores Cakebread were among the early-1970s vintners whose efforts raised the Napa Valley's profile and initiated what became known as the Wine Country lifestyle. Tasting experiences at their winery, now run by their sons, adapt that lifestyle to contemporary sensibilities. Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon helped establish Cakebread, which makes so many other wines—Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and sundry red blends among them—that you can opt for an all-reds or all-whites tasting.   Book a wine-and-food pairing or a library tasting of older vintages for a deeper dive into this trailblazing winery’s output.

French-born vintner Jean-Charles Boisset's love affair with Napa Valley history climaxed in 2024 with the debut of a glossy high-ceilinged showcase for his hand-distilled small-batch bourbons, ryes, gin, and brandies. The spirits and the burnt-orange The First Millionaire's Saloon, inside a restored Pullman railcar, acknowledge the legacy of town founder Sam Brannan, who established a distillery here in 1860, eight years before his railroad arrived. In 2023, Boisset launched Casa Obsidiana Tequila with the Beckmann Gonzalez family of Mexico (Jose Cuervo). The joint-venture's premium tequilas age in French oak barrels previously used to make wine. Distilling towers and other equipment provide the backdrop, but all the spirits are made elsewhere.

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.

An astounding medieval-style structure complete with drawbridge and moat, chapel, stables, and secret passageways, the Castello commands Diamond Mountain's lower eastern slope. Some of the 107 rooms contain artist Fabio Sanzogni's replicas of 13th-century frescoes (cheekily signed with his website address), and the dungeon has an iron maiden from Nuremberg, Germany. You must pay for a tour to see most of Dario Sattui's extensive eight-level property, though you'll have access to part of the complex with general admission. Bottlings of note include Sangiovese and other Italian-style wines and Il Barone, a deliberately big Cab. All visits are by appointment.

This winery's Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon twice won Wine Spectator wine of the year. You can sample the latest vintage and a few other wines outdoors in landscaped areas or inside at tables amid or near aging barrels. Chuck Wagner started making wine on this property in 1972 and still oversees Caymus production. His children craft wines for other brands within the Wagner Family of Wine portfolio, including oaked and unoaked Mer Soleil Chardonnays, Conundrum white and red blends, Red Schooner Malbec, and Emmolo Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot. All visits require an appointment.

At more than 1,300 acres (one of Sonoma County's largest estates), this is the most prominent winery of the Russian River Valley AVA’s Chalk Hill sub-appellation. Most guests taste on the châteaulike production facility's terrace, basking in views of woodsy, vineyard-studded hills. Although even in summer you might detect Pacific breezes, the estate, which has 15 separate microclimates, isn't cool enough for Pinot Noir, so the winery grows it on land nearer the ocean. About half the Chalk Hill property's 300 vineyard acres are devoted to Chardonnay, with Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, a few other Bordeaux grapes (the Malbec makes a delicious powerful wine), and Syrah also planted.

The first sparkling-wine producer established in the Napa Valley by a French Champagne house is known for its bubblies but also makes still wines. Founded in 1973 and gleaming since a 50th-anniversary renovation of the indoor and outdoor tasting areas, Chandon presents a set sparkling flight showcasing the house style from Monday to Wednesday. More specialized offerings unfold the rest of the week. Walk-ins are welcome for flights, but make a reservation for lunches and other food experiences and look for seasonal pairings like blanc de blancs and oysters.

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. All visits are by appointment.

A palette of pink, lavender, teal, and gold, a blingy crystal chandelier, and a generous dose of leopard print buoy the atmosphere at the Napa outpost of the Wine Country's oldest winery, established in Sonoma in 1857. To the tune of pop crooners and chanteuses, you can sip sparkling wine by the glass or bottle and Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon by the glass, bottle, or flight. A sparkling experience involves three types of caviar. 

Set amid a bucolic northern Calistoga landscape, this stately winery whose stone building was erected in 1888 helped establish the Napa Valley's reputation for high-quality wine making. At the pivotal Paris tasting of 1976, the Chateau Montelena 1973 Chardonnay took first place, beating out white Burgundies from France and other California Chardonnays, an event immortalized (with liberties taken) in the 2008 movie Bottle Shock. A 21st-century Napa Valley Chardonnay is always part of A Taste of Montelena—current releases that might also include a Riesling, the fine estate Zinfandel, and a Cabernet Sauvignon—or you can opt for the Montelena Estate Collection tasting of Cabernets from several vintages.

A wraparound mural inspired by the colorful garden that fronts the Culinary Institute of America's Oxbow District facility brightens its facade. Check out the ground floor's well-curated culinary shop, nearby Vintners Hall of Fame wall, and self-serve wine stations—then head upstairs to the Chuck Williams Culinary Arts Museum. Named for the Williams-Sonoma kitchenwares founder, it holds an eye-popping collection of cooking, baking, and other food-related tools, tableware, gizmos, and gadgets, some dating back more than a century.

Cycling trips through the Italian wine country inspired Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford, best known for the Clif energy bar, to establish a Howell Mountain winery and certified organic farm whose bounty they share at two valley-floor spaces. Sessions at the Main Street tasting room center on current releases paired with small bites. A block west at the Enoteca Private Tasting Salon ( 1334 Vidovich Ave.), the culinary team prepares bites for the elevated Cima experience. The estate Cabernet Sauvignons featured at the Enoteca tastings, which include the splendid Pane e Vino lunch, show winemaker Laura Barrett at her most nuanced, but she crafts whites, a Grenache rosé, and reds for all palates.

Searching worldwide in the early 1970s for the best non-European site to grow Cabernet, this French-owned outfit's founding winemaker selected land now called Hirondelle Vineyard. He chose well: Clos du Val (in French, "small vineyard of a small valley") built its reputation on intense Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the Stags Leap District estate. Grapes for a Cabernet Franc and the much-praised Yettalil Bordeaux-style red blend also come from Hirondelle, the French word for "swallow," a bird species prevalent here. Guests sample these wines and others in a glass-fronted vineyard's-edge hospitality center. Hosts retract the windows in good weather, unifying the tasting room and adjoining patio.