The 25 Best Wineries in the United States
Updated: Feb. 01, 2024
Looking for the perfect weekend escape? You can’t go wrong with a trip to one of the best wineries in the country.
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According to the National Association of American Wineries, there are more than 10,000 wineries in the United States. In fact, wine is actually being produced in all 50 states, which means wine-tasting fun is ready to be had from sea to shining sea. From the sparkling standouts in New York’s Finger Lakes to the earthy goodness of Oregon Pinot Noirs to the bold Cabernet Sauvignons of Napa Valley and everything in between, we’ve got you covered at some of the most gorgeous wineries in the world. And while wine preferences vary by person, this list is filled to the brim with stellar options for every taste—and every type of trip. Whether you’re looking for a mini-vacation that won’t break the bank or the perfect weekend getaway with your girlfriends or your significant other, here are the 25 best wineries in the United States, in no particular order.
Merry Edwards Winery, California
One of the first major female winemakers in California’s Sonoma County, Merry Edwards has crafted award-winning wines for five decades. Visit the Russian River Valley location of her vineyard, located near Sebastopol, which is famous for its Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Three distinct tasting experiences can be booked ahead of time online: the Appellation Tasting Experience, which serves as an intro to the area; the Estate Tasting Experience, which focuses on wines from the Russian River Valley estate vineyard; and the immersive Vertical Tasting Experience, perfect for wine collectors.
Stay at the retro, refurbished Occidental Lodge, a dog-friendly property less than 15 minutes from Merry Edwards. Situated on the famed Bohemian Highway, this centrally located motor lodge boasts redwood forest views and is an ideal base for exploring Sonoma County.
Black Star Farms, Michigan
Traverse City is one of the most underrated American cities worth a visit. This beautiful area in Northern Michigan is the Midwest’s top wine region, and it contains two American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Part of Michigan’s Traverse Wine Coast, Black Star Farms has tasting rooms and vineyards on both the Leelanau Peninsula and the Old Mission Peninsula. Pop into either spot for a walk-in tasting wine flight. This producer is best known for its dry Riesling, which was voted the world’s number one offering at the 2018 Canberra International Riesling Challenge, though BSF makes a slew of other excellent wines.
Stay at the Sutton’s Bay locale of the Inn at Black Star Farms, a boutique property inspired by classic Southern equestrian estates. It boasts miles of trails, a wine cave, a distillery, and a seasonal, on-site eatery.
Adelsheim Vineyard, Oregon
Oregon is a well-known American wine producer, especially its largest wine region, the long and diverse Willamette Valley. In fact, the number of Oregon wineries is higher than any other state except California! Of those wine producers, Adelsheim stands out for growing grapes in the Chehalem Mountains for 50 years. The property is also a LIVE certified sustainable winery and a seven-time Wine & Spirits Top 100 Winery, especially excelling in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Two tasting experiences are offered on-site: a general flight and a more expensive estate option complete with a private wine cabana. Adelsheim is also notable for its all-female team, featuring a female vineyard manager, assistant manager, and winemaker. Girl power in action!
Just 15 minutes away, spend the night at the Vintages Trailer Resort. Choose from 34 themed renovated trailers, and enjoy a communal fireside area, complete with s’mores! If you love staying at quirky places, bookmark this list of the world’s most unique hotels.
Barboursville Winery, Virginia
Just 30 minutes from Charlottesville, an hour from Richmond, and two hours from Washington, D.C., is the 18th-century estate winery of Barboursville. Tastings are available in the Discovery Room, in Library 1821, and in the Octagon Barrel Room, as well as picnic-style on the sweeping great lawns. Barboursville was also the Virginia Wineries Association’s 2021 Governor’s Cup winner for its 2015 Paxxito, and it produces Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Nebbiolo, Cabernet Franc, Vermentino, and more.
There are also numerous historic homes on-site that have been reimagined for guest lodging. Book a stay at the 1804 Inn, with three timeless suites that overlook Governor Barbour’s mansion. For more incredible architecture, check out the most beautiful mansion in Virginia—and every other state.
Abacela Winery, Oregon
This pretty property is ensconced within the lush Umpqua Valley of Southern Oregon, which can be one stop on an Oregon Trail road trip. Due to the warmer weather in the south, the best wineries in this region offer Malbec, Syrah, and Grenache, as well as a port-style dessert wine. The team at Abacela is best known for pioneering Tempranillo and Albariño in the Pacific Northwest and has won numerous awards like Oregon Winery of the Year and Oregon Vintner of the Year. In addition, Abacela’s 2005 Tempranillo Reserve won the first-ever Gold Medal for an American producer in Spain’s 2009 Tempranillo al Mundo Competition.
