Celebrating the people, passion, and stories behind great hospitality with Tock 10.

Nestled in the acclaimed wine region of Carneros between Sonoma and Napa counties, this quarter-century-old winery has always sought to balance complex, terroir-driven wines, regenerative organic farming, and fine art. The latter’s proverbial heart unfurls across more than 60 monumental outdoor sculptures integrated throughout Mei and Allan Warburg’s 200-acre estate. The owners’ evolving collection dates back to 2011 and represents a community of artists from 18 nations across six continents, including Subodh Gupta, Louise Bourgeois, and Ai Weiwei. Of course, natural beauty factors mightily into the Donum experience, too, reflected in the minimalist Scandinavian redesign and expansion of its hospitality center, which Danish architect David Thulstrup completed in 2022. Thulstrup added three tasting rooms with expansive windows gazing out at southern Sonoma’s undulating hills. The judicious use of light wood and a mix of midcentury and modern accents creates serene and inviting spaces. Unsurprisingly, impressive artworks accent the interior too, including a site-specific piece by Jeppe Hein featuring three mirrored balloons that gently sway in the wind, creating subtle tricks with the light.

A decade after Chef Douglas Keane closed his acclaimed Healdsburg restaurant Cyrus, the concept was reborn as an ebullient, progressive dinner party in the quaint wine country town of Geyserville. Olson Kundig designed the restaurant inside a former prune packing plant; an old-growth plum tree in the courtyard nods to its past life. The modern, concrete and glass structure sits just above the ground level to lend the illusion of floating above the surrounding vineyards. Through a custom steel door, a dozen diners begin their tasting menu experience with bubbles and canapés in an informal lounge overlooking the rolling landscape. They stroll past a transparent wood and glass wine room into the main kitchen, where a U-shaped “Kitchen Table” offers unobstructed views of the food prep. There Keane chats a bit while assembling omakase-style courses, which are illuminated by soft spotlights. The final act whisks diners to the warm, subdued dining room with expansive views to outside for a few savory bites and mignardises. But wait! There’s one more stop in the hidden, Willy Wonka-inspired chocolate room for a sweet ender in the company of a custom chocolate fountain wall. This is dinner theater at its finest.

First opened in 2012 in a different space, Bella Union Winery’s current location used to be unceremoniously known as the “big red box,” an industrial eyesore lining the Highway 29 wine tourist route. Architect Mike Neimann of Pacific Building Workshop and JK & Co. dramatically transformed the property with a contemporary facade sans pretense—with the goal of creating a chill place to have a good time over delicious wine. Just inside the entrance, the signature tasting room, the Atrium, recalls a Belle Epoque-style brasserie dressed in blonde woods. Spaces of varying shapes and sizes encourage different experiences, like the intimate Salon, outfitted in plush green velvet, and The Gallery overlooking the barrel room. The literal jewel in the redesigned crown is the Jewel Box, a glass-walled tasting room on the second floor with sweeping views of the famed Rutherford district.