Getaways

Why wait for Aunt Ida to visit from Michigan? Even if you live here year-round, playing tourist is a great way to experience Wine Country and get out of your day-to-day routine. Revel at the region’s signature events, sign on for a guided tour to enjoy the sights with an expert, or rediscover a hidden gem. Beyond winetasting, there’s enough here to enthrall even the most jaded.

>>2007 Winners in the Getaways Category

Best Balloon Ride

It's a heavenly experience – floating effortlessly as dawn breaks over rolling vineyards, with mountains hovering at the horizon. A trip in a hot air balloon is an unforgettable way to experience the Wine Country. As if the journey itself weren't enough, the top touring companies swaddle passengers in comfort and elegance, providing steaming hot mugs of coffee before liftoff and champagne brunches upon touchdown, with experienced pilots answering questions about everything from balloon mechanics to winemaking along the way. Napa's Balloons Above the Valley serves up hot egg scrambles and smoked applewood bacon; Napa Valley Balloons hosts a picnic-style brunch at the Vintners' Club's Lakeside Room. And in Sonoma County, Above the Wine Country Ballooning caters to post-flight appetites for everything from omelet to Reuben sandwiches at Kaffe Mocha in Santa Rosa. With such a welcoming landing, it's easy to transition back to earth – with memories that will linger for a lifetime.

Best Hotel/Resort and B&B

Luxury comes in all forms and sizes, making its presence known through small details and grandiose gestures. And so it is with Wine Country's top destination lodgings: Large or small, sprawling or discreet, they signal a commitment to luxury through and through. How? It's the Poetry Inn's spacious three tiers of rooms, built seamlessly into a knoll that affords breath-taking views of the Stag's Leap District – and it's also the selection of pillows to suit every sleeping style. It's the oak-dappled pathways behind Glen Ellen's Gaige House Inn, where Sonoma Creek burbles nearby in absolute serenity; it's also the crackling in-room fireplaces at the Wine Country Inn, where deep bathtubs and hand-sewn quilts invite cozy lounging. At the Calistoga Ranch, it's the opulent seclusion of individual cedar-and-stone lodges set among tall pines – and it's the spring-fed mineral pools just steps away, ideal for a leisurely soak. The breezy expanses of the Carneros are laid luxuriantly open for guests at the Carneros Inn – and luxury comes, too, in the paper cone of perfectly-crisped frites at the resort's Boon Fly Café. It's there, too, at The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa – in the historic Mission-Style architecture, the grand entryway, and the rolling acres of the golf course nearby. Whichever flavor of luxury you require, you'll find it – and rest well.

Best Kept Secret

A small strip mall in the Napa suburbs may seem an unlikely place to find a Wine Country gem, but that’s exactly the setting of Foothill Café, a pocket-sized restaurant with a giant reputation. Feast on flavorful ribs or brick-oven roasted chicken, savor the cool crunch of a classic Caesar salad, or nibble through a heaping plate of fried calamari, fresh and crisp – and save room for the legendary crème brulée.
Or if an exotic menu is more to your liking, try Sonoma’s LaSalette, where chef Manuel Azevedo lovingly prepares dishes from his native Portugal. Supping on Cataplana de Mariscos – seafood stew – at an outdoor table is like an Iberian vacation wrapped into a single meal. Finish off the meal with a port or Madeira, then take a satisfied stroll around the Plaza – enjoying the combination of Old and New Worlds, all right here in Wine Country.