A Wino’s Guide to the 20 Best Wineries in California

Can’t think of a more apt place to start your exploration of the California wine industry than at the oldest winery still making vino in the state–which also happens to be considered the first truly successful European-style winery in America.

It’s got it all—a gorgeous leafy location, historic stone buildings, a wine museum, costumed staff, and crazy characters as part of its past and present lore. It was started in 1857 by a former sheriff of San Diego who referred to himself as The Count of Buena Vista. Before he allegedly died falling into a crocodile-infested Nicaraguan stream, he built the state’s first gravity-flow press house and excavated the first wine cave in Sonoma, which is the setting of the $250 Aristocratic Tasting. Its rebirth is a passion project of Jean-Charles Boisset, a flashy Frenchman with a penchant for red socks, controversial art, and theatrical showrooms who claims he vowed he’d one day own the place when he visited the estate at 11. They’ve even been known to put on living history shows.

As with all Boisset projects, the product takes precedence over the razzle-dazzle. The portfolio has the Sonoma regulars (Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Chardonnay) but also a few more surprising finds like Charbono, Marsanne, Carignane, and cream sherry.

The next place on maturation memory lane to pop in and pay your respects is this Silverado Trail cellar that deserves the angel’s share of credit for putting respect on Napa’s name by besting the still-bitter French in the aforementioned 1976 tasting only six years after the winery opened. The win was so significant that the Smithsonian has a bottle of the 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon in its permanent American history collection. Another sold for $12,300 at auction a couple of years ago.

Stag’s Leap is still a king of Cabernet 48 years later and the visitor center overlooks the sacred soil where the grapes for that award winner were grown and picked as well as another important vineyard in the brand’s arsenal, FAY, and the namesake palisades. Tour the dramatically lit cave before tucking into a meat-and-cheese board and a selection of limited production pours.

Mondavi, Gallo, Winiarski, Krug, Levy, Turley, Barrett—some of the many mavericks without whom the California wine industry would not be the globally admired behemoth it is today. There’s no doubt that Jesse Katz, who developed a fermentation fascination when his photographer dad dragged him on assignments to the world’s leading vineyards, has already secured his place on that list.

After earning an enology degree and logging time at Bordeaux’s Pétrus, Screaming Eagle, Robert Foley, and an Argentinian winery under Paul Hobbs, the Sonoma star became America’s youngest hired head winemaker at 25 at Lancaster Estate and the first winemaker on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. He was behind a custom wine for Justin Timberlake’s wedding, a Chenin Blanc that earned the highest Wine Enthusiast rating for the varietal in Golden State history, and a Cabernet Sauvignon that sold for a record-setting $1 million.

He founded Aperture in 2009 on a 42-acre estate, which now produces an average of 15,000 cases of bold Bordeaux styles with his pop’s photos as labels. He started Devil Proof to make Malbec, earning 100-point grades simultaneously from multiple critics.  The wines poured at his elegant estate tasting room both live up to the legacy and push winemaking forward.

You can also nip his genius at the Montage Healdsburg as he and the posh resort collaborated from planting to pour on Surveyor, its exclusive in-house wine line. Katz is also the winemaker at The Setting Wines, which maintains a sampling space at the all-day hang Bacchus Landing.

Equidistant from San Francisco and Los Angeles, Paso Robles has become California’s third-largest wine country thanks to the greatest diurnal temperature swing in the state, limestone soils, an aptitude for GSM (Grenache Syrah Mourvèdre) blends and Viognier, and a welcoming, constantly growing brand of hospitality. But in the not-so-distant past, it was known more for almonds, hot springs, and livestock.

At Thacher, past and present collide as the estate established in 2004 sits on what was once a thriving horse breeding business dating back to the late 1860s. Wine dinners and parties are held in the Kentucky Ranch’s 100-year-old monogrammed barn, feeder barley fields were preserved and the in-depth guided look at library, reserve, and new offerings such as the Cab Franc-forward 2019 Original Copy are held in renovated horse stables.

