575 Best Sights in USA

New Mexico's oldest winery—established in 1977—La Viña Winery is now run by proprietors Denise and Ken Stark. La Viña hosts a popular wine festivals in October and April. A wide variety of wines is produced here—from a crisp Viognier, to Pinot Noir, to White Zinfandel.

Set on a leafy hilltop midway between Milford and Manchester, this contemporary winery with high ceilings and tall windows contains a tasting room, a bistro serving excellent lunch and dinner fare, an art gallery with rotating exhibits, and a spacious dog-friendly terrace.

A stone building dating from 1859 houses this boutique winery's tasting room, which also sells artisanal cheeses and lavender products. Lavender Ridge's longtime owner-winemaker uses traditional French methods to craft wines from organically farmed Rhône grapes. The lineup includes Viognier, Roussanne, and Grenache Blanc whites, a Grenache rosé, and Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre reds, alone and in a blend.

The Normandy-style castle visible from the highway was intended as winery owner Steve Ledson's family home when construction began in 1989, but this 16,000-square-foot space has always been a production facility and hospitality center. Pourers stationed amid a warren of tasting rooms introduce guests to the several dozen mostly single-varietal wines Ledson makes, everything from Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon to Rhône varietals such as Syrah and Mourvèdre. The on-site Marketplace sells salads, sandwiches, artisanal cheeses, and other edibles you can enjoy on the picnic grounds (no outside food, though).

Designed from the ground up to be a no-compromises Pinot Noir production facility with an eye to Willamette Valley aesthetics, the highlight here is a diverse range of single-vineyard Pinot Noirs. But don't neglect the bright Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and Riesling. The spacious high-ceiling tasting room is a great place to relax and take in the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows, or bring a picnic and enjoy the deck on a warm summer day.

Bordeaux and Rhône blends are the specialties of this 20-acre hilltop estate with magnificent views of Cabernet Sauvignon vines. If it's available, try the winemaker's pride and joy, the SS Grand Mélange (Grand Blend), made from the traditional Rhône combo of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsaut. Winery tours take in the vineyards and the wine-making areas. The tours require a reservation, as do wine-and-food pairing sessions that might include fruits and cheeses or, in the case of dessert wines, chocolates. Leoness's popular French-inspired restaurant is open Friday through Sunday.

You might think you're in Italy when you visit this Tuscan-style building perched on a pretty hillside. The wide porch with Adirondack chairs and a bocce ball court invite you to linger awhile after sampling Italian varietals like Sangiovese and Primitivo.

This vineyard is heading into its next era under new owners who brought fresh energy and global winemaking experience to their first growing season in 2024. Enjoy the Frontenac, La Crescent, and Marquette varieties in the tasting room or on the postcard-pretty porch overlooking a small pond. Don't miss live music on summer Fridays.

Several small wineries, most without their own tasting rooms, pour their wines at this modest downtown Geyserville storefront. There's no fee to sip—extraordinary for wines of this quality—and the knowledgeable hosts are happy to pour you a flight so you can compare, say, Cabernet Sauvignons. Locals occasionally hosts guest speakers and wine seminars.

A winery with personality galore, Lola earns critical plaudits for owner-winemaker Seth Cripe's accessible unconventional wines. The Albariño, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Malvasia Bianca, Riesling, and other whites favor acidity and “unripeness,” a succulence two rosés and reds including Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Charbono, and Cabernet Sauvignon also share. All the wines are from single vineyards and 100% one grape type. Cripe, who also runs a lucrative business selling bottarga (fish roe) to fine-dining restaurants, presents his wines at a redbrick 1892 former home a few blocks from the center of town. In good weather, most tastings take place on the tree-shaded back patio.

Long Shadows partners with international winemakers to create their Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlots, and red blends. Their Rieslings, called Poet's Leap, are a collaboration with German winemaker Armin Diel. Other white wines include Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs. The sparkling pink Julia’s Dazzle rosé, named for founder Allen Shoup's granddaughter, is as tasty as it looks and wins rave reviews for its affordability as well. You can sample them all in the beautiful tasting room, which features a chandelier by celebrated Washington glass artist Dale Chihuly.

