4 Best Sights in Napa and Sonoma, California

The mission of founder and master brewer Nile Zacherle, who works at a Pritchard Hill winery when he's not at the brewery, isn't merely to make great beers. He and his wife, Whitney Fisher, succeed at that, but they also create what they call "origin specific beers," with each label listing every ingredient's source, from hops to barley to water. The beers' label art and names, among them The Wind and the Sun and The Donkey and the Thistle, derive from a centuries-old Aesop's Fables edition. Tastings take place where the barrel-aged beers are brewed.

Master brewer Nile Zacherle opened this pint-sized tap house to showcase the barrel-aged, unfiltered, naturally carbonated lagers and ales he and his wife, Whitney Fisher, produce. Both winemakers at ultrapremium labels, they apply the same concepts of terroir (how climate, geology, and other factors influence wines) to their hops, barley, and water sources, providing the information about each brew. With more than a dozen beers on tap or in bottle, there’s a style for most tastes. Mad Fritz also sells “origin coffee” and serves espresso on-site. Check the website or call to reserve a tour of Mad Fritz’s St. Helena brewery.

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.

These days owned by Heineken International, Lagunitas began as a craft brewery in Marin County in 1993 before moving to Petaluma in 1994. In addition to its large facility, the home of "hop-forward" IPAs operates a taproom, the Schwag Shop for gifts, and a beer garden. Guides leading the brewery tour, which includes a beer flight, provide an irreverent version of the company's rise to international acclaim.