But the solar-powered shop isn’t stuck in the past and looks to encourage interest in obscure varietals and unconventional techniques at Funky Fridays. Geek out with fellow wine nerds sampling unique things like pét nats, Négrette, whole cluster wine, or native co-ferments. Owner/winemaker Sherman Thacher also isn’t afraid to return to his brewery roots. He’s also selling hard apple cider made from fruit picked from the orchard that lines the long driveway.

It’s been 20 years since Alexander Payne’s road trip-meets-midlife crisis movie Sideways swirled into theaters, took home an Oscar, and drummed up interest in Santa Barbara County wines and the Santa Ynez Valley as a wine vacation destination–especially for those passionate about Pinot. It also caused a 2 percent dip in “f*#king merlot” sales. (Incidentally, Paul “Miles” Giamatti’s zealous speech about Pinot is credited with the 16 percent jump in sales of that varietal.)

The Sideways effect is still felt in these parts, more so lately with the big anniversary, and mostly at businesses that were featured like the River Course at Alisal Ranch, Sanford Winery, OstrichLand USA, and Foxen Vineyard. The windmill hotel where they stay officially changed its name to the Sideways Inn after the movie was a hit.

To celebrate the milestone, another filming location Hitching Post 2, the West Coast barbecue restaurant where Virginia Madsen’s character waited tables, and its wine arm Hitching Post Wines are hosting four film-themed winemaker dinners and putting a commemorative label on limited-edition bottles of Hitching Post Highliner, a Pinot Noir mentioned in the film. It will be served at the dinners and will be available for purchase in the restaurant and at the tasting room. The film will also play a big part at this year’s Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley festival.

The first commercial winery to put down roots in the now coveted Edna Valley, a cool-climate region with clay-rich soils and the longest growing season of any Golden State appellation, specializes in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Nominated for Wine Enthusiast’s American Winery of the Year in 2023, the same year it hired its first female head winemaker, the company gets kudos for implementing numerous eco-friendly and regenerative initiatives like planting a carbon-sequestering Miyawaki forest, irrigating with recaptured winery water and eliminating herbicides.

Perhaps because of its proximity to the foggy coast—it’s a mere five miles from the sand—Chamisal is also the perfect stop for sippers who savor seafood. Visitors can pop into the tasting room, which overlooks the estate vineyard, for Bubbles & Caviar which pairs a bottle of sparkling with a tin of Sterling Royal, crème fraiche, and chips. Or time your Central Coast vacation so it aligns with Lobsterfest. The gourmet gathering, which goes down every July, features drinking, dancing, and pounds of boiled and buttered bottom feeders ceremoniously poured out of massive pots alongside potatoes, corn, artichokes, and sausage onto long tables. Every attendee gets a bib and their own crustacean to twist apart with their bare hands. It’s a shell of a good (albeit drippy) time.

Spending a day or weekend savoring wine at the source is divine but not always feasible in terms of time or funds. Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Trail, which spreads across two downtown neighborhoods (Funk Zone and the Presidio), puts more than 20 tasting rooms within walking or biking distance of the beach and numerous American Riviera hotels. From Deep Sea Wines on Stearns Wharf over the water to Carr, where winemakers are experimenting with clay amphora and Montepulciano, and Au Bon Climat, the tasting home of late local legend Jim Clendenen, there’s quite a range of products represented, and the proximity, often longer later opening hours and without a need for a designated driver, means you can visit more makers in fewer  days.

One juice joint to recommend is Pali Wine Co. Its Funk Zone outpost has indoor and outdoor seating in a lively shaded garden where musicians encourage singalongs. Behaved children and leashed pets are allowed to join their parents while they enjoy glasses, bottles, or flights from three California brands (Pali, Tower 15, and Neighborhood Winery). Go as basic as Rosé and Chardonnay or experiment with orange wines, dry hopped whites, chilled reds, or lesser-known varietals like Marsanne, Cinsault, or Roussanne. Pali also regularly hosts maker markets and other pop-ups, like a heat dome-busting partnership with beloved SB scoop shop McConnell’s, in the parking lot. There are also standalone tasting rooms in Anaheim and San Diego.

