Wine Country

"Wine Country" in San Francisco usually means Napa or Sonoma counties, but I'll put notes here on other wineries & wine areas in Northern California...

Napa County

Napa

The eponymous town for Napa Valley is in the south.

Restaurants

• Foothill Cafe - Patricia Unterman rec's for its fresh, California cuisine; popular with locals

• Bistro Don Giovanni - Patricia Unterman rec's

• Julia’s Kitchen - Patricia Unterman rec's

• Mustards Grill - Patricia Unterman rec's

• Pearl - Patricia Unterman rec's inexpensive VLTs, mozzarella sandwich, smoked salmon, etc.

• ## Oxbow Public Market - various vendors including Moro Napa, a counter-service Moroccan street food place by Mourad Lahlou of Aziza fame

Wineries

• Gargiulo Vineyards - rec'd by a friend

• Elyse Winery - someone said it's "the best place you've never heard of"

Yountville & Oakville

These central towns in the Napa Valley host such famous restaurants as the French Laundry and Bouchon.  The nearby Silverado Trail runs up the east side of the Napa Valley, and has slightly smaller wineries (including celebrated ones like Stag's Leap Cellars, which won the "Judgement of Paris")

Restaurants

• Bistro Jeanty - Yountville rec’d by Patricia Unterman and http://www.napatouristguide.com/agenda-silverado.html

• Oakville Grocery - lots of good meats, cheeses, etc.

• Bouchon Bakery - Yountville, good pastries and breads by Thomas Keller (of French Laundry fame)

• Bottega - nice spot for California-style Italian

Wineries

• Regusci - nice spot, large tasting room with gorgeous view & porch (call ahead to reserve)

• Seltzner - small place, has a good port

• Robert Sinskey - nice place, good wine, great place to picnic (no reservations for picnic tables) --> POV Red was in SFGate's top 100 wines

• Baldacci - cozy location, tasting fee refundable with purchase, also run concerts in the late summer

• Del Dotto - someone rec'd reserving a "cave tour"

Northern Napa Valley (Rutherford, St. Helena, Calistoga)

Restaurants

• Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen - St. Helena

• Tra Vigna - St Helena → also has the Cantinetta, a take-out deli

• Wappo Bar Bistro - Calistoga

Wineries

• Prager - known for port --> really fun place, one of the few places where we met the winemaker and not a bunch of staff

• Peju - known for it's "rapping" wine bar

• Round Pond Estate - rec'd by a friend

• Rutherford Hill - supposed to be nice for picnicing

Resources

I think Eater often has good suggestions; they have this list of 18 top restaurants in the Napa Valley; Thrillist also has a longer list

A good resource is Local Wally's Guide to Napa Valley (Napa Tourist Guide), which is a relatively unbiased 

• http://www.napatouristguide.com/wineries-silverado.html

• http://www.napatouristguide.com/napa-on-a-budget.html

• http://www.napadowntown.com/ “Taste Napa Downtown” gives you 13 tastings within walking distance for $20!

• http://www.preiserkey.com/ good guide to restaurants & wineries

Bicycling

Various companies such as Napa Valley Bike Tours in Yountville, let you rent bikes to take to the wineries.

Sonoma County

Sonoma

• Sonoma Saveurs - sonoma, charcuterie/bistro/wine bar, foie gras

• Cafe La Haye - Sonoma

• Cheese Shop of Healdsburg

Santa Rosa/Sebastopol/Graton

• Willow Wood Market - Graton, country-style meals

• K&L Restaurant - sebastapol

Alexander Valley (Healdsburg, Geyserville, N of Napa/Sonoma)

• Ravenette/Ravenous - Healdsburg, cafe inside Raven movie theater, rec'd by Patricia Unterman

• Santi - Geyserville, rec'd by Patricia Unterman

• Bistro Ralph - Healdsburg, rec'd by Patricia Unterman

• Manzanita - healdsburg

• Jimtown Store - Healdsburg, along Hwy 128, known for olive spreads/condiments, also has sandwiches

• Bouchon Bakery - Yountville, good pastries and breads

• Healdsburg Farmer’s Market, Sat 9-noon

• Cheese Shop of Healdsburg

V Sattui, Beaulieu --> ??

Viansa, Cline, GLoria Ferrer - sonoma

other sonoma:  *Ferrari-Carano, Kunde, La Crema,Nicholson Ranch,Meeker, and Gary Farrel, Seghesio, Frank Family Vineyards, Armida, Hop Kiln (mostly for the location), Sausal, Ravenswood, Sebastiani

Restaurants

The Girl and the Fig - amazing duck, wonderful other French specials!

Near SF

See SF Wine Page