Carmel-By-The-Sea: The perfect weekend wine escape

Lined with cobblestone streets and storybook cottages tucked under cypress trees, Carmel-by-the-Sea twinkles with the quaint kind of charm that makes it a landing spot for honeymooners, retirees and tourists. It’s also now a destination for wine tasting, with more than a dozen tasting rooms within walking distance of one another. Many are tucked into the secret courtyards within many of the small city’s blocks.

Don’t expect any commercial wineries within this seaside hamlet. The focus is on Monterey County, particularly the Santa Lucia Highlands and Arroyo Seco, with occasional influence from the Santa Cruz Mountains and elsewhere.

As one would expect from a tourist town, there are abundant options for lodging and activities at different price points, and the food scene is particularly interesting. Lately, the buzz has been about 7th & Dolores, a surf-and-turf restaurant as sophisticated as any you’ll find in San Francisco. –Matt Kettmann

Click here for a link to The San Francisco Chronicle article.