Beer, Wine & Spirits in Laguna

Revolution Wine's skilled staffers give each batch of their hand-crafted red, white, and port wines a full body and lush feel. And while heavy machinery and wooden barrels help do the hard work of converting these wine grapes into libations, it's the winemakers who pour a little bit of love into each batch. In the winery's kitchen, a dedicated team of chefs churns out a menu of seasonal bistro food made from local and fresh ingredients. Small artisan plates of French cheese, mixed nuts, and savory bruschetta offer a lighter dining path, while larger entrees of housemade pasta and pork belly sandwiches with cheddar jalapeno biscuits present heartier fare. Revolutions Wines also offers a wine club that gifts members with limited-edition wines and grants access to the first sniff when each new barrel is opened.

In the years following World War II, Dutch immigrant John Van Ruiten sought to fulfill his dream of owning a vineyard. With a simple handshake as his contract, he purchased the land that would help him turn that reverie into a verdant realty. More than a half-century later, the wine empire spawned by that handshake continues to sprawl as quickly as the vines of its zinfandel grapes. These grapes and more now stretch across the 800 acres that Van Ruiten Family Vineyards call home, earning the winery high accolades—including a nod in the Wall Street Journal proclaiming their 2007 old vine zinfandel among the top 12 wines in the world in 2009.

In Van Ruiten's tasting room, guests can sample the winery's signature zinfandel, chardonnay, and cabernet sauvignon–shiraz blend before retiring to shady corners of the courtyard or an outdoor patio overlooking the vineyards. Among the vines, nesting boxes house owls that—as an alternative to pesticides—hunt down rodents and use their bright eyes to scare away enterprising grape thieves.

The family of vintners at Sorelle Winery, established on the historic Dodge Estate, curate its original 1866 home, tend to their vineyard, and ferment a collection of choice vintages. Though in its nascence, the winery has already taken home a gold medal from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition for its 2009 sangiovese. Inside, the wood-walled tasting room invites couples to sip from crimson and amber glasses, comparing flavors, aromas, and who can spit-take the farthest. Lush lawns and low trees surround the outdoor patio, which grants views of the historic Dodge House property, a land once roamed by Native Americans, Spanish conquistadors, and horses with a nose for a good sangiovese.

For four generations, the Watts family has been growing grapes beside the Mokelumne River, and their fresh and fruity wines have drawn accolades at state and county fairs across the country. They began by simply growing grapes for other wineries and their pet bats before their first efforts at fermentation, and their long experience in viniculture show in a fruit-focused philosophy that seeks to draw out the best properties of their riverside microclimate. An intimate, recently built tasting room done up in vernal green welcomes oenophiles to try the latest blends or a sip from the Butterfly line, whose proceeds help support pediatric-cancer research.

At Wines of Wine OT’s polished, granite-topped wine bar, wine connoisseurs pour small sips of vintages from Six Hands Winery and Sorelle Winery. Catering completely to diehard oenophiles, the storefront stocks a vast inventory of handmade wine-barrel furniture. Artisans dismantle barrels and reassemble them into Adirondack chairs, cocktail tables, and fire pits. Additionally, they stock hundreds of white oak wine barrels, which customers can repurpose as home decor or fish-shooting galleries.

Long visited by dreamy visions of starting their own tour company, Jewels Wine Tours owners and Napa Valley residents Julia Young and Ryan Raes utilize their regional intimacy to construct guided tours to the finest wineries, distilleries, and restaurants the area has to offer. The team takes great joy in customizing packages to their guests’ preferences, whether customers are looking to taste-test a certain hard-to-find vintage, or just want to be driven around by someone other than the family dog. A dedicated driver handles navigation for the duration of each tour, allowing the grape gurus to focus on enriching the tour experience by answering in-depth questions and providing insights into Napa and Sonoma Valley history.