Napa has a bit of an elitist reputation and, because it’s not entirely unearned, tastings can be a little intimidating for wine novices and first-time valley visitors. But that’s never the case at the Gentleman Farmer Bungalow, a 1926 California Craftsman rehabbed by married vintners Jeff Durham and Joey Wolosz as a “studio for gustatory wellbeing” where they put their spin on an hours-long wine tasting accompanied by a delicious homemade spread that they experienced years ago at a Bordeaux winemaker’s house.

Between the copious amounts of cast iron and enamelware, vintage Playboys in the bathroom, a Julia Child-themed alter, dark wood, a navy tile backsplash, and genre-hopping playlist, the salon strikes a perfect balance of cultured, quirky and inviting. Watch, glass of Gentleman Farmer in hand, as they gracefully move about the open kitchen to put the finishing touches on elevated family favorites and decadent wine country classics such as beef bourguignon pot pies, pierogis, berry clafoutis, and bacon-wrapped blue cheese dates. Pastries, pickles, marshmallows, and even wine gums are made from scratch and often served on heirloom dishware with a side of engaging personal stories and area history.

There are breakfast, lunch, and dinner time slots. There’s even a Breakfast of Champions option where either a 5K run along the river with Jeff or a guided meditation with Joey precede the feast.

You’d be hard-pressed to name a better pairing than wine and cheese. This Mendocino County farmstead in the famed Anderson Valley supplies both in spades as it’s a full-time dairy, creamery, and winery.

The owner Sarah Cahn Bennett’s parents have been growing grapes in the region since 1973, eventually making wine as Navarro Vineyards. Bennett took their undeveloped 100-acre parcel used mostly as a hayfield and grew it into a regenerative dream with a herd of happy goats and sheep.

To make both, the Pennyroyal team capitalizes on the symbiotic relationship between the animals, soil, and crops. The cheeses, all of which have names taken from a local language spoken in these parts at the end of the 19^th century called Boontling, and their milk makeup change seasonally. You can learn all the hows and whys on the farm tour that takes guests through the solar-powered barn where you can meet the bleating hearts of the operation and past big windows to watch the creamery staff in action. It concludes with a flight of both prize products.

These days, actor-owned alcohol brands are a dime a dozen. It’s one of the most popular forms of late-stage celebrity capitalism. But back when Fess Parker, a Warner Bros. and Disney contract player best known for playing frontiersmen Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, quit Hollywood in the ‘70s, relocated to Santa Ynez Valley and bought a 714-acre ranch on what is now the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail in 1988, quite the contrary. His initial plan wasn’t even to become a bigwig in the grape-fermenting game; he intended to run cattle.

But in 1989, the first rows of Riesling went in and before he died in 2010, Fess Parker wines were exclusively poured at Elizabeth Taylor’s eighth wedding and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library opening, more vineyards were acquired, legendary winemaker Jed Steele was brought on for a time, the flagship tasting room was built, Marcella’s Chardonnay receives 92 points from Wine Enthusiast, the wine club was launched and FP collaborated with his former employer Disney on an exclusive wine.

Now run by his two children and his son-in-law, the family business now includes tasting rooms in Santa Barbara proper and downtown Napa, where they make Cabernets as Addendum Wines, the Fesstivity bubbles line, and a boutique Rhone label called Epiphany. Its tasting room is just down the street in Los Olivos from the romantic Fess Parker Wine Country Inn where a tasting for two comes with each reservation. For Disney adults who hunt down the most obscure of Mouse House connections for content, there’s a pile of coonskin caps to try on. It’s also emblazoned on every label.