Visit for both indoor and outdoor tasting options, including a seated tapas and tasting pairing, plus a self-guided tour on the Winegrowers Walk. You’re sure to enjoy this estate property, whether through the traditional wine flight, reserve flight, experimental flight, or with a private library tasting experience. Rest your head at the nearby Bell Sister Flats in Roseburg, a former hat shop turned historic lodging pick that is walkable to downtown.
Jordan Vineyard, California
Not only is the Jordan Vineyard and Winery one of the most gorgeous wineries in the world, but it also crafts some stellar bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Its location in Healdsburg, California, often called “the Aspen of Wine Country,” is conveniently located where three AVAs meet: the Russian River Valley AVA, the Alexander Valley AVA, and the Dry Creek AVA. Jordan currently offers both indoor and outdoor wine tastings, with backdrops like the library or vineyard, as well as a more intense Estate Tour and tasting. Plus, special holiday tastings make this Northern California gem a contender for the best destinations to visit for a warm Christmas.
Consider the Harmon Guest House as your wine-country hotel base. This contemporary stunner is located right in downtown Healdsburg, and it’s walkable to the city square, restaurants, and shops.
Domaine Carneros, California
No list of best wineries in the United States can neglect Northern California’s Napa Valley, a prime spot for California road trips. Domaine Carneros offers a large French-style chateau, formal gardens, and tons of tasting and tour options at its sprawling estate. Spreading into both Sonoma and Napa counties, the Carneros AVA boasts more than 10,000 acres of planted grapes and produces excellent wine, both still and sparkling. Stay at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa, a mid-priced offering in expensive wine country that is also a Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Award Winner.
Becker Vineyards, Texas
Becker Vineyards is located in the Texas Hill Country, between Fredericksburg and Stonewall. Not only is this gorgeous winery surrounded by lavender fields, but its centerpiece is a stunning reproduction of a 19th-century German stone barn. If visitors prefer to stay in town, Becker also has a second tasting room location right on Main Street in Fredericksburg, just a half-mile from the Hoffman Haus Bed & Breakfast, which provides a lovely (and complimentary) gourmet breakfast. Becker is known for French-styled wines, in the traditions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhone, and its portfolio can be enjoyed on tastings, picnics, and cellar tours.
Aperture Cellars, California
Aperture Cellars is relatively new to the Healdsburg area. This producer sprung onto the scene in 2019 with its cool-climate, Bordeaux-style beauties. Tastings are available for both the outdoor terrace and indoor private lounge space and could either include the Soil Series Experience or the Site Series Experience. Don’t miss the juxtaposition of old vines planted in 1912 with the modern marvel that is the vineyard’s state-of-the-art hospitality space. Honors abound for winemaker and founder Jesse Katz, including Wine & Spirits‘ 30 Under 30 and Wine Enthusiast‘s 40 Under 40.
After a day of wine tasting, enjoy the Tuscan-style Best Western Dry Creek Inn for an affordable stay in northern Sonoma County. If you’re always on the hunt for a good deal, learn how to find budget accommodations on a road trip.
Chamisal Vineyards, California
The Central Coast of California is another wine region that deserves to be celebrated, especially for Chamisal Vineyards. Located just 10 minutes from downtown San Luis Obispo, it was the first winery in the Edna Valley, with grapes planted nearly five decades ago. Chamisal is best known for its award-winning Chardonnay and for being SIP (Sustainability in Practice) certified, the second-ever winery to earn that distinction. The Estate Patio Experience is the most popular tasting option, allowing guests to try five wines with a pretty vineyard backdrop.
Active oenophiles can consider biking the sustainable wine trail to other area vineyards before relaxing at the beautiful San Luis Creek Lodge, the top-rated San Louis Obispo hotel on TripAdvisor.
Bluemont Vineyard, Virginia
Located in “D.C.’s Wine Country” of Loudoun County, Virginia, Bluemont Vineyard rests on the beautiful slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This 500-acre property is a family-owned affair complete with a working farm, brewery, cidery, corn maze, farmers market, and more. Unique offerings also help Bluemont stand out, including a sangria-making experience, outdoor yoga on the deck, and a picnic among the grapes. Try their two most popular wines, the award-winning 2017 Ascent blend and the 2019 Petit Manseng. When you’ve had your fill, check into the Airwell Bed & Breakfast for country-chic vibes in nearby Purcellville, Virginia, just 10 minutes from the winery.
Baily Vineyard & Winery, California
Temecula is conveniently located just an hour from San Diego, home to a beautiful beach that naturally glows. With an impressive winery infrastructure, including more than 40 producers, Temecula certainly lives up to its nickname as Southern California’s wine country. Family-owned Baily Vineyard & Winery is an area stalwart that has been crafting wine for three decades. Stop into their two tasting rooms for two distinct experiences: The Main Tasting Room offers the current year’s releases, while the Estate Tasting Room includes a tour and vertical tasting of longer-aged bottles. Consider a stay at the affordable and nearby Quality Inn Temecula Valley Wine Country to keep this getaway budget-friendly.
