Auberge du Soleil

A hillside olive grove in Rutherford that started as a Provençal restaurant and kept going until it became a Forbes Five Star resort. The 33 acres feel genuinely removed from the valley floor, and the rooms lean into the California light without apology. There's a spa, a pool, and the kind of staff-to-guest ratio that makes hot-air ballooning seem like a reasonable thing to schedule before breakfast.