Few cities give wine lovers as much choice as San Francisco. Drive north over the Golden Gate Bridge and you are in Sonoma or Napa within an hour or so. Head south down the peninsula and the Santa Cruz Mountains rise behind Woodside, Saratoga and Los Gatos, with some of the oldest and most serious estates in California hidden in the redwoods along Skyline Boulevard. Head east and the Livermore Valley, the oldest wine region in the Bay Area and the least crowded, is under an hour away.
This guide is about the day trip, not any single region. It gathers the wineries we would send a first-timer to across all four areas, a quick comparison to help you choose between them, the tours that handle the driving for you, and where to eat and stay if one day turns into a weekend. For a deeper dive into any one region, follow the guide links at the end.
Getting There From San Francisco
Napa and Sonoma are the headline destinations, and both are roughly an hour to ninety minutes north of the city by car. For Sonoma Valley, take Highway 101 over the Golden Gate and cut east on Highway 37 and Highway 12 toward Sonoma town and Glen Ellen. For Napa, continue on Highway 37 or take Interstate 80 and pick up Highway 29, the valley’s main road, or the quieter Silverado Trail that runs parallel to it on the eastern side. West Sonoma and Healdsburg are a little further, straight up 101.
The Santa Cruz Mountains are the day trip most visitors miss, and the closest estates are the ones on Skyline Boulevard: Thomas Fogarty above Woodside is about 45 minutes from the city via Interstate 280 and Highway 84, with Mindego Ridge a little further along the ridge. Los Gatos and Saratoga sit about an hour south, and Ridge and Mount Eden climb into the hills above them. The Livermore Valley, east of the Bay via Interstate 580, is 45 minutes to an hour away and the easiest place to taste on a busy Saturday; BART reaches Dublin/Pleasanton, a short rideshare from the Tesla Road wineries, if you would rather not drive at all.
Two practical points. Weekend traffic on the bridges and on Highway 29 is real, so leave early or go midweek if you can. And because tastings involve alcohol, arrange a designated driver, a car service or one of the tours below. Two or three wineries make a full and enjoyable day once you allow for driving and a long lunch, and the best days stay in one region rather than trying to combine Napa and Sonoma.
Further afield, Lake County sits two and a half hours north, beyond Napa on Highway 29, around the largest natural lake in California. It is too far for a comfortable day trip but makes a fine overnight, with volcanic soils, lower prices and almost no crowds. Brassfield Estate in the High Valley is the showpiece, with a Mediterranean-style winery beneath an extinct volcano; Chacewater outside Kelseyville tastes organic wines and its own olive oils side by side; and Six Sigma Ranch near Lower Lake adds ranch tours and hiking trails to the tasting. Our Lake County guide, linked at the end, covers the hotels and restaurants.
Which Region Should You Choose?
| Region | Drive from San Francisco | Known for | Choose it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Napa Valley | 1 to 1.5 hours north | Cabernet Sauvignon, grand estates | The classic. Book ahead; the highest tasting fees |
| Sonoma County | 1 to 1.5 hours north | Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel | Relaxed and varied; the easiest first visit |
| Santa Cruz Mountains | 45 minutes to 1 hour south | Mountain Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay | Small estates, big views; most by appointment |
| Livermore Valley | 45 minutes to 1 hour east | Cabernet, Petite Sirah, Chardonnay | Least crowded; history; easy on a Saturday |
| Lake County | About 2.5 hours north | Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet, value | An overnight trip; lake and volcano scenery |
Drive times are from downtown San Francisco outside peak traffic; weekend bridge and Highway 29 traffic can add an hour.
Plan Your Wine Day
Tell us how long you have and what you are after, and we will put together a day from the wineries in this guide, in real driving order, with a route you can open in Google Maps and reminders to book.
Our Recommended Wineries Near San Francisco
These are the tastings we would point a first-timer to, grouped so that you can build a single-region day: Napa’s Rutherford and St. Helena stretch, Sonoma from Glen Ellen out to Sebastopol, the Santa Cruz Mountains from Los Gatos and Saratoga up to Skyline Boulevard above Woodside, and the Livermore Valley to the east. Each links through to our full winery guide, and the map plots them all so you can see what sits close together.
Wineries within day-trip range of San Francisco · tap a pin for the winery guide. Map data © OpenStreetMap.