Blessed be thy game. Surrounded by mountains, sustainable and serving solid Sangioveses and Chardonnays, sometimes after sunset and sometimes from a pedal-powered trolley akin to those beer bike tours popular for bachelor parties as it rolls down the blocks, this 50-plus-year-old Sonoma County winery was named after the patron saint of animals and the environment by the founders for whom those issues were near and dear.

To honor that devotion, the team has let St. Francis go to the dogs (and cats, turtles, horses, birds, and even the occasional camel) on the first October Sunday since 2000. That’s when pet owners flock to the Blessing of the Animals to have a real-deal priest say a little personal prayer over their furry (scaly, feathery, or hairy) friend while partaking in port, food, and a raffle and watching the best boy get crowned Winery Dog of the Year.

Furthermore, since 2021, for every bottle of Sonoma County and Reserve wines sold, a dollar is donated to Canine Companions The gesture has raised $300,000 for the first service dog training organization in the U.S.

“Last call” might be the two worst words in the drinking lexicon. You’re having a great time imbibing with friends when, bam, suddenly it’s closing time. Alta Colina sees you and offers an adorable retro solution—The Trailer Pond.

At the bottom of the vine-lined high hills that gave this dad-and-daughter Adelaida District operation its name in front of a glistening pond sit five pastel-hued ‘50s and ‘60s trailers, a communal kitchen and bathroom, a farmhouse table and a dock where people sit to watch harvest (late August to October) with Trailer Pond-branded canned Rosé or sunset with a chilled goblet of Carbonic Grenache. (A literal and figurative watering hole!)

Chef dinners, yoga sessions, and mixology classes can be arranged for buyouts. Snack-motivated winery dog Honey might join guests as they hike around the 130-acre organically farmed property before tucking into their complimentary tasting of the Rhône varietals AC specializes in. If roughing it isn’t your style, book the summit tasting where six people are carted to higher ground to talk shop and taste on an oak-shaded wooden deck smack dab in the middle of the Syrah on the Toasted Slope hillside.

One of the greatest scenes in the history of television features Lucille Ball stepping barefoot into a vat of grapes, bopping around just crushing it…until she was wasn’t. Sadly, there aren’t a lot of opportunities to do your best I Love Lucy impression. However, one weekend a year, South Coast, a five-time winner of the “Winery of the Year” award at the California State Fair, holds grape stomps in its Vintner’s Garden in honor of California Wine Month.

Teams of two book ticketed timeslots to dip their toes in tradition. The event also includes a market, live music, and tasting including Tempranillo, Gewurztraminer, or Wild Horse Peak Meritage. Pro tip: stay at the brand’s contemporary resort with direct access to the vineyards for easy cleanup. Your hands can also have some fun by taking a blending class or playing bingo at sister winery, Carter Estate. One shouldn’t leave this popular Southern California staycation spot without taking a sunrise hot air balloon flight over the cash crops.

A horse is a horse of course of course unless that horse takes you gallivanting through a 400-acre estate covered in grapevines to produce cool-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. Presqu’ile’s neighbor supplies the rides and leads the equine experience that emphasizes the bird’s eye views of the Santa Maria Valley, the San Rafael Mountains, Solomon Hills, and, on a clear day, the Pacific Ocean that the winery’s hilltop position affords.

Tasting room servers suggest the best times of year to horse around are late July and August when veraison occurs or late October when the leaves start to go autumnal. But spring, especially in a particularly rainy year, could score some wildflower blooms.

After the ride, retire to the gorgeous patio for a tasting of single vineyard and sparkling options influenced by a South Africa transplant accompanied by a gourmet picnic plate utilizing ingredients from the on-site garden. Whatever you do, do not leave before trying the too-small-batch Nebbiolo or Chef Julie Simon’s farmer’s cheese with seasonal jelly.

Whale-watching, the aquarium, John Steinbeck, Pebble Beach golf, Clint Eastwood as a mayor—all probably things that come to mind long before wine when thinking about Monterey Bay. Yet Monterey Wine Country comprises 10 large AVAs including Arroyo Seco, Santa Lucia Highlands, and Chalone (which has a limestone-granite soil combo found nowhere else in the world), multiple microclimates, wildly varied topography and terroir and 53 varietals from houses like Belle Glos, Pisoni, Hahn and Kosta Browne.

