Great finds in four towns

But where do the locals go? How do you find those elusive places and signature experiences that give you a taste of what it might feel like to live in your favorite Wine Country town? Below are some best bets in St. Helena, Healdsburg, Napa and Sonoma.

St. Helena

It’s easy to miss the big gray barn that serves as winery and tasting room for micro-producer Cathy Corison’s eponymous winery, Corison. Surrounded by the elite Kronos Vineyard, Cathy’s fans say she produces some of the most refined and concentrated Cabs in the Valley. Open by appointment daily. 987 St. Helena Highway, 707-963-0826.

Picnic-bound? Sunshine Foods Market is St. Helena’s local food secret, stocked with regional wines, cheeses, haute sweets and take-out goodies at much better prices than you’ll pay elsewhere in the Valley. 1115 Main Street, 707-963-7070. But if you really want the picnic lowdown, head for the locals’ favorite, Giugni & Son Grocery Co., for a deli sandwich with their famous “Giugni juice.” 1227 Main Street, 707-963-3421.

Wine Country’s very own vodka-maker, Charbay Distillery, now welcomes guests seven days a week to the Still on the Hill. That’s the good news. The bad news is that state law prohibits anyone from sampling the liquor. You can, however, try their red and white ports, dessert wines and Cabernets. 4001 Spring Mountain Road, 707-963-9327.

If you’re really ready to guild that lily, The Restaurant at Meadowood — St. Helena’s hidden-away resort for the rich and famous — serves a multi-course, two-star, Michelin-rated tasting menu (with wine pairings, of course) from rising star chef Christopher Kostow. Expect to pay $250 or more per person. 900 Meadowood Lane, 800-458-8080.

Healdsburg

Insiders know that Downtown Bakery and Creamery (308A Center Street, 707-431-2719) is the best breakfast spot in town. Take a seat on the benches outside, sip your latte and munch on a pizzetta while the rest of Wine Country wakes up around you. Or walk down the block to The Flying Goat (324 Center Street, 707-433-3599) for an impressive cup of morning get-up-and-go. Got a little more time? Healdsburg’s original boulangerie, Costeaux French Bakery, has become a sprawling sit-down cafe as well, all the better to linger over a morning coffee and walnut sourdough baguette. 417 Healdsburg Avenue, 707-433-1913.

Best known for earthy Zinfandels and, increasingly, Pinot Noir, most Dry Creek wineries have maintained the friendly, casual charm of Wine Country past. Though that’s starting to change, the spirit of the winemakers gathered at Timber Crest Farms Wine Collective and Family Wineries Dry Creek Valley, (4791 Dry Creek Road at Timber Crest Farms, 888-433-6555), is infectious. Bundled together are tasting rooms for Amphora, Kokomo, Pinot giant Papapietro Perry, Anthill Farms, Peterson, Dashe and several others. Also onsite is Dry Creek Olive Company, 707-431-7200, one of the few local mills with a granite press (the large circular stone wheels that crush the fruit). Dry Creek mixes olives from local growers and their own estate, and produces several citrus-infused oils.

Off the tiny Yoakim Bridge Road is the much-loved Dry Creek Peach and Produce, open only Saturday and Sunday afternoons during July and August. As stone fruits and tomatoes reach their peak, the farmstand bursts with the bounty. Don’t miss a jar of jam and fresh lemonade. Call ahead to make sure they’re open. 2179 Yoakim Bridge Road, 707-433-8121.

At the southern end of the valley is C. Donatiello, an upstart winery that opened last year. Russian River Pinots are the name of the game here, but if you stop by for a sip, don’t miss aroma gardens and the redwood picnic grove. Throughout the summer, the winery hosts Live from the Middle Reach, a genre-bending collection of musical performers from R&B to jazz and folk. (4035 Westside Road, 800-433-8296).

One of the area’s best Pinot producers is the tiny MacPhail Family Wines, recently opened on Magnolia Drive. Because winemaker James MacPhail and his crew spend most of their time making the wine, you’ll have to make an appointment to visit. But the wine is worth it. 851 Magnolia Drive, 707-433-4780.

Napa

Napa has no shortage of bakeries, but the butter-scented Sweetie Pies is one of the most charming. Carbo-load with zucchini muffins, lemon cream scones, sticky buns, croissants and coffee cake. And toss in a couple of tarts for snack attacks. 520 Main Street, 707-257-8817.

Check out dozens of small-production wines from cultish (and soon-to-be-cultish) winemakers throughout the valley at Vintner’s Collective, an insider tasting room in downtown Napa. A favorite of sommeliers and locals, it’s a low-key spot to get some top sips. 1245 Main Street, 707-255-7150.

Make the rounds at the Oxbow Public Market, picking up little nibbles to share at Pica Pica (corn arepas); Model Bakery, Taylor’s Automatic Refresher (sweet potato fries), Roli Roti, Fatted Calf, and finally, an oyster or two (or 12) from Hog Island Oyster Co. Buffet-ho! 644 First Street.

Walk off all those delicious calories with a hike through Skyline Wilderness Park, where treks from simple to hardcore follow the contours of Sugarloaf Mountain. The less adventurous can while away the time at the Martha Walker Garden. 2201 Imola Avenue, 707-252-0481.

Ready to get back in the saddle? Belly-up for some barbecue and Cabernet at Bounty Hunter Wine Bar, where saddle seats await wild and woolly buckaroos like you. Happy hour runs from 3 to

7 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, with ribs, slaw, barbecue and even a few beers at Napa’s rowdiest wine bar. 975 First Street, 707-226-3976.

Though most of Napa’s sidewalks roll up after about 9 p.m., the newly opened Silo’s Jazz Club keeps the party going, albeit with mellow restraint, until midnight on weekends. Live music Wednesdays through Saturdays, 530 Main Street at the Napa Mill, 707-251-5833.

Sonoma

Sonoma’s Big 3 Diner, on the grounds of the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, elevates lowbrow diner classics to spa-set grandeur. Ritzy hotel guests and locals jostle for weekend tables and the restaurant’s signature lemon cottage cheese pancakes topped with crème fraîche. 18140 Highway 12, 707-939-2410.

With each pepper, pumpkin and wreath camera-ready for its close-up, Oak Hill Farm’s Red Barn Store is almost too charming to be believed. Offering up sustainably grown herbs, produce, fresh flowers, achingly quaint dried arrangements and tasteful bric-a-brac, the tiny farmstand is housed in a 100-year-old dairy barn. Open Wednesday to Sunday, April through December, 15101 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen, 707-996-6643.

Locals flock to The Red Grape Pizza. The style is straight-up East Coast, an impossibly thin crust that’s just sturdy enough for a few toppings but shatters and crackles in your mouth. 529 First Street West, 707-966-4103.

Located well off Sonoma’s main square, Juanita Juanita is everything a little Mexican joint should be: ramshackle, offbeat, a little banged-up around the edges but with absolutely delicious food. Best bets include the garlic burrito and grilled chicken chipotle plate. Head to the outdoor patio to find locals digging into chips and salsa on summer nights. They don’t take credit cards, so plan accordingly. 19114 Arnold Drive, 707-935-3981.