Napa Valley Wine Country and San Francisco

Back on the coast, Jenner-by-the-Sea is a sleepy seaside hamlet at the mouth of the Russian River, off Highway 1. It's the perfect place to relax, stroll along the beach, and savor the natural setting. Whale-watching season runs from December through April, while seal-watching can be enjoyed all year long.

Head south on Highway 101 to view the craggy Sonoma coastline. With more than 30 miles of sandy beaches and coves hidden beneath rugged headlands, it offers stunning sunsets and a wide variety of sea, plant, and bird life to dazzle visitors. Sonoma Coast State Park is one of numerous parks and beaches along this route. If you venture onto the coastal sand, though, beware of sudden 'sneaker waves' that can sweep away unsuspecting beachcombers.

Chef Thomas Keller's technique has become so famous that Pixar studios asked him to create the ratatouille featured at the end of the film "Ratatouille". In the heart of Napa Valley, this emblematic three-star Chef, whose restaurant Per Se is a New York culinary landmark, has created one of California's finest dining spots. Working closely with fellow Chef David Breeden, Keller and his team serve minimalist cuisine using products like oysters and truffles in "sequenced meals": in order to maximize surprises, no single ingredient is ever repeated in a meal. There is a new menu every day, and the herbs and vegetables come straight from the culinary garden.

Back near St. Helena, up a winding lane on rugged Pritchard Hill, is the family-run Chappellet Winery. Founded in the 1960s, this was one of the first in Napa to grow grapes at high altitude. The estate's specialty is finely and fastidiously aged Cabernet Sauvignons. Pritchard Hill has been dubbed 'Napa Valley's Grand Cru.' Reservations are recommended for the winery's 90-minute tours and tastings.

In Rutherford, Swanson Vineyards Salon is the upscale, French-inspired hospitality and tasting room of this handsome winery. Here, by appointment and for a fee, up to eight guests can sample six wines along with artisanal cheeses and other local products. Swanson is the largest bottler of estate-grown Merlot in the area, and also produces Pinot Grigios and Cabernet Sauvignons.

In Jackson Square, one of San Francisco's oldest and most charming districts, a century-old landmarked building houses one of the finest restaurants in the city. Chef Michael Tusk prepares Italian- and French-inspired Californian cuisine using only fresh local ingredients procured by a carefully selected local network of small farmers and producers. The same care is applied to the selection of wines suggested for each dish. In an elegant, art déco-inspired setting, you can savor dishes like whole roast duck for two with black garlic and green gage plums or risotto with cardoons, porcini mushroom and white truffle.

Joshua Skenes has made fire his signature. He has transposed the campfires of his childhood to Saison, his restaurant in San Francisco, where he refines the art of cooking over hot coals. For him, it's the best way to bring out the flavor of the ingredients. His menus highlight the finest products that exist, even aging them if necessary, as with game and certain vegetables, to concentrate the flavors. His cuisine is the result of know-how, an art that cannot be rushed, and he wants his diners to know that he takes all the time necessary. But the ambience is always relaxed and casual — after the meal, there's nothing like a cup of buckwheat tea amidst the flaming hearth.

The cuisine of Gary Danko, the ambassador of contemporary American fine dining, draws on traditions from around the world. Using seasonings from Asia, he adds a pinch of audacity to his French-style technique, creating dishes like the sublime buckwheat blini with smoked salmon, Kendall Farms crème fraîche and Black Sea Osetra caviar. Danko only uses what's in season. Sea scallops are served with asparagus-pea purée in the spring and paired with butternut squash and caramelized apples in the winter. In the heart of one of San Francisco's trendiest districts, his restaurant offers an intimate, inviting atmosphere, with modern paintings standing out against taupe walls.

Farther southeast near Highway 101, Muir Woods National Monument is part of the U.S. National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Its star feature is the 240 acres of towering, old-growth Coast Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens).

Fisherman's Wharf on San Francisco's northern waterfront is a bustling sightseeing favorite that was originally a 19th-century docking station for Italian emigrant fishermen who sailed out to catch local specialties and brown crabs. Although it is now lined with hotels and visitor attractions, the Wharf is still home to some of the local fishing fleet. From this area, visitors can take boat tours, including visits to infamous Alcatraz Island.

Food lovers should check out the Ferry Building Marketplace, a conversion of the old ferry terminus on the Embarcadero. There's a sustainable farmer's market, shops carrying cookware and local artisanal foods, as well as coffee shops and restaurants. The Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant offers wine tastings and classes.