Twelve places to see and things to do, whether you live here or are just visiting

How well do you really appreciate the Wine Country experience? Where do you take friends and family when they come to town and ask you to play tour guide?

Cradled in vines, this food-and-wine epicenter we get to live in boasts gorgeous destinations and sophisticated experiences that give it its true identity and distinct character.

If you don’t already know the most authentic places to discover its wonders, it’s time to explore your own back yard. Before you know it, you’ll be looking forward to those family visits!

Ferrari-Carano: Winery Gardens

Many wineries boast their own gardens but one of the first and most beautiful is at Ferrari-Carano Vineyards in Healdsburg’s Dry Creek Valley. Co-owner Brenda Carano designed the five-acre wonderland set against the appropriately named Italianate Villa Fiore, where you’ll find the winery’s tasting room.

A good portion of the grounds are laid out in the Italian/French parterre style of classic, geometric shapes. Statuary, fountains, a reflecting pool and the surrounding mountains telegraph Italy, but Carano’s vision is also about old-fashioned beauty and color.

A lush, park-like garden behind gates offers an ongoing flower show of everything from tulips to roses. A meandering path takes you over footbridges, past ponds and interpretive signs pointing out some 2,000 species of plants, trees and shrubs, including prized Portuguese corks. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 8761 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg. 433-6700; 800-831-0381, www.ferrari-carano.com.

Healdsburg Plaza

It’s the best of the old and new. Amid modern, upscale shops, art galleries, restaurants and tasting rooms, the town’s central 19th-century plaza offers a restful respite and a perfect picnic spot under shady trees. During the summer months, the town even provides a soundtrack. The Tuesdays in the Plaza series presents free concerts by top professional Northern California musicians — singer Shana Morrison and slide guitarist Roy Rogers, for example — 6-8 p.m. every Tuesday from May through August. 433-6935, www.healdsburg.com.

Jimtown Store Beckoning passers-by with its vintage red pickup out front, this old-fashioned country store run by the thoroughly modern Carrie Brown has built a loyal following among locals and tourists alike. Whether you warm up with a cup of coffee in the morning or linger over a delicious lunch, you’re guaranteed to slow down and relax.

Don't miss the homemade lemonades and iced teas in the summer, the grilled eggplant and provolone sandwich or the brie and chopped olive sandwich, hailed as one of the 75 best food values in the country by Food & Wine magazine. And while you're waiting for your meal, take a moment to browse through the store's artistic array of nostalgic toys and trendy houseware, kitschy collectibles and South-of-the-border treasures. 6706 Highway 128, Healdsburg. 433-1212.

Sterling Vineyards' Tram 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.

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.

Sterling is at 1111 Dunaweal Lane, Calistoga, 942-3344, and tickets for the tram ride, tour and tasting are $20 per person. For more information, visit sterlingvineyards.com.

Sonoma History Walk

Right on the Sonoma square, set amid the boutiques and restaurants, are some of the oldest landmarks in the state. The Sonoma State Historic Park flanks the Plaza with a series of sights that tell the story of Sonoma and early California. It was here that a band of renegade settlers waged the 1846 revolt that failed to win California's independence from Mexico but gave the eventual state its Bear Flag.

Make your way from the Sonoma Mission, the northernmost link in California's chain of Franciscan missions, to the refurnished 1851 Toscano Hotel and kitchen, the 1836 Barracks built to house Mexican troops and the cute 1850s General Joseph Hooker House tucked away through a vaulted and painted passageway in El Paseo de Sonoma. All are open to tours.

More information and walking tour maps are free at the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau. Most historic sites are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For visitor information call 996-1090.

Showcase: Taste of Sonoma If you go to just one wine event a year, don't miss Showcase: Taste of Sonoma, held over Labor Day weekend as part of the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend. Visitors are greeted with foie gras and sparkling wine at the outdoor "bubble lounge," then move onto food pairings like viognier and chilled pea soup, pinot and paella served under four regional tents by the best chefs and vintners in the county. It would take months to visit all of these wineries and restaurants on your own, but you can taste of all of them, in a single afternoon, at Showcase.

And if you've never seen MacMurray Ranch, with its towering oaks, grassy meadow and cradling hills, you're in for a treat. The spectacular ranch, where the late actor Fred MacMurray raised cattle and went fly-fishing in the river, offers a peek at our agricultural roots.