Caymus Vineyards
Why Guests Love It: Warm, Story-Filled Hosts, Relaxed Seated Tastings, Family-Friendly Welcome
The Wagner family has made wine in Rutherford since 1972, and Caymus is the Napa name most visitors already know from the Special Selection Cabernet on restaurant lists around the world. The visit is more relaxed than the reputation suggests: seated tastings on landscaped grounds, hosts who tell the family story well, and a lineup that runs from the estate Cabernet to the family’s other labels. Reservations are strongly advised.
Read our full Caymus Vineyards guide →Honig Winery & Vineyards
Why Guests Love It: Family-Owned Warmth, Patio Tastings With Grazing Lambs, Drop-In Friendly
Honig began as a garage winery on land the family bought in 1964 and is still family-run, which you feel the moment you arrive. It is a leader on sustainability, with solar power in the winery and beehives in the vineyard, and it pours a crisp Sauvignon Blanc alongside its Rutherford Cabernet on a shaded patio where lambs sometimes graze between the vines. One of the friendliest stops in the valley.
Read our full Honig Winery & Vineyards guide →Quintessa Winery
Why Guests Love It: Silverado Trail Setting, Open-Air Pavilion Views, Estate Tour and Tasting
Quintessa makes a single estate wine, a Bordeaux-style red from organically farmed vineyards at the foot of the Vaca range, and the visit is built around it. A tour explains the gravity-flow winery and the mix of soils on the property, and tastings happen in private pavilions looking out over the vines and the estate lake. It is one of the most polished experiences on the Silverado Trail, and priced accordingly, so book ahead and go on a clear day for the view.
Read our full Quintessa Winery guide →Benziger Family Winery
Why Guests Love It: Biodynamic Tram Tour, Walk-In Tastings, Vineyard Views Beside Jack London Park
Benziger farms its Sonoma Mountain estate biodynamically, and the best way to understand what that means is the tram tour through the vineyard, past the insectary gardens and into the caves. The winery sits in Glen Ellen next to Jack London State Historic Park, so it pairs naturally with a walk, and the tasting bar takes walk-ins even when tours are booked out. Cabernet, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel all show well here.
Read our full Benziger Family Winery guide →Patz & Hall Winery
Why Guests Love It: Tailored Tastings, Vertical Flights of Chardonnay and Pinot, Welcoming Hosts
Founded in 1988, Patz and Hall built its reputation on single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from across Sonoma and the North Coast, and the Sonoma House tasting room just outside Sonoma town is where you taste through them side by side. The seated flights are unhurried and well explained, and a vertical tasting of one vineyard across several vintages is the pick for anyone who wants to understand how these wines age.
Read our full Patz & Hall Winery guide →Emeritus Vineyards
Why Guests Love It: Standout Pinot Noir Lineup, Unpretentious Hospitality, Outdoor Tasting Seating
Emeritus grows dry-farmed Pinot Noir at Hallberg Ranch outside Sebastopol, in the cool heart of the Russian River Valley, and pours a lineup of estate Pinots that show how much the vineyard matters. The tasting room opens onto the vines, the welcome is easygoing rather than formal, and it is a natural first stop for a west Sonoma day that ends in Healdsburg.
Read our full Emeritus Vineyards guide →Ridge Vineyards
Why Guests Love It: Library Tastings, Vineyard Walks, Panoramic Santa Clara Valley Views
Ridge’s Monte Bello estate sits high on a ridge above Cupertino, and its 1971 Cabernet was one of the California wines that shook the wine world at the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting, then won the thirtieth-anniversary re-tasting outright in 2006. Today you can taste the current Monte Bello and Ridge’s single-vineyard Zinfandels on a terrace with the whole Santa Clara Valley spread out below, and a library tasting with older vintages is worth the extra cost.
Read our full Ridge Vineyards guide →Mount Eden Vineyards
Why Guests Love It: Sweeping Hilltop Views, Bordeaux-Style Cabernet, Deep Winery History
Founded by the pioneering Martin Ray in 1945, Mount Eden Vineyards farms estate Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon on a hilltop 2,000 feet above Saratoga, one of the longest-running estate programs in California. Tastings are by appointment and the drive up is steep, but the reward is a Cabernet with real Bordeaux-style backbone, a Chardonnay that converts sceptics, and a view that runs across the bay.
Read our full Mount Eden Vineyards guide →Testarossa Winery
Why Guests Love It: Historic Stone Cellars, Lively Outdoor Patio, Pinot Noir Flights
Testarossa makes its wine in the old Novitiate winery in Los Gatos, a stone building the Jesuits put up in 1888, and the cellars alone are worth the visit. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay come from vineyards along the Central Coast, including the Santa Lucia Highlands and the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the patio fills up on sunny afternoons. It is the easiest of the mountain wineries to reach, minutes from downtown Los Gatos.
