Ah, good wine…a sublime interaction of the drink’s personality with the taster’s. It’s the kind of experience that can reduce eating to a sort of rude animal necessity—but even when you’re visiting wine country, you’ve got to have dinner at some point. Stay on that higher flavor plane at the Restaurant at Farmhouse Inn (despite the name, it’s about as far from a barnyard atmosphere as you can get). Located within the lavish-yet-intimate sprawl of a boutique resort, this Michelin-starred establishment presents meals worthy of savoring as much as any vintage. A merely appetizer-sized sampling of courses (served in fours) includes gin-cured rare ahi tuna, spring asparagus soup, rainbow chard ravioli, pickled ramp potato salad, applewood bacon-wrapped pork loin, and Meyer lemon risotto. Desserts include panna cotta, apricot souffle, and almond mousse cake. Peruse the extensive wine menu (17 pages, to be exact) for the ideal pairing to take every bite one step further. Just south of Healdsburg and nearly atop the Sonoma and Napa Valleys, the restaurant is the perfect complement to a day of winery exploration. Reservations are strongly encouraged—make plans to be seated and sated with finesse.

Facebook // Twitter