What: Melville Winery & Vineyards Where: Lompoc, Calif.Details: Melville's tasting room is on the ground floor of a Mediterranean-style villa, in the Santa Rita Hills appellation about 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara. This area falls within the larger Santa Ynez Valley, which was immortalized in the movie Sideways. Complete with French doors that lead out onto an expansive patio, the villa also has an area where you can enjoy your picnic lunch -- paired with a glass of small-lot estate-grown Pinot Noir, of course. Clones of Pinot Noir grapes (Melville's specialty) are marked by signs in the vineyard just a few steps from the patio. More Info: tel. 805/735-7030; Photo Caption: Melville Winery & Vineyards in Lompoc, California. What: Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards Where: Buellton, Calif.Details: A fountain out back -- where there is an outdoor tasting bar on weekends -- contributes to a casual, backyard feel at this biodynamic winery that appeared in the film Sideways.

Access the tasting room by driving down a long gravel road. Get rewarded with unobstructed views of surrounding vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills appellation (part of the larger Santa Ynez Valley), which is famous for its Pinot Noir -- including the bottles produced at Alma Rosa. More Info: tel. 805/688-9090; Photo Caption: The tasting room at Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards in Buellton, California. Courtesy Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards Photo Caption: Located in Oakville, Opus One is a collaboration between Robert Mondavi and Phillipe Rothschild from France. The tasting room over looks the beautiful vineyards on the valley floor of Rutherford and Oakville in Napa Valley. Mondavi and Rothschild's Opus One Winery. What: Ferrari-Carano Vineyards & Winery Where: Healdsburg, Calif.Details: Along the upper portion of the Dry Creek Valley appellation -- on Dry Creek Road -- is one of the best views of Lake Sonoma. Stop in at Ferrari-Carano, which produces some of the most celebrated Chardonnays in the state (sourced from a variety of regions, like Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, and Carneros, as well as small estate lots), which you can try in the new underground Enoteca Reserve Tasting Bar & Lounge.

But first, take a peek at Lake Sonoma down below and stroll through the winery's five acres of flower gardens that feature around 10,000 tulips each spring. best italian red wine typesMore Info: tel. 707/433-6700; buy italian wine ukPhoto Caption: The grounds at Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery in Healdsburg, California. best wines to help you sleepCourtesy Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery.red wine make you poop What: Flowers Vineyard & Winery Where: Cazadero, Calif.Details: Former nursery owners in Pennsylvania (Walt and Joan Flowers) scooped up this prime slice of real estate along the Sonoma Coast in the late 1980s with the intent to make wine. best way to package wine for shipping

Today, their wines are award-winning -- Chardonnay and Pinot Noir -- but it's the view that stays with you long after the glass is empty. the best wine tours san franciscoFrom the tasting room, expect to see layers of coastal fog, moss-covered trees, and wispy pines. Make an appointment, which includes a tour where you'll walk through the vineyard and taste two to three wines. More Info: tel. 707/847-3661; Photo Caption: Camp Meeting Ridge Vineyard, located at a 1,400- foot elevation, at Flowers Vineyard & Winery. What: HALL Wines Where: Napa Valley, Calif.Details: Perched high above the Rutherford appellation on Auberge Road, and at the end of a curvy, uphill drive, is one of two HALL tasting rooms -- the second is along the main drag (Route 29) and where most people go. Inside and out, this smaller, more intimate tasting room resembles a chic home with windows looking out onto the vineyards.

Modern art hung on the walls, along with its glamorous underground cellar (with 14,000 square feet of caves and a communal table for events or private tastings), make this one of Napa's most luxurious tasting rooms.More Info: tel. 707/967-2626; Photo Caption: Sacrashe Vineyard at Hall Wines in Napa Valley. What: Sterling Vineyards Where: Calistoga, Calif.Details: This Napa Valley winery's tasting room is so high up that one must hop an aerial tram to reach it. The facility -- which mimics stark-white architecture on Crete, Greece -- offers not only tastings and a view but also art galleries, overlooks, a view of wine production through glass windows, and elevated walkways. More Info: tel. 800/726-6136; Photo Caption: Sterling Vineyards is set atop a hill just south of Calistoga, with unsurpassed views of Napa Valley. What: Domaine Carneros Where: Napa, Calif.Details: A French-style estate with a wide deck showing off the Carneros appellation, Domaine Carneros ranks among California's best sparkling-wine houses -- in part because it's owned by Taittinger, a celebrated French Champagne producer.

Table service (a rarity at California wineries) on the terrace allows you to order not only bubbly flights or bottles, but cheese plates, caviar, a selection of European-style pastries, and smoked salmon. What better way to take in the view? More Info: tel. 800/716-2788; Photo Caption: Domaine Carneros, Napa Valley. What: Yorkville Cellars Where: Yorkville, Calif.Details: Yorkville Cellars is a small-production winery producing Bordeaux-style blends as well as Malbec and Semillon. The Mendocino County estate -- also along the rugged Mendocino coastline -- is the perfect spot to snag a cat nap or snack on a wedge of artisan-farmstead cheese during a hectic day of winery visits. Under the shade of mighty oak trees, and with the view of redwood forests, fruit orchards, and neighboring sheep ranches, you're 1,000 feet above sea level.More Info: tel. 707/894-9177; Photo Caption: Five hundred red roses line the entrance to the Yorkville Cellars tasting room, which has vineyard views from all windows and decks.