Abeja Winery, Washington
Walla Walla, Washington, is an excellent wine region in the country and also one of the cheapest towns you’ll actually want to retire in. It is home to the 38-acre Abeja Winery, renowned for its Washington State Chardonnay, Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and Columbia Valley Merlot, which visitors can sample on-site. Try a Traditional Tasting or an Estate Experience and you’ll see exactly why Abeja has earned so many accolades over the years. If your budget allows, splurge and stay at the adjacent Inn at Abeja, though the Best Western Plus Walla Walla is an excellent, centrally located cheaper choice.
Chateau Chantal Winery, Michigan
This winery, located near Traverse City in Northern Michigan, is part of the Old Mission Peninsula AVA. It’s perched just so, offering stunning water views of both the East Arm and the West Arm of Grand Traverse Bay; this means sunrise and sunset are both lovely from the French-inspired Chateau Chantal Winery & Inn. Stop into the tasting room, which is open daily and has a bevy of wines available, or consider a special event option like outdoor jazz concerts, cooking classes, or a wine dinner.
If rooms are available, stay overnight on the property at the Inn, which adds extra value with a complimentary bottle of wine and delicious breakfast. Or if you’d prefer to spend the evening in town, try the Cambria Hotel, ranked number one in Traverse City on TripAdvisor.
Three Sticks Wines, California
The remarkable adobe tasting room in downtown Sonoma (city, not county) is home to Three Sticks Wines, which offers a bevy of tasting options, from focused wine flights to food pairings and beyond. Oenophiles can even experience a blind tasting challenge with friends! Also notable is Three Sticks’ 2018 Durrell Vineyard Chardonnay, which received a 97-point rating from Wine Enthusiast and is described by the team as “a ray of sunshine in your glass.” Additionally, visitors should be sure to taste the Casteñada Rosé made in the French Saignée tradition and notable for its watermelon Jolly Rancher hue.
For an extra special occasion, stay at MacArthur Place, where guests can access complimentary e-bikes to make their way to the tasting room in downtown Sonoma, just half a mile from the historic ranch property. Looking for a more wallet-friendly choice? Try the boutique Sonoma Creek Inn.
Petoskey Farms, Michigan
Petoskey Farms Vineyard and Winery is in Michigan’s newest AVA, the charmingly named “Tip of the Mitt.” It sits in the Petoskey Wine Region, which offers a fun passport to visit each of the 14 wineries on the trail. This vineyard mainly utilizes hybrid grapes that were developed by the University of Minnesota for cool-weather viticulture. Drink some wine—we particularly love the wine flight, which features three-ounce pours of five wines—and enjoy wood-fired pizza while overlooking the bucolic countryside. For the most inventive sip, try the winemakers’ whimsical take on Pét-Nat, or Pétillant-naturel (natural sparkling), wine.
Spend the night at the affordable Bay Inn Petoskey, which overlooks beautiful Lake Michigan.
Epoch Cellars, California
Epoch Cellars and its female winemaker call the Central Coast of California home, along with about 300 other wineries in “California’s Other Wine Country.” Located near the viticultural hub of Paso Robles, a less crowded alternative to popular Napa Valley, Epoch is well-regarded in the wine industry, with mentions in the New York Times, SF Gate, and Wine Spectator. Stay less than 20 minutes away in Paso Robles proper, at the Oaks Hotel & Suites, which includes free breakfast—a perfect way to start a day in a lovely, if underrated, wine region.
Red Newt Cellar, New York
The Finger Lakes is a region in upstate New York named for its long, finger-like glacial lakes. Of these bodies of water, Seneca Lake is the deepest and boasts the largest wine trail in the state. On its steep shores rests Red Newt Cellar, which makes custom six-ounce wine bottles, fittingly called tadpoles, for wine sampling. Red Newt is most celebrated for its Riesling, a grape that can vary from sweet to dry and everything in between, based on growing conditions and the winemaker’s touch. Their Circle Riesling is the most widely available and most popular offering, so be sure to give it a try.
Stay at the quaint Plum Point Lodge, a TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Award Winner, roughly 10 miles away. Or if you’d rather have a little more privacy, you can always book an affordable Airbnb in the area.
Claiborne & Churchill, California
In the Edna Valley of San Luis Obispo, the small family-owned winery of Claiborne & Churchill makes an excellent stop on your tour of the best wineries in this area. For starters, it’s noteworthy for its environmental architecture as the home of the first straw-bale building in California. And then, of course, there’s the wine itself. Claiborne & Churchill crafts Pinot Noirs and what are known as aromatic white wines, like Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Gewürztraminer. Their work has been recognized by Wine Enthusiast, which has awarded ratings over 90 points to 10 wines in their portfolio. The winery is open daily and has a variety of wine tasting experiences, including a house flight in the tasting room, an outdoor tasting with garden views, and a private tasting with the winemaker.
