306 Best Sights in Napa and Sonoma, California

A long, sometimes narrow road meanders east from the Silverado Trail through Conn Valley to this 17-acre Howell Mountain estate. Grant Long Jr., its resourceful proprietor, made his first batch of wine while still a teen. After proving his mettle at a few Napa wineries, he started his own label. While guests sip wines on the cliffside tasting room's lofty deck, taking in views of vineyard rows sloping sharply into the valley, uniformly cheery staffers fill in the details of Long's compelling wine journey. Cabernet Sauvignon and the Mountains Proprietary Blend, both Napa Valley, and a Sierra Foothills Grenache-heavy blend stand out among a mostly reds lineup. The appointment-only winery advises making a reservation at least a month ahead. Tastings and the wines are reasonably priced—how Long manages this in America's costliest growing region is part of the Aonair (pronounced "ay-oh-nair") mystique.

As a youth, Jesse Katz tagged along with his photographer father, Andy Katz, to wineries worldwide, stimulating curiosity about wine that led to stints at august operations like the Napa Valley's Screaming Eagle and Bordeaux's Petrús. In 2009, still in his 20s, Katz started Aperture, a success from the get-go for his single-vineyard Cabernets and Bordeaux blends. Among the whites are Sauvignon Blanc and an old-vine Chenin Blanc that's one of California's best. Katz's wines, which benefit from rigorous farming and cellar techniques, are presented by appointment only in an ultracontemporary hospitality center about 2½ miles south of Healdsburg Plaza. One tasting explores Aperture's various wine-growing sites and their soils, the other the single-vineyard wines. The center's shutterlike windows and other architectural elements evoke Andy Katz's photography career; his images of the Russian River Valley and beyond hang on the walls.

Brothers Mark and Ben McWilliams own this winery specializing in small-lot Pinot Noirs that was founded in 2002 by their parents. The sons have raised the winery's profile in several ways, most notably by hiring winemaker Matt Courtney, who has earned high praise from Wine Spectator and other publications for his balanced, richly textured Pinot Noirs. Courtney shows the same deft touch with Arista's Chardonnays. Appointment-only introductory tastings focus on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and the family's sustainable farming practices; another session examines the single-vineyard wines. The property's Japanese garden predates the winery.

Here's your best opportunity in the western Wine Country to wander amid Sequoia sempervirens, also known as coast redwood trees. The oldest example in this 805-acre state park, the Colonel Armstrong Tree, is thought to be more than 1,400 years old. A half mile from the parking lot, the tree is easily accessible, and you can hike a long way into the forest before things get too hilly. During hot summer days, Armstrong Redwoods's tall trees help the park keep its cool.

Three entrepreneur-investor types established AXR with a winemaker-partner, Jean Hoefliger, who describes a vineyard as "the soul of a wine" and his job in the cellar "to create an emotion." Hoefliger, who in 2021 completed a 15-year run with the Napa Valley's Alpha Omega Winery, crafts multilayer Chardonnays from sourced grapes (including an often highly rated entrant from Sonoma County's Ritchie Vineyard) and dense yet supple 100% Cabernet Sauvignons. The Cabs come from notable sites like Sleeping Lady in Yountville, Denali in St. Helena, and the estate V Madrone Vineyard. Hosts at one-on-one tastings convey the passion, science, and experience underlying Hoefliger's wines and the history of the redwood-studded AXR property. Some sessions unfold in a renovated barn, others in an 1876 house once part of a pre-Prohibition restaurant and inn that thrived here.

The small wineries of this energetic collective pour mostly Sonoma County wines inside and on patios of Spanish Mediterranean–style buildings bordering a large piazza. Music, art, and culinary events lend the dog- and kid-friendly space a village-square feel. Smith Story, Convene by Dan Kosta, Dot Wine, and Montagne-Russe make Pinot Noir; visiting more than one reveals the roles of clones, locations, farming, and cellar strategies in the finished product. The Lopez family of Aldina Vineyards, which developed Bacchus Landing, specializes in Cabernet Sauvignon, as does The Setting, whose partners include Jesse Katz of nearby Aperture Cellars. Aldina and Dot collaborate on California sparkling wines. There's a food market on-site; on Friday and weekend afternoons, you can order a wood-fired pizza to accompany your tasting.

