6 Best Bars in Napa and Sonoma, California

Cadet plays things urban-style cool with a long bar, high-top tables, and a low-lit loungelike feel. California wines and beers predominate, but the lineup circles the globe. The same owners run Chispa, a tequila-oriented bar a few blocks away.

The welcoming vibe of the largely under-30 crowd at this retro-hip but chill wine-and-beer bar is exceeded only by that of the charming hosts. Congeniality aside, the other draws here include the craft brews on tap, the change-of-pace selection of international wines (nothing from California), and the live-music, movie, and other event nights.

Brass-colored furnishings, rich blue walls, and bistro tables lend a Parisian air to this 400-square-foot pit stop for sparkling wines by the glass, flight, or bottle. The star-studded selection roams the globe but favors Europe, especially Champagne.

Sahar Gharai's downtown wine bar highlights boutique producers worldwide. You can sip by the glass or order a themed flight, perhaps of whites and reds from Italy or comparing Sauvignon Blancs from France, New Zealand, and Mendocino. The kitchen turns out small bites, pizzas, soups, sandwiches, and desserts.

This high-ceilinged downtown wine bar occupies a stone-walled late-19th-century former bank. Lit by chandeliers and decked out in contemporary style, with plush sofas and chairs and Lucite stools at the bar, it's a classy loungelike space to expand your enological horizons. Cheese, charcuterie, and caviar are served daily, with full meals an option except on Sunday and Monday.

From the oval bar and walls the color of a fine blanc de blancs to retro chandeliers that mimic champagne bubbles, everything about this sparkling-wine bar's frothy space screams "have a good time." That owner Jayme Powers and her posse are trained in the fine art of sabrage (opening a bottle of sparkling wine with a saber) only adds to the festivity. Sigh opens at noon, so it's a good daytime stop, too.