Read our full Testarossa Winery guide →Mindego Ridge
Why Guests Love It: Vineyard in a Redwood Forest, Owner-Led Tastings, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
Mindego Ridge is the small, family-run estate on this list, a single vineyard tucked into the redwoods near Skyline Boulevard in the northern Santa Cruz Mountains. The owners often pour the tastings themselves, the wines are estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the setting could not be further from Napa’s polish. Appointments are required, and the drive along Skyline is half the pleasure.
Read our full Mindego Ridge guide →Thomas Fogarty Winery
Why Guests Love It: Panoramic Silicon Valley Views, Knowledgeable Tasting Hosts, Vineyard and Winery Tours
The closest serious estate to the city, Thomas Fogarty sits at 2,000 feet on Skyline Boulevard above Woodside, about 45 minutes down Interstate 280, and the terrace looks over the whole of Silicon Valley to the bay. Founded in 1981 by the surgeon and medical inventor Dr. Thomas Fogarty, with the same winemaker since the first vintage, it grows Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the cool ridge and bottles the Pinots by vineyard block. Book a tour if you can; the walk through the vines with that view is the reason people come back.
Read our full Thomas Fogarty Winery guide →Wente Vineyards
Why Guests Love It: Historic Family Estate, Restaurant and Concerts on Site, Well-Explained Tastings
Founded in 1883 and still run by the fourth and fifth generations of the family, Wente is the oldest continuously operated family-owned winery in the United States, and the Wente clone of Chardonnay selected here underlies much of the Chardonnay grown across California. The Arroyo Road estate, about 50 minutes east of the city on Interstate 580, is the most complete wine-country stop on this list: a tasting lounge, The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards, a golf course and a summer concert series. Start a Livermore day here.
Read our full Wente Vineyards guide →Concannon Vineyard
Why Guests Love It: Picnic Grounds Under the Trees, Petite Sirah Heritage, Warm Hosts Who Know the History
Concannon has been on Tesla Road since 1883, and its two claims on California wine history are real: it was the first American winery to bottle Petite Sirah as a named varietal, from the 1961 vintage, and the Concannon Cabernet clones selected from its vineyard are among the most planted in the state. The estate is unhurried, with lawns and picnic tables under old trees, and a flight of Petite Sirah here is the Livermore Valley in a glass.
Read our full Concannon Vineyard guide →Murrieta’s Well
Why Guests Love It: Old Stone Winery and Patio, Estate Bordeaux Blends, Small Plates With the Tasting
Murrieta’s Well is the prettiest property in the valley, an 1880s estate on Mines Road built around a spring-fed well and revived in 1990 by Philip Wente and winemaker Sergio Traverso. Everything is grown on the estate and the wines are Bordeaux-style blends, The Spur in red and The Whip in white, poured on a patio above the vines or in the historic barrel room. Order the small plates and make it lunch.
Read our full Murrieta’s Well guide →McGrail Vineyards and Winery
Why Guests Love It: Hilltop Lawn With Valley Views, Estate Cabernet, Friendly Weekend Atmosphere
McGrail is the family-owned hilltop at the eastern edge of Livermore, on Greenville Road, and it is where locals send visitors who want a view: the lawn and patio look back across the whole valley. The estate was built around Cabernet Sauvignon and that is still the wine to taste, with Chardonnay and Petite Sirah alongside, and live music on many weekend afternoons makes it the natural last stop of a Livermore day.
Read our full McGrail Vineyards and Winery guide →Recommended Wine Tours from San Francisco
If you would rather leave the driving to someone else, these are the best-reviewed wine tours out of the city and the valleys, all bookable through Viator. The small-group Napa tour has more than a thousand reviews behind it, the private tour collects you in San Francisco itself, and the Sonoma trolley and the Wine Train are the two most relaxed ways to see the vines. Pricing and availability change with the season, so check before you go.
The most-reviewed Napa tour on Viator: a full day in a small group visiting a handful of valley wineries with tastings included, so nobody has to draw the short straw on driving.
Check availability on ViatorA private vehicle and guide for up to eight people, departing from the city, with the wineries chosen around your group. The easiest option for a celebration or for anyone staying in San Francisco without a car.