Carmel-By-The-Sea’s urban wine trail features roughly a dozen vintners sandwiched between art galleries, culinary curio shops, and restaurants all within responsible walking distance of numerous hotels.

There are also lots of small-batch wineries and tasting rooms with sun-dappled patios and charcuterie boards as you drive inland. One great all-day hang is Folktale. Within its castle-esque compound, there are concerts and comedy competitions in the garden, flatbreads from the full kitchen, tours of the facilities and vineyards, a gift shop and regular craft classes where people construct suncatchers, paint tote bags or bend branches into decorative wreaths while enjoying Albariños, orange wines, Rosés and Pinot Meunier.

If you’ve ever wandered through a museum and thought, “You know what would make me like this fabulous and thought-provoking painting more, a generous pour of Pinot Noir,” this single-vineyard specialist is the place for you. On top of making fine wine with organic grapes, native yeast, and low-intervention techniques, Donum has amassed one of the world’s largest private sculpture collections and, more importantly, puts it on display.

On view across its sweeping 200-acre Carneros estate are more than 60 works, a third of which are site-specific, by artists from 18 countries including Ai Weiwei, Anselm Kiefer, Louise Bourgeois, 95-year-old it girl Yayoi Kusama, Botero and Ugo Rondinone, the Swiss genius behind Seven Magic Mountains, which can be seen IRL in the Las Vegas Desert or on half of the world’s influencers Instas. You can sit under the Mikado Tree while drinking Mikado Tree (whoa, meta, man!) as long as you secure reservations far in advance.

A new addition to the property is Yang Bao’s HYPERSPACE, an installation made up of a 24k gold-coated mirrored pyramid and nine smaller pieces spread throughout adjacent fields. It creates a multisensory imbibing experience by reflecting the ever-changing landscape while playing a soundtrack evolved by shifts in wind, temperature, and humidity.

If Creedence Clearwater had made their way to Michael David Winery, which blends booze that won’t bust your budget under labels like Freakshow, Earthquake, Inkblot and Misfits & Mavens and serves seasonal pies, maybe they wouldn’t be bummed to be stuck in Lodi again. After all, pies are the second-best way after wine to consume fruit.

Less than 45 minutes from Sacramento, the family-friendly digs have been run by the same clan for six generations. While you sit around the peaceful pond contemplating life over a Tannat made from the national grape of Uruguay, your littles can monkey around on a new play structure or play bocce. If they get hungry, grab breakfast burritos and stuffed French toast at the onsite café. If they’re good until the last drop of your second pour, reward them with a sweet treat from the bakery. Or yourself because you’re obviously doing a great job at parenting. You can grab dinner ingredients from the produce stand or stay late for MDW after-dark sessions. Held on not-too-hot summer nights, the 21-and-over crowd can catch bands, stand-up, maybe feelings.

Many would tell you that big Napa reds should be eaten with steaks, lasagna, burgers, and other heavy dishes. The folks behind Sequoia Grove, a 46-year-old Route 29 winery with its tasting room set in a century-old barn amid towering ancient trees, would tell you hard and fast pairing rules are meant to be broken and have a multi-course flagship culinary experience at their Napa Green Vineyard Program-certified estate to explain why.

Curated by head chef Spencer Conaty, whose impressive résumé includes stints at Atelier Crenn, Saison, and Morimoto Napa, to suggest a far greater versatility than the king of grapes usually gets credit for, the menu pulls inspiration from around the cuisine world and always features a seafood and a vegetarian course (i.e. street corn fritters with Tajin or pan-seared salmon with daikon and shiso). Dishes are paired with top-tier single-vineyard and reserve wines. Cambium, SG’s prestige blend, always closes out the $150 Taste For Cabernet meal.