5 Best Sights in Carmel Valley, The Monterey Bay Area

The expansive winery on a 15-acre estate offers daily tastings, live music on weekends (plus Friday in summer and fall), and special events and programs such as Sunday yoga in the vineyard. Best-known wines include the estate Pinot Noir, Sparkling Rosé, and Le Mistral Joseph's Blend. Chefs in the on-site restaurant cook up small plates with wine pairing suggestions. Tours of the winery and organically farmed vineyards are available by appointment.

Estate-grown Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are among the standout wines made by Holman Ranch, which pours samples in its chic tasting room and on two patios in the historic Will's Fargo tavern building. The 15-acre ranch itself is just up the road, set amid rolling hills that were once part of the Carmel mission's land grant. You can take winery and vineyard tours by appointment

At the tasting room of Bernardus—known for its Bordeaux-style red blend, called Marinus, and its Chardonnays—you can sample current releases and reserve wines.

Pick up fresh vegetables, ready-to-eat meals, gourmet groceries, flowers, and gifts at Earthbound Farm, the world's largest grower of organic produce. You can also take a romp in the kids' garden, cut your own herbs, and stroll through the chamomile aromatherapy labyrinth.

Hiking trails stretch across much of this park's 4,500 acres of meadows, forested hillsides, and creeks.