Not just for tourists

<p>Every fall harvest season, a flock of visitors comes to Wine Country, to this food-and-wine epicenter cradled in vines.</p><p>They eat amazing fresh food made by local chefs and artisan purveyors, taste fine wines and get a feel for what goes on during crush, enjoy the lovely Indian summer weather, the accommodations, the strolling.</p><p>Why not join them?</p><p>Some wineries become visitor destinations — and not simply because they make good wine. There are other reasons to visit, things to do and see and learn that make them great goals for a fun day trip.</p><p>Here's a handful of choices and some tips for how to turn the excursions into a full, satisfying sojourn.</p><p>Visiting them will make your day.</p><h3>The Hess Collection Winery, Napa</h3> <p>The Hess Collection is a cultural mecca, a place that houses wine and art.</p><p>The popular winery has one of the most impressive collections of modern art north of San Francisco, featuring the works of internationally known artists such as Francis Bacon, Robert Motherwell, Frank Stella and the latest addition, Andy Goldsworthy.</p><p>Many have their eye on Goldsworthy, the British artist who is an environmental sculptor. Goldsworthy's new piece on display is titled “Surface Tension.” It's a network of chestnut leaf stalks held together with hawthorn thorns.</p><p>But you not only peruse art at the Hess Collection, you also sip classy wine. In recent years, the Hess cabernets, in particular, have stood up to some of the best Napa cabs in Wine Country. And they age well, winning high marks in the recent Press Democrat 10-year retrospectives.</p><p>Founder Donald Hess, the Swiss mineral-water magnate, said winemakers and artists share the same canvas.</p><p>“I think the message of the Hess Collection is that art and wine have a lot of similarities,” he said. “To make a wine takes you 15 years if you start from scratch. An artist usually has to struggle 15 years until he has a reputation, even a very good artist ... you really have to struggle. It's the search for quality, for sincerity.”</p><p>Hess' art-buying strategy usually involves a sleepless night. If the unsettling voices linger, chances are he'll buy the piece he's considering.</p><p>“Then I know it is something that touched me,” he said.</p><p>Hess said he likes a challenge. In fact, he prefers one.</p><p>“I like difficulties,” he said. “I like when everyone says, ‘That's impossible!' When I started here (in Napa in 1978) ... when they heard I was going to do a museum, some said I'd be broke in six months: ‘Who the hell will go over there?'”</p><p>Plenty, is the answer.</p><p>Day trip advice: Take a midmorning stroll through the appealing indoor Oxbow Public Market and find a scrumptious spot for lunch. (644 First St., Suite D, Napa, 226-6529.) Then spend the afternoon sipping wine and perusing art at the Hess Collection, (4411 Redwood Road, Napa; 255-1144).</p><h3>Chateau Montelena Winery, Calistoga</h3> <p>How many vintners get the chance to see their winery on the big screen?</p><p>Vintner Jim Barrett did. His Chateau Montelena is the star of “Bottle Shock,” the film about the landmark Paris tasting of 1976. The tasting, you recall, jolted the wine world when the Chateau Montelena chardonnay won first place, shocking the French judges on the panel.</p><p>An FYI for movie-goers: Barrett swears the movie is mostly fictional. He has a point. For one, the winemaker who made the winning chardonnay — Mike Grgich — is nowhere to be seen in the film.</p><p>But one irrefutable fact the winery can boast about is that the winning wine — the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay — is in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., a rare honor for a bottle of wine.</p><p>Aside from the wine, travelers will get a kick out of the winery, a dramatic stone castle, built with the great chateaux of Bordeaux as its inspiration. Another highlight is the Chinese-style Jade Lake and the surrounding garden, created in 1958 by Chinese immigrant Yort Franks. It makes a great picnic spot, but you have to be a member of the Chateau Montelena's wine club to score a reservation.</p><p>Day trip advice: Begin with an early morning shopping spree on Main Street in Calistoga and follow that up with a stop for a massage at the Indian Springs Spa and Resort. (1712 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga, 942-4913.) Get a bite to eat at Brannan's Grill (1374 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga, 942-2233) before heading out to Chateau Montelena (1429 Tubbs Lane, Calistoga, 942-5105).</p><h3>Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Geyserville</h3> <p>This dramatic chalet is home to vintner and film director Francis Ford Coppola's Sonoma County winery. The director of “The Godfather” movies, among others, bought the winery site from Chateau Souverain in 2006 and plans to make it a family-friendly retreat, as well as a backdrop for his movie memorabilia.</p><p>The tasting room showcases Coppola's props, Oscars and Golden Globes. There's the gold phone from the “The Godfather, Part II,” the hat and boots worn by Robert Duvall in “Apocalypse Now” and a platinum record of the “American Graffiti” soundtrack.</p><p>Day trip advice: Begin your adventure in Healdsburg at the Downtown Bakery & Creamery and order the pancakes, a specialty. (308 A Center St., Healdsburg, 431-2719.) Then check out the shops. Don't miss the old-time candy store, Powells Sweet Shoppe, which has Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on screen (322 Center St., Healdsburg, 431-2784). Work up an appetite and head to Bovolo, also on the square, and order the Fried Green Tomato BLT (106 Matheson St., Healdsburg, 431-2962). Then hop in your car for a 10-minute drive north to Geyserville for an afternoon of sipping wine and Oscar gazing at Francis Ford Coppola Winery (300 Via Archimedes, formerly Souverain Road, Geyserville, 857-1462).</p><h3>Sterling Vineyards, Calistoga</h3> <p>There's a touch of Disneyland here when you ride the aerial tram to the contemporary winery, but that's Sterling's appeal. Once you reach the top at 300 feet, you see an impressive sweep of Napa Valley you may not be able to pull away from.</p><p>A self-guided tour allows a glimpse of the winery's workings and ultimately leads you to the tasting room. Cabernet is the winery's flagship, although it makes several varietals.</p><p>Day trip advice: Have lunch at All Seasons Bistro (1400 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga, 942-9111), and then stroll Main Street. Be sure to stop in Zenobia, which resembles a museum with artistic clothes and crafts (1410 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga, 942-1050), before heading to Sterling to take in a high altitude view of the valley, (1111 Dunaweal Lane, Calistoga, 942-3344).</p>