Scheid Vineyards
San Carlos and 7th, Carmel, 626-9463 1972 Hobson Ave., Greenfield, 386-0316 scheidvineyards.com
Budding news: Monterey County has a big fat barrel’s worth of tasting rooms, with 30-plus in Carmel Valley alone, another two dozen in little Carmel-by-the-Sea and many more outstanding stops along River Road and sprinkled in destinations like downtown Monterey and Oldtown Salinas. But Scheid rides atