Uncork California’s wine country

Lush and relaxed, California’s wine country offers respite for the weary. Head to the Santa Cruz Mountains if you’re in search of a quiet place to sip wine. For lakefront lounging, Nice (Nice, California) offers watery views. Whether you’re in search of wine or rest, these places will not disappoint.

California’s Clear Lake: wine tasting and outdoor recreation
This is California’s Nice, a place that has never quite managed to attract the jet-setters that flock to its namesake on the French Riviera. No, this Nice has long catered to travelers who wouldn’t think of vacationing without their Winnebago.

Food and Wine: Napa Valley vintners step up their cuisine
Traditionally, vintners steer clear of food pairings at wine tastings, subscribing to the adage that food muddles a wine’s profile. After all, the point of a formal tasting is to immerse your senses in the wine, without distraction. But on a recent trip to Napa, I discovered wineries that are tossing out the crackers for more thoughtful fare.

In Paso Robles, wineries fill lodging gap with style
If it weren’t for the wine boom in Paso Robles, what is a beaming little downtown would be stone dead. Its nadir was the 1980s, when big boxes landed with a thud on the fringe of town, killing off local businesses. Now, 24 restaurants and 12 wine-tasting rooms flank the sidewalks, with a cheese-making operation to open this year in my favorite building, a Mission Revival beauty erected in 1905 as a public spa.

In the Santa Cruz Mountains, less-traveled wineries await
I remember Napa before the tour buses and tasting fees; Sonoma, when the only picnic-foraging spot was a focaccia-free deli called the Salami Tree. Lately, though, I’d come to think California had run out of undiscovered places to taste wine. Until I learned about the Santa Cruz Mountains, a rugged grape-growing district between the corporate campuses of Silicon Valley and Monterey Bay.