Check availability on ViatorA vintage-style open trolley that loops between Sonoma Valley wineries with lunch along the way. Slow, sociable and a good fit for first-timers who want the scenery as much as the wine.
Check availability on ViatorRestored early-twentieth-century rail cars roll up the valley from downtown Napa to St. Helena and back while a multi-course lunch is served. More an occasion than a tasting tour, and a memorable one.
Check availability on ViatorWhere to Eat
Wine country lunch is part of the day, and each region has a town or a stop worth building the meal around: St. Helena in Napa, Sonoma and Healdsburg in Sonoma County, Los Gatos and the Skyline crossroads below the mountains, and downtown Livermore to the east. These are the standouts, all well loved by the travellers who review them.
Gott's Roadside (St. Helena)
The Napa lunch institution: a roadside burger stand on Main Street with picnic tables under the trees, where a cheeseburger, garlic fries and a milkshake are the traditional reset between Cabernet tastings. Expect a line at noon and do not mind it.
Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch (St. Helena)
Long Meadow Ranch farms grapes, cattle and olives, and its Farmstead restaurant cooks from that land, with grass-fed beef, garden vegetables and the ranch’s own wines and olive oil. A big barn dining room and an outdoor patio make it as good for a group as for two.
the girl and the fig (Sonoma)
On Sonoma Plaza, this is the town’s best-known restaurant, serving French country cooking with a Californian accent and a wine list built almost entirely around Rhône grape varieties grown in California. Book for lunch after a morning in Glen Ellen.
SingleThread (Healdsburg)
For the splurge dinner of a west Sonoma weekend, SingleThread is a three-Michelin-star restaurant and inn built around its own farm, with a multi-course menu that changes with the season. It books out far ahead, so plan early.
Alice's Restaurant (Woodside)
At the crossroads of Skyline Boulevard and Highway 84, a few minutes from Thomas Fogarty, this rustic cabin named after the song has fed cyclists, bikers and Sunday drivers for decades with burgers, barbecue and big breakfasts. The right lunch before or after the Skyline wineries, and a scene in its own right at weekends.
Telefèric Barcelona (Los Gatos)
After a day in the Santa Cruz Mountains, downtown Los Gatos has the most choice, and this lively Spanish tapas restaurant, with a bar that pours by the glass, suits a group coming down from the hills hungry and happy.
The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards (Livermore)
The valley’s destination restaurant, on the Wente estate on Arroyo Road, serving Californian-Mediterranean cooking from a garden and wood-fired grill with the estate wines by the glass and a terrace among the vines. Book lunch here and taste at the estate before or after.
Range Life (Livermore)
Downtown Livermore’s best table, a rustic-chic dining room on Railroad Avenue with a seasonal menu, good cocktails and a wine list that takes the local valley seriously. The place for dinner if the Livermore day runs late.
Where to Stay
San Francisco itself is an easy base for a single day trip, but if you want to sleep among the vines, each region has a good town to settle into: St. Helena and Rutherford in Napa, Sonoma town and Healdsburg in Sonoma County, Los Gatos below the mountains, and Livermore to the east.
Harvest Inn (St. Helena)
An eight-acre garden property on the edge of St. Helena with vineyard-view rooms, two pools and a walkable position for Main Street dinners. A comfortable, unshowy base for the Rutherford and St. Helena wineries.
Check availability on Booking.comAuberge du Soleil (Rutherford)
The classic Napa splurge, set on a hillside olive grove above the Silverado Trail with valley views from almost every terrace, a spa and one of the region’s most celebrated restaurants. Minutes from Quintessa, Caymus and Honig.
Check availability on Booking.comMacArthur Place (Sonoma)
A historic estate turned boutique hotel a few blocks from Sonoma Plaza, with gardens, a spa and a steakhouse on site. Well placed for Glen Ellen and the Sonoma Valley wineries and an easy walk to dinner.
Check availability on Booking.comHotel Healdsburg (Healdsburg)
Right on Healdsburg Plaza, this modern hotel puts the town’s tasting rooms, bakeries and restaurants at your door and the Russian River Valley wineries a short drive away. The natural base for a west Sonoma weekend.
Check availability on Booking.comThe Madrona (Healdsburg)
A restored Victorian mansion on a hill above town, reopened as a small luxury hotel with gardens, a pool and a much-praised restaurant. For a slower, more romantic Healdsburg stay.