Experiencing the enthusiasm this winery's owners radiate supplies half the pleasure of a visit to Lauren and Nate Belden's Sonoma Mountain vineyard, where at elevation 1,000 feet they grow fruit for their all-estate lineup. Grüner Veltliner, a European white grape, isn't widely planted in California, but the crisp yet softly rounded wine they produce from it makes a case for an increase. Critics also hail the Grenache, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and a nectarlike late-harvest Viognier, but you're apt to like anything poured. Tastings take place in a high-ceilinged former milking barn whose broad doorway frames a view of grapevines undulating toward a hilltop. The Beldens tailor visits to guests' interests but will nearly always whisk you into the vineyard, past a 2-acre organic garden, and over to a wishing tree whose results Lauren swears by.

Winemaker-partner Mike Sullivan's Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs would taste marvelous even in a toolshed, but guests to Benovia's unassumingly chic Russian River Valley ranch house will never know. Appointment-only tastings of his acclaimed wines—Benovia also produces Grenache, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon—take place in the brown-hued living room or on the open-air patio. From either vantage point, views of the estate Martaella Vineyard all the way to Mt. St. Helena draw the eye. Wine educators leading vineyard tours focus on Benovia's earth-friendly farming practices; a production tour tracks the wine-making process from vineyard to barrel to glass. Sullivan's handling of two Chardonnays from Martinelli-family grapes typifies his minimalistic approach. He subtly emphasizes minerality in a wine from the Three Sisters Vineyard in the coastal Fort Ross–Seaview AVA. By contrast, a hint of California ripeness emerges in La Pommeraie, from Zio Tony Ranch in the warmer Russian River Valley.

Anne Moller-Racke, founder of the Pinot Noir powerhouse The Donum Estate and its president for nearly two decades, established this smaller label also devoted to serious Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Moller-Racke, who describes herself as a winegrower in the French vigneron tradition that places agriculture at the pinnacle of wine making, practices "precision farming" to produce the best possible fruit. Hosts of private tastings at her 13-acre estate explain her philosophy and the five Sonoma County appellations where she cultivates grapes. Anchored by a circa-1880 Victorian and adjacent pump house, the former horse farm is now planted to 7 acres of grapes. Near the residence, a formidable century-old pepper tree and a rose garden with dozens of varieties catch the eye, the Mayacamas Mountains supplying the idyllic setting's backdrop. The appointment-only winery requests prospective guests inquire about visits at least 48 hours in advance.

According to cofounders Mark and Beth Hanson, the French word bricoleur loosely translates to "flying by the seat of the pants," the feeling the two experienced when they purchased a 40-acre estate southwest of Windsor's town green and set about establishing a winery and lavish hospitality center. The Hansons enlisted several Wine Country veterans to develop wine-making and culinary programs, and—voilà! (well, almost)—a star was born. The Windsor property produces Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with vineyards in Alexander Valley (Zinfandel, Carignane) and Fountaingrove (Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, and Grenache for rosé) supplying additional varietals. By appointment, hosts pour these self-assured wines in a 10,000-square-foot barn, a courtyard shaded by London plane trees, an open-air pavilion, and other settings with vineyard, garden, or Russian River Valley views (sometimes all three). All tastings involve food pairings overseen by the winery's culinary advisor, chef Charlie Palmer. 

Halfway through a wine-and-food pairing at this serenely rustic Dry Creek Valley winery you may find yourself asking not only "How does she do it?"—"she" being Dr. Mary Roy, Cāpo Creek Ranch's proprietor, winemaker, chef, and hostess with the mostest—but also "How does she make it look so easy?" The answer might simply be that running a winery isn't likely to faze someone who raised six kids while operating a bustling radiological imaging center. Whatever the reason, in "retirement" Roy has created a magical showcase for her mostly Rhône-style whites and reds (the stars) along with Cabernet Sauvignon, estate old-vine Zinfandel, and numerous blends. Most tastings occur outdoors facing east toward the heritage-Zin vineyard, with the cave and the tasting room alternative possibilities. All tastings involve Roy's food, but a worthwhile splurge is the six-course Ultimate Food & Wine Pairing, which lives up to its name.

The husband-wife team behind Cartograph believes in Pinot Noirs emphasizing "balance, nuance, and complexity, rather than power and intensity." To that end they select vineyard sites based on climate and clone compatibility, harvest their grapes on the early side, and intervene as little as possible during the wine-making process. The resulting wines please on their own and pair well with food. Unlike many Sonoma County Pinot producers, Cartograph eschews Chardonnay for its still whites, opting instead for the Alsatian grape Riesling, done in a refreshingly crisp and dry style. Chardonnay does, however, appear in the winery's sparkling wine. Visits to the storefront space a block northeast of Healdsburg Plaza are by appointment (call for same-day).

