Tasting wines is certainly not the only reason to visit the Wine Country. To lure more people through their doors, wineries have become skilled at differentiating themselves from their neighbors and competitors using attractions besides wine, which is great for you. Take an entertaining tour, explore the region’s history, peruse famous artwork, or simply learn more about wine. The Wine Country also excels at producing fine food. There was a rich agricultural heritage in the region even before the modern wine industry took root, and food lovers will find ingredients to make their mouths water.

STANDOUT TOURS
Wineries in the Napa Valley lay on some pretty impressive tours of their equally impressive properties. This is the place to go for the most ostentatious tour to accompany the pretty good wines.

Architecture buffs should check out the free tour at the futuristic Opus One winery to see the opulence that comes from being created by two of the world’s most famous winemakers. Farther north in the valley, the angular Clos Pegase winery has a bolder, more brash postmodernist style. Tours here take in not only the architecture but the founder’s big art collection.

At the historic Far Niente winery, car fanatics can admire the private vintage car collection of late owner Gil Nickel and visit the huge network of caves under the main house. For the ultimate showoff tour, the Niebaum-Coppola Estate features a museum devoted not only to the winery’s storied history, but also to the Hollywood history of its current owner, Francis Ford Coppola.

Getting to some wineries can be as much fun as touring them. To visit Long Meadow Ranch high in the hills above Rutherford, visitors are driven to its pastoral location in a curious-looking Swiss military vehicle called a Pinzgauer. To reach the monastery-like Sterling Vineyards perched on a knoll outside Calistoga, visitors board gondolas more at home at a ski resort. Once you’re at the top, the self-guided tour is unique.

HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS
Some of the most fascinating wine-related history can be found in the town of Sonoma. This is where the State of California was born and where modern Northern California wine-making got its start. Rent a bike at Sonoma Cyclery to visit some of the historic wineries at the edge of town.

The Buena Vista Winery and neighboring Bartholomew Park Winery are both on land originally farmed by wine-making pioneer Agoston Haraszthy. Both have fascinating, small museums telling Haraszthy’s story, and both have plenty to keep history buffs happy. The Gundlach Bundschu Winery was winning awards for its wines more than 100 years ago, and Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery was founded in 1904 by Italian immigrant Samuele Sebastiani, who also built many buildings in the town, including the Sebastiani Theater on the plaza.

Explore other historic sites around the Sonoma Plaza, some dating from the early 1800s. Mission San Francisco de Solano was California’s 21st (and last) Spanish mission. The Sonoma Barracks, dating from the 1840s, once housed soldiers of the Mexican army. Their commander, General Vallejo, built his opulent house, Lachryma Montis, nearby.

WINE EDUCATION
Many wineries offer tours of their wine-making facilities, but some teach more about wine and how it’s made. For a thorough understanding of how to appreciate wine, sign up for one of the Saturday morning Wine Basics classes at Goosecross Cellars in Yountville and do some swirling and sniffing on the lawn next to the vineyards.

Champagne houses often have the most educational tours to help visitors understand the complex process of making sparkling wines. Just outside Calistoga, the historic Schramsberg winery offers one of the more entertaining and educational champagne tours through its spooky Victorian caves. It finishes with a tasting of the J. Schram champagne, considered by some to be California’s best.

Visiting smaller, appointment-only wineries can also be rewarding. Owner and winemaker Chris Loxton might have time to take you on a tour of his Loxton Cellars vineyards in the Sonoma Valley. If you can find the Medlock Ames winery in the Chalk Hill region near Healdsburg, Ames Morrison would be happy to take you on a tour of the vineyard and the modern winery building to explain how everything is done.

CULINARY ADVENTURES
Fresh produce is the key to Wine Country cuisine. Visit one of the many farms that sell seasonal fruit and vegetables, from the small Rutherford Gardens in the Napa Valley to one of the many fruit farms in the Russian River Valley, including Kozlowski Farms and Twin Hill Ranch. Many of the region’s top chefs shop at farmers markets. Two of the best are held weekly in Healdsburg and Sonoma during the summer and fall.

Discover that there are potentially as many styles of olive oil as there are wines at the tasting bars of the Olive Press in the Sonoma Valley or at the St. Helena Olive Oil Company in the Napa Valley. Staff at both will help you learn how different olives produce oils with different tastes—from grassy styles perfect for salads to richly flavored oils that can add strong flavors to almost any dish.

Some of the secrets to cooking with these ingredients can be learned at the Culinary Institute of America in the imposing Greystone Winery building near St. Helena. It is the leading West Coast cooking school and offers several cooking demonstrations a day Friday–Monday.