A 100-point score for its Lot No. 1 Cabernet Sauvignon and a snappy renovation of the original 1933 winery added 21st-century luster to this operation whose namesake was a founding Napa Valley Vintners member. Established well before the valley's preoccupation with Cabernet Sauvignon took hold, Martini, owned for more than two decades by E&J Gallo, also makes Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux-style red blends, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Muscat, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, and dessert wines. A basic tasting includes a few of these. The more comprehensive Heritage Tasting of small-lot wines is highly recommended, with or without the optional food pairing. Fun fact: 10 of the St. Helena AVA acres the winery occupies cost Louis M. $3,000 (total) in 1933.

Back when tasting rooms were low-tech and the winemaker often poured the wines, the experience at Loxton Cellars unfolded pretty much the way it does today. The personable Australia-born owner, Chris Loxton, who's on hand many days, crafts a white and a rosé, along with reds that include Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Zinfandel, and the popular “GSP” (Grenache, Syrah, and Petite Sirah) blend. All are good, and some regulars swear by the two Syrah Ports. In good weather, tastings take place at picnic tables with vineyard views.  To learn more about Loxton's wine-making practices, book a tour, followed by a seated tasting.

Nearly 2,600 feet up in the Sierra Foothills, this homey winery at the end of a long gravel road is known for Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel. The lineup also includes whites, a rosé, a sparkler, and a Port-style red. After a tasting, you can walk up the hill to see how apt the estate View Forever Vineyard's name is. Bring a picnic if you'd like.

Undulating vineyard hills front this longtime Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producer's steel, wood, and heavy-on-the-glass tasting space. Moments after you've arrived and a host has offered a glass of wine, you'll already feel transported into a genteel realm. With fruit from renowned sources—25-plus for the Chardonnays, 20-plus for the Pinots—the wine-making team downplays the oak and other tricks of the trade, letting the vineyard settings, grape clones, and vintage do the talking. Seated tastings, inside or on balcony terraces with views across the Russian River Valley, are by appointment, but walk-ins are usually accommodated.

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.

Winemaker Krystal Patel grew up making wine in the cellar with her grandmother, and turned part of her fifth-generation family ranch into a vineyard and tasting room in a former barn in Stonewall. You can taste her award-winning small-batch wines—reds are the specialty—and learn about the region's history through her fascinating family. (Her grandfather invented an "airship" in the 1860s, 40 years before the Wright brothers.) If you’re up for a bite, ask about a cheese board to accompany the wine tasting.

Bi-coastal New Englanders Peter and Diana Merriam founded this winery whose three estate vineyards are certified organic. Their dedication to earth-friendly practices extends to wetland and water-reclamation strategies (all wastewater is recycled), insectaries, and the use of barn owls to control the rodent population. The winemaking team shoots for balance and subtlety with the Pinot Noirs and Bordeaux-style reds—the estate Merlot and the Rockpile Cabernet Sauvignon from purchased grapes receive perennial praise. The whites, which include Chardonnay and Fumé Blanc (mostly Sauvignon Blanc with some Sémillon), show similar restraint. Many guests of this dog-friendly winery enjoy these wines outdoors on the tasting room's patio or in a nearby garden.

Winemaker Merry Edwards long extolled the Russian River Valley as "the epicenter of great Pinot Noir." The winery that bears her name, since 2019 owned by the Roederer Estate sparkling-wine house, produces single-vineyard and appellation wines that express the unique characteristics of the soils, climates, and grape clones from which they derive. The winery also makes Chardonnays and a Sauvignon Blanc that sees some French oak.

Colorful tanks emblazoned with the flagship Freakshow Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Petit (Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot) label art stand tall amid a sea of other vessels on this high-production winery's open-air back lot. Sip these wines and other intentionally accessible whites, rosés, and reds at the combination café, tasting room, and farm stand, where fifth-generation farmers turned winery owners Michael and David Philips also sell their family's produce.

For quality wine and an enjoyable wine-tasting experience, Milagro leads the long list of wineries in Ramona. Overseeing production is Hugo D'Acosta, who trained in Bordeaux and is considered one of Mexico's preeminent winemakers. The classy tasting room is tucked inside a copse of ancient oak trees, surrounded by vineyards, fruit trees, and local animals. Their highly rated wines are Sauvignon Blanc, Barbera, and Sangiovese.

