Sonoma

This is where California wine began — the cuttings Haraszthy planted in 1857 became the state's first winery, and the eight-acre Plaza has anchored the town since long before. Adobe-fronted inns and tables ring the square; Buena Vista, Gundlach Bundschu, and Cornerstone lie minutes out. Sleep in a Victorian estate or a Plaza-facing room, then follow the valley's single drivable spine north through the vines. To taste Sonoma is to taste the roots of everything that followed.