Di Rosa Preserve: Art & Nature

If you're driving out the Carneros Highway towards Napa and love great art, you only need to know one thing: Turn left at the sheep. Art meets nature at the di Rosa Preserve, a creative oasis amid the grassy hills just west of Napa. Daffodils bloom and peacocks strut on the 210-acre art haven, which shows work by some 900 artists both outdoors and inside its three galleries. The preserve is named for its founder, Rene di Rosa, art fancier, former Sonoma County vintner and San Francisco journalist. His late wife, Veronica, created the sheep sculptures seen from the highway, just outside the entrance. 5200 Carneros Highway 121. Gallery hours are 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Or call to arrange a tour of the preserve. 226-5591, dirosapreserve.org.

Jack London State Historic Park With hiking and horseback riding trails meandering through meadows and redwood-filled canyons and up the woodsy eastern flank of Sonoma Mountain, the writer's onetime "Beauty Ranch" is, as Jack London himself said, "a place to get out of Nature that something which we all need, only the most of us don't know it." But it's more than a nature park. History and literary buffs are drawn to the museum of London memorabilia in the lodge-style House of Happy Walls, built by his widow Charmian. Browse the cottage where London lived, wrote so many of his works and where he died, inspect his barns and state of the art "Pig Palace" or hike up to his swimming hole and the ruins of Wolf House, his never-completed dream house. Parking is $6 per car. Horseback riding April through October, $60-$250, 887-8700 or triplecreekhorseoutfit.com. The park is located at 2400 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen. Open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 938-5216.

Armstrong Woods

Now here's the place for impressing out-of-town visitors: The stately grove of towering redwoods is as informal as all outdoors and still commands the quiet dignity of a cathedral.

The tallest living thing on our planet, these trees live to be 500 to 1,000 years old, grow to a diameter of 12 to 16 feet and stand from 200 to 250 feet tall. The 805-acre Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve is a world unto itself, yet not far away. From highway 101, turn west on River Road, about two miles north of Santa Rosa. Then on to Guerneville and turn north at the second traffic signal onto Armstrong Road, which dead-ends in the park.

Open 8 a.m. until one hour after sunset. The visitor center is open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. daily. Day use fees: $5-$6 per car; free to pedestrians and bicyclists. 869-2958, parks.ca.gov.

Cyrus

Four years ago, Maitre d' Nick Peyton and Chef Douglas Keane opened Cyrus restaurant just off the square in Healdsburg and catapulted Sonoma County onto the fine dining map.

The 60-seat restaurant brought big-city luxury to the little farm town, delivering caviar and champagne, cheese and mignardise carts along with top-notch service. Last year, the Michelin guide gave it two stars, Zagat crowned it best in the Bay Area (with a 29 rating for food), and Gayot named it one of the top 40 restaurants in America.

This year, Keane streamlined the Cyrus menu into a chef's tasting menu with choices, allowing him to craft the perfect progressive experience. Diners may choose from a tasting menu of five or eight courses, and from a parallel vegetarian tasting menu.

If your budget is tight, drop by the cozy bar for some seared foie gras and a seasonal cocktail; all of the dishes on the menu can be ordered a la carte there. Cyrus is located at 29 North St., Healdsburg. 433-3311.

The Russian River

On a lazy summer day, there's nothing better than drifting down the Russian River in a kayak or canoe. Just watching an osprey dive for dinner or paddling through the heart of the redwoods and marveling at the skyward canopy from the seat of a boat can be awe-inspiring.

If you have your own kayak, drop in at Monte Rio, just south of the bridge and head for Jenner where seals and sea lions gather at the mouth near the Pacific. If you're looking to rent a boat, the best places are Burke's Canoe Trips, which offers three-hour, 10-mile trips from its base camp at Steelhead Beach on River Road to a private beach in Guerneville, and River's Edge Kayak and Canoe Trips in Healdsburg, which offers guided trips from Asti to Rio Lindo and beyond. For more info, check out www.burkescanoetrips.com or www.riversedgekayakandcanoe.com.

Auction Napa Valley

This chic wine event June 4-7 draws celebrities like talk show host Oprah Winfrey, "Tonight" Show host Jay Leno and Teri Hatcher of "Desperate Housewives" fame.

The live auction is the highlight of the series of events that include dances, parties, dinners and tastings. The auction raises millions of dollars for local charities and it also showcases Napa wines, particularly its cult cabernets. The auction is at the Meadowood Resort, 900 Meadowood Lane, St. Helena. 963-3388. To receive a 2009 invite, register at napavalleyvintners.com.

By John Beck, Meg McConahey, Peg Melnik, Diane Peterson, Dan Taylor