Temecula's hippest winery sits high on a hilltop. Rhône-style whites (including the Four Torch Blanc blend of Grenache Blanc, Viognier, and Roussanne) and reds like the estate Syrah and Opulente blend of Tempranillo, Alicante Bouschet, and Touriga Nacional are the strong suits, though the Tempranillo and rosé have their partisans. Taste inside at the casual bistro or outside on the deck, perhaps with an artisanal cheese plate. On Friday and Saturday nights from 7 to 10, the winery goes into party mode with drinks, music, and dancing that spill into the vineyards. For an afternoon party, drop by on Sunday when DJs spin from 3 to 6 pm. 

Entrepreneur-winemaker Samantha Sheehan serves separate flights of her Mommenpop citrus aperitifs and single-vineyard Poe wines inside a glass-walled downtown tasting room often abuzz with chipper sippers on weekend afternoons. The palate-cleansing Mommenpop sparkling-wine spritzes, all their ingredients organic, include Seville orange, ruby grapefruit, and blood orange. Four notable vineyards supply organic grapes for Sheehan's low-intervention, low-sulfur wines (“never any additives”), among them a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir, and a Dolcetto.

Reminiscent of a grand Tuscan villa, this 13-acre vineyard features a state-of-the-art, 25,000-square-foot wine-making facility. Montaluce's spacious dining room–restaurant and multilevel terraces provide breathtaking views of mountain scenery. Wine tastings (for a fee) are offered on a first-come, first-served basis at Montaluce's Mediterranean-inspired wine bar and tasting room. You can book deluxe private tastings and a popular wine hike (a 1.8-mile hike plus wine tasting) online in advance. The winery's Italian-style restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner, with brunch on Sunday. Reservations are accepted for Saturdays and Sundays only.

The Moseleys make their wines in Redding and present them downtown, but the grapes come from vineyards as far afield as Napa, Sonoma, Lodi, and Oregon's Rogue Valley. There's usually a Chardonnay, and the reds include Pinot Noir, old-vine Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The tasting room, in an area emerging as a mini wine hub, occupies one of Redding's oldest residences.

Rick and Amber Moshin produce single-vineyard Pinot Noirs on a hillside property across Westside Road from the Russian River. Tours of their four-tier, gravity-flow winery focus on its efficient layout and Rick's penchant for harvesting grapes before many of his neighbors. Picking early preserves acidity, which he believes helps his wines pair well with food. In the tasting room and outside, guests sip Pinot Noirs along with Vermentino, Grenache, and other wines.

This longtime producer above Saratoga is widely considered the region's Pinot Noir whisperer. Its vineyards date back to 1943, when one of the most iconic names in California wine, Martin Ray, planted them at an elevation of roughly 2,000 feet. Mount Eden also produces outstanding estate Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons. Weekday-only tastings (on the veranda when the weather is pleasant) include four wines and are by appointment only.

Stop in at the winery's tasting room to sniff, sip, and savor the Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and other wines produced at the northern edge of Lancaster County. Fruit wines (elderberry, plum, and others) are a specialty, and mead is another. The centerpiece of the estate is the curious Federal-Victorian mansion and its formal gardens, flanked by medieval-style crenelated towers. Also on the grounds are the winery's Swashbuckler Brewing Company, Spirits Distilling Company, and Lancaster County Cider, so most every category of adult beverage can be had here. Each summer the estate hosts the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.

One of the original Temecula Valley wineries, opened in 1969, Mount Palomar introduced Sangiovese, a varietal that has proven perfectly suited to the region's soil and climate. New owners have transformed the homey winery into a grand Mediterranean villa with acres of gardens and trees, turning it into an award-winning wedding and event venue. The Sangiovese is worth a try, as are the Solera Cream Sherry (ask how it's made) and the popular Cloudburst, an inky red blend with Petit Verdot and Tannat. The restaurant is open Thursday through Sunday for lunch and dinner and there's live music Friday through Sunday from 1--4 pm.