Stay at The Kinney SLO, which has bold, bright, rooms and suites with classic contemporary style. This hotel is located roughly 15 minutes from the winery and can also be reached by bike from the wine trail.
Chrysalis Vineyards, Virginia
Located in Loudoun County, Virginia, the closest wine region to Washington, D.C., is Chrysalis Vineyards at the Ag District, an agriculturally focused conservation meets business area. The vineyard is believed to be home to the largest planting of Norton grapes on the planet, and its winemakers craft unique offerings with this heirloom grape. Don’t miss the Barboleta, one of the only Norton port-style wines in the world, and the flagship Locksley Reserve Norton. Better yet, the property has a European-style creamery on-site to perfectly pair cheeses with your wines. Chrysalis is also female-owned and boasts a stylish tasting room with flights and/or full 10-wine tastings every day of the week.
Lay your head at the nearby Briar Patch Inn in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This charming 47-acre property used to be a farm and has now been lovingly transformed into a rustic yet comfortable bed and breakfast.
Brooks Wine, Oregon
In the central reaches of Oregon’s long and winding Willamette Valley, the state’s premier wine destination, you’ll find Brooks Winery. One of the first biodynamic operations in the nation, Brooks showcases excellent Riesling (more than 20 types!) and Pinot Noir from its gorgeous tasting room, where guests can enjoy both valley and mountain views in the Eola-Amity AVA. A variety of wine experiences are available—indoor and outdoor tastings, a garden and vineyard walking tour, and a special elevated tasting and tour. Be sure to check out Chef Norma’s ever-changing menu at the on-site eatery; the always-available Brussels sprouts dish will make anyone fall in love with vegetables.
Stay at the boutique Amity Flats, a five-room inn in a restored building that offers perfect access to wine-tasting fun. Here are more boutique hotels across the country that combine exemplary service with world-class amenities.
Scribe Winery, California
Located in Sonoma County, Scribe is a natural wine-making operation helmed by a two-brother team. It’s a super popular destination for day trips from San Francisco, though we suggest spending more time in wine country. Scribe wines are so sought after that many sell out, so if you’re lucky enough to do an indoor or outdoor tasting on the property, be sure to stock up! Try some of their skin-contact varieties, including a 2020 Chardonnay, and Pétillant Naturel offerings, which are made using the ancestral method.
Post up nearby at the Inn at Sonoma, just two blocks from the main plaza in town. This pretty property is also a TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Award Winner.
Macari Vineyards, New York
New York garners the most wine buzz for its aforementioned Finger Lakes region, but Long Island wineries are no slouch when it comes to wine production. The family-owned Macari Vineyards is situated on the North Fork of Long Island, with two locations, its vineyard and a Mattituck tasting room. Book your reservation ahead of time for this popular spot, which was a Food & Wine Best Wineries to Visit pick, Time Out’s Top Long Island Winery, and Winery of the Year at the 2014 New York Wine & Food Classic. Be sure to try Macari’s much-lauded Sauvignon Blanc.
The area can be expensive for lodging, but the Hamlet Inn in Southampton charms at an affordable rate. Most rooms include a cute covered porch, and every guest gets a complimentary continental breakfast. Don’t miss these other East Coast vacations you should take at least once.
Pedernales Cellars, Texas
Another Texas Hill Country pick, Pedernales Cellars overlooks the river valley of the same name on 140-plus beautiful acres. The grapes are sourced from Texas, both the Hill Country and the High Plains near Lubbock. Pedernales focuses on Spanish- and Rhone-style wines, most notably Tempranillo and Viognier. Regular tastings are available seven days a week, as well as a more in-depth barrel-room tour and tasting and a reserve tasting option.
Rest your head at the beginning of the Hill Country Wine Trail in Johnson City, boyhood home of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The Crossroads Inn there provides affordable, no-frills accommodations.
John Anthony Vineyards, California
Visit the downtown Napa tasting room or the Carneros area Church Vineyard, named for its star, an 1800s Pennsylvania church that was painstakingly moved and reconstructed in Napa Valley. John Anthony is known for crafting award-winning wine from small vineyard sites across the region and now produces nearly one million cases annually across six labels. Dessert wine lovers should try the rare and delightful Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, inspired by the French Sauternes, though the whole portfolio enchants.
Lodging is usually at a premium in the Napa area, but it’s worth the splurge to stay at the Archer Hotel. This luxury boutique hotel on First Street (in the downtown area) is centrally located and oozes wine-country charm. Looking for a different type of vacation once you’ve had your fill of wine, cheese, and dessert at the best wineries in the country? Try these wellness retreats that will help you relax and recharge.
Originally Published: August 10, 2021