When Donn and Molly Chappellet established their renowned Pritchard Hill winery in 1967, most Cabernet Sauvignon was grown on the Napa Valley floor, but the couple and other early adopters proved that mountain fruit could produce complex ageworthy wines. The Chappellets chose their rocky, tree-studded, now 640-acre property for its grape-growing potential, but the striking views north to Lake Hennessey and Mt. St. Helena undoubtedly played a role, too. The winemaker and vineyard manager have worked here for more than three decades, and with the family's second generation in charge, a sense of purpose and continuity prevails. Relaxed tastings of wines that might also include Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc often take place in the cavernous original winery amid rows of stacked oak barrels. A tasting of current releases follows the once-a-month group hike of Pritchard Hill, highly recommended for those in shape.

Fans of Snoopy and Charlie Brown will love this museum dedicated to the late Charles M. Schulz, who lived his last three decades in Santa Rosa. Permanent installations include a re-creation of the cartoonist's studio, and temporary exhibits often focus on a particular theme in his work. Children and adults can take a stab at creating cartoons in the Education Room.

Distinguished producers like Patz & Hall and Kosta Browne make wines from grapes farmed by the Chenoweth family, whose ancestors settled in the redwood-studded hills northwest of Sebastopol in the mid-1800s. In 2000, Charlie Chenoweth converted apple orchards to vineyards, in recent years reserving some of the fruit for his wife, Amy, to craft the namesake Pinot Noirs and rosé of Pinot Noir. Her excellent wines alone warrant a visit to the several hundred–acre property, but the lofty Russian River Valley perspectives, down-home hospitality, and hardworking but fun-loving family vibe elevate the experience exponentially. Appointment-only tastings, often conducted by the gregarious Amy herself, include a rollicking UTV tour to sip Pinots where their grapes were grown. If you can't make it to the ranch, Region wine bar in The Barlow pours two Chenoweth wines.

Inspired by his passion for classic rock, owner and construction magnate Cliff Lede named the blocks in his Stags Leap District vineyard after hits by the Grateful Dead and other bands. Two other Lede obsessions are rock memorabilia and contemporary art like Jim Dine's outdoor sculpture Twin 6' Hearts, a magnet for the Instagram set. The vibe at this efficient, high-tech winery is anything but laid-back, however. Cutting-edge agricultural and enological science informs the vineyard management and wine making here. Lede produces Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Bordeaux-style red blends. All the wines are well crafted, though the Cabs truly rock. Book a Backstage Tasting Lounge session to sip top-tier wines amid a rock music–related art exhibition.

Respected for three 100% Cabernet Sauvignons, Corison Winery harks back to simpler days, with tastings alfresco in view of the half century–old Kronos Vineyard or amid oak barrels inside an unadorned, barnlike facility. The straightforward approach suits the style of Cathy Corison. One of post-1960s Napa Valley's first women owner-winemakers, she eschews blending because she believes her sunny St. Helena AVA vineyards (and other selected sites) can ripen Cabernet better than anywhere else in the world. Critics tend to agree with her approach, often waxing ecstatic about these classic wines. The highly recommended Library Tasting, which starts with a brief winery and vineyard tour, includes recent releases and older vintages that together illustrate Corison's consistency as a winemaker and how gracefully her wines mature. All visits are by appointment.

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. The wines can be paired with small bites by Mark Caldwell, the executive chef. Tastings are by appointment only.

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 wine or Pinot Noir with cheese and charcuterie plates, caviar, or smoked salmon. Tastings are by appointment only.

If you happen by this farm stand in the summer, don't pass up the chance to sample the tree-ripened white and yellow peaches, some of which may have been harvested moments before you arrived. You can buy peaches in small quantities, as well as organic peach jam. How good are these peaches? Customers include the famed Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley.  The stand is typically open from July to mid-September between noon and 5 on Wednesday, Friday, and the weekend. Call ahead to confirm, though.

