Most wineries make a whole host of wines, but many are particularly well known for just one or two varietals. In addition, certain grapes grow best in specific parts of the Wine Country, so planning a trip to taste a particular style of wine can mean focusing on just one or two regions.

If you’re a fan of a particular type of wine, it’s worth planning a trip to the regions that specialize in it. Some wines, like pinot noir for example, are best in cooler regions suited to growing that grape, such as the Russian River Valley, Carneros, or the Santa Cruz Mountains. Grapes for other wines, like cabernet sauvignon, can be grown almost anywhere, creating countless styles that reflect the growing conditions in each location.

CLASSIC CABERNETS
Cabernet sauvignon is the king of California wines, and the Napa and Sonoma Valleys are where some of the best Californian cabernets are made. Some classic examples can be sampled in just a 10-mile drive that also takes in some of the best scenery in Wine Country. Limit yourself to just four of these wineries and the trip can easily be completed in a day.

Start in the eastern hills of the Napa Valley in the Stags Leap District, where beautifully structured cabernets are made. Make an appointment for a tour at Shafer Vineyards, tucked away in its own private canyon, where you might be lucky enough to taste its Hillside Select cabernet. A short drive away is Stags’ Leap Wine Cellars, home to one of the most famous cabernet vineyards in the valley. That vineyard produced the wine that beat the best in the world in the famous Paris tasting of 1976, and it still makes outstanding wine today.

Drive west to Rutherford, where bigger, bolder cabernets are laced with the appellation’s distinct flavor of “Rutherford dust” a term made famous by the valley’s most famous winemaker, André Tchelistcheff, who helped put the historic Beaulieu Vineyard on the world’s wine maps. Not far away, the equally historic Niebaum-Coppola Estate produces the great Rubicon wine from its Rutherford-area vineyards as well as one of the best winery shows in the valley, courtesy of owner and Hollywood director Francis Ford Coppola.

From Rutherford, drive north to St. Helena, stopping for a takeout lunch at the bistro Market on Main Street before heading west on Madrona Road and up Spring Mountain Road into the Spring Mountain appellation.

The road winds up the mountain, through forests and past steep vineyards until reaching the summit at Pride Mountain Vineyards, an ideal place for a picnic with views of both the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. A taste of the elegant cabernet up here will reveal just how different these highly extracted mountain wines can be from their valley-floor competitors.

From Pride Mountain, continue west and drop down into the Sonoma Valley, turning left on Calistoga Road and heading south toward Kenwood and Chateau St. Jean. Sit on the reserve tasting room patio and watch the sun set over the valley while sipping the exquisite Cinq Cepages bordeaux blend.

PLEASURES OF PINOT
Santa Barbara County in Southern California might have had the best pinot publicity in recent years from the movie Sideways, but the cooler parts of Northern California are home to arguably the best pinot noirs in the state. In just a day or two, you can experience just how diverse and complex the wines made from this fussy little grape can really be.

In cool Carneros, discover how not only the region but also the vine clone can subtly affect the wine at Carneros Creek Winery. One of the winery’s founders was a pinot pioneer, and the winery makes not only vineyard-designate pinot noir, but even wine from specific clones of the vine.

Carneros is also a big champagne-producing region, and pinot noir is one of the most important champagne grapes. At the palatial Domaine Carneros winery learn how champagne is made on an educational tour, then sit out on the terrace and enjoy the brut cuvée, a bubbly made with 65 percent pinot noir, followed by the winery’s flagship Avant Garde pinot noir, a Carneros classic.

From Carneros, head north to Sonoma, stopping at the Basque Boulangerie Café on historic Sonoma Plaza for a simple lunch before continuing to Kenwood. Landmark Vineyards is worth a stop to taste its highly regarded Kastania and Grand Detour pinot noirs, sourced from coastal vineyards.

Continue west through Santa Rosa and on into the Russian River Valley, another of California’s great pinot-producing appellations. Try the wines from one of the valley’s best pinot noir vineyards, Dutton Ranch, at the Sebastopol Vineyards winery in Graton. A little farther north, the Hartford Family Winery is as beautiful a location as any to taste some highly praised, vineyard-designate Russian River pinots.

If there’s time, cross the river to the Davis Bynum winery, founded by a former journalist in the 1970s in an old hop kiln building. Bynum’s vineyard-designate pinot noirs are some of the best in this area.

Finish the day with a sumptuous dinner among the redwoods at the Applewood Inn just south of Guerneville, where the wine list is full of wonderful pinot noirs to pair with exquisite local cuisine.