Check availability on Booking.comHotel Los Gatos (Los Gatos)
A Mediterranean-style hotel with a spa on the edge of downtown Los Gatos, walkable to the restaurants and ten minutes from Testarossa, with Mount Eden and the Skyline estates in the hills above. The sensible base for the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Check availability on Booking.comThe Purple Orchid Wine Country Resort and Spa (Livermore)
An adults-only lodge among the olive groves on Cross Road, minutes from Wente, Concannon and Murrieta’s Well, with a pool, hot tubs, a spa and fireplace suites. The only wine-country stay in the valley that feels like one, and the reason to turn a Livermore day into a weekend.
Check availability on Booking.comWhat to Pack
Wine country weather swings more than visitors expect. Napa and Sonoma afternoons are hot in summer but cool quickly by evening, the Santa Cruz Mountains can sit under fog until late morning, Livermore is the hottest of the four in July and August, and the bridges are windy all year. Pack layers, a sun hat and sunglasses, and comfortable shoes for vineyard walks and gravel paths.
A few extras make the day easier: water for between tastings, a cooler or insulated bag in the car so the bottles you buy do not bake, and somewhere to note what you liked. Most tasting rooms now work by reservation, so keep your bookings and ID to hand, and leave room in the budget for shipping, because you will want to send wine home.
Why San Francisco Is a Wine Lover's City
No other major city sits this close to this much serious wine. Within an hour or two of the Golden Gate you can taste the Cabernet that made Napa famous, the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of the cool Sonoma coast, mountain wines from vineyards that were planted before Prohibition and helped put California on the world stage in 1976, and the Livermore estates where the state’s wine industry was already thriving in the 1880s. The city itself is full of wine bars and restaurants built around those regions, so a trip here is wine country with a great city attached.
Pick one region per day, book the tastings you care about most, and let the rest of the day unfold over a long lunch. That is the whole art of wine tasting from San Francisco.
Frequently Asked Questions
What wineries can you visit on a day trip from San Francisco?
From San Francisco you can reach Napa Valley and Sonoma County to the north, both about an hour to ninety minutes away, the Santa Cruz Mountains wineries above Woodside, Saratoga and Los Gatos to the south, and the Livermore Valley to the east. Each makes a comfortable day trip with two or three tastings.
What is the closest winery to San Francisco?
The closest serious estates are on Skyline Boulevard above Woodside, about 45 minutes south of the city, where Thomas Fogarty Winery pours estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with views over Silicon Valley. The Livermore Valley wineries such as Wente and Concannon are a similar 45 minutes to an hour to the east.
How far is wine country from San Francisco?
Napa and Sonoma are roughly one to one and a half hours north of San Francisco by car, the Santa Cruz Mountains are 45 minutes to an hour south, and the Livermore Valley is around 45 minutes to an hour east. Lake County, beyond Napa, is about two and a half hours and better as an overnight trip.
Is Napa or Sonoma a better day trip from San Francisco?
Both are excellent. Napa is more famous and polished, focused on Cabernet Sauvignon, while Sonoma is larger, more relaxed and more varied, with everything from Russian River Pinot Noir to Dry Creek Zinfandel. Sonoma is slightly closer to the city and easier on a first visit; Napa is the one to choose for the grand estates.
Is Livermore worth visiting for wine tasting?
Yes, especially on a busy weekend. The Livermore Valley is the oldest wine region in the Bay Area, with Wente and Concannon both founded in 1883, and it has far fewer crowds and lower tasting fees than Napa. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Chardonnay are the wines to try, and most tasting rooms sit within a few minutes of each other on Tesla Road.
Do you need a car to visit wineries near San Francisco?
A car or an organised tour is the practical way to reach the wineries, since they are spread across rural valleys and hills. Without one, a guided tour that departs from the city is the simplest option, and BART to Dublin/Pleasanton followed by a short rideshare works for the Livermore Valley. Because tastings involve alcohol, arrange a designated driver or a car service in any case.
Can you visit Napa and Sonoma in one day from San Francisco?
It is possible but not recommended. Each region deserves a full day, and combining them means a lot of driving and little time to relax. It is better to pick one, enjoy two or three wineries and a long lunch, and save the other for another trip.
Sources and further reading
- Napa Valley Vintners, on Napa Valley
- Sonoma County Vintners, on Sonoma County
- Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association, on the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation
- Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association, on the Livermore Valley
- Lake County Winery Association, on Lake County
- Hero photo: Napa Valley vineyards by Brocken Inaglory, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)