An avid cyclist whose previous credits include developing the wine-making program at what's now Hartford Family Winery, Dan Goldfield teamed up with fifth-generation farmer Steve Dutton to establish this small operation devoted to cool-climate wines. Goldfield modestly strives to take Dutton's meticulously farmed fruit and "make the winemaker unnoticeable," but what impresses the most about these wines, which include Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel, is their sheer artistry. Among the ones to seek out are the Angel Camp Pinot Noir, from Anderson Valley (Mendocino County) grapes, and the Morelli Lane Zinfandel, from fruit grown on the remaining 1.8 acres of an 1880s vineyard Goldfield helped revive. Lauded as a top Sonoma County winery by Wine & Spirits and Food & Wine magazines, Dutton-Goldfield is open by appointment but accepts walk-ins when possible.

One of his colleagues likens Elyse'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 during the growing season, striving later in the cellar to preserve what nature and his efforts have yielded rather than rely on heavy manipulation. Elyse makes highly praised small-lot single-vineyard Zinfandels and Cabernet Sauvignons. Red blends containing as many as five varietals are another strong suit. A country lane edged by vines leads to this unassuming winery, whose unhurried tastings, often outdoors, have a backyard-casual feel. Costing much less than the average Napa Valley Cab, Elyse's Holbrook Mitchell Cabernet Sauvignon holds its own against peers priced appreciably higher.

Sommeliers, critics, and collectors 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. Not afraid to heavy up the oak on the Cabernets, he nevertheless achieves elegance as well. The winemaker is equally precise about hiring staffers for his modest highway's-edge tasting room along Kenwood's brief commercial strip. Well-acquainted with his goals and methods, they provide a wealth of knowledge about wine making and California viticulture. 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. Visits are by reservation, with same-day appointments sometimes possible.

A family with deep ties to New Orleans founded this winery named for the dancing torchbearers at Mardi Gras. Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon that go into separate bottlings and jointly into a crisp summery rosé flourish in the iron-rich estate Flambeaux Vineyard, up a winding road on the Dry Creek Valley AVA's western slope. Ryan Prichard, also of Sonoma's Three Sticks Wines, has been making these wines plus a Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, a Cabernet Sauvignon from sourced grapes, and a few others since the first (2014) vintage. Two Flambeaux wines are always on tap at Region wine bar in Sebastopol, but book a terrace tasting at the estate vineyard for a more intimate introduction. The Crescent City hospitality and views across the valley to Geyser Peak uplift the experience all the more.

The back labels outline vintner Eric Flanagan's recipe for creating memorable wines: "Great vineyard sites. Meticulous, sustainable farming. Honest winemaking." Having purchased, upgraded, and sold prestigious vineyards, Flanagan knows how to locate pristine fruit, and once harvested, the grapes receive minimal manipulation from fermentation to bottling. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the mainstays, but the winery also produces a fragrant Viognier, along with reds that might include Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Bordeaux-style blend. As with the wine making, the hospitality is understated, the hosts eager to educate guests seeking enlightenment or just let them ease back and revel in the views northeast across Dry Creek Valley to Geyserville Peak. Oriented toward serious wine drinkers but welcoming to newbies, the winery prefers visitors to book appointments (required) two days ahead.

Steel, glass, and wood architecture that discreetly astonishes but ultimately yields to the surrounding gardens, redwoods, vineyards, and distant hills supplies 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. Tastings take place indoors or out, sometimes accompanied by small bites that illustrate how food-friendly these beautifully crafted wines are.

Six miles from the downtown Napa whirl, husband-and-wife 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.

If you're a novice, the tour at eco-friendly Frog's Leap is a fun way to begin your 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, small batches of Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel, in 1981, adding Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon the next year. Merlot, Petite Sirah, and the Heritage Blend of classic Napa Valley varietals including Charbono and Valdiguié are among the other reds these days. All visits require a reservation, but walk-ins are accommodated when possible. The tour is recommended, but you can forgo it and taste on a garden-view porch.

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, hosts 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 single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons, a Bordeaux-style blend or two, and a knockout Sauvignon Blanc. The collector-quality reds, meticulously crafted, remarkably restrained, and reminiscent of Napa's Judgment of Paris heyday, are poured in a 2013 structure whose design pays tribute to 19th-century Napa Valley farmhouses. When he's around, 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 Warnelius-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's Swedish-born parents owned vineyards and a winery nearby. Just as his father became an early Alexander Valley adopter of Cabernet Sauvignon, well before many of his peers, Justin embraced sustainable practices early on. 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. Supple upon release, it's built to last. Appointment-only two-hour tastings (book well ahead) include a vineyard tour; there's also a 2½-hour Cabernet library session.