Holidays to Napa & Sonoma

America’s most renowned viticulture region has long been lauded for Chardonnays and Pinots, but clued-up travellers don’t go purely for the vintages. As beguiling boutique hotels spring up in quirky, artsy wine-obsessed towns, and luxury lodges offer you the chance to wake up to panoramic views over the vines and distant redwood forests, Napa and Sonoma are the ultimate Californian destinations for a totally relaxed and self-indulgent holiday.

Napa now easily competes with France in terms of quality, and a recent proliferation of world-class restaurants has given it a reputation as the country outpost of San Francisco’s pioneering haute culinary scene. A Napa Valley holiday can offer a dense concentration of high-end lodges and ranches; this is where a splurge goes a long way, offering unrivalled luxury in outrageously atmospheric surroundings.

Sonoma is known for its boutique and determinedly rustic vibe, priding itself on agricultural diversity, biodynamic methods, family-run vineyards, orchards and farms, and a gastronomic scene geared more towards superfoods and organic farm-to-table fare than elaborate fine dining. A holiday to Sonoma is the stuff that romantic picnic dreams are made of, with roadside fruit shacks, self-pick orchards and family-run farm shops.

1. There are over 900 wineries in the Napa and Sonoma counties, but it’s the focus on quality over quantity, and a welcoming attitude to vineyard visitors, that truly sets these regions apart.

2. Then there’s the scenery, which is just as intoxicating as the contents of your wineglass: rolling, sunburnt hills dotted with ancient pines and oaks, vast swathes of vine across the horizon, and rustic farmhouses and barrel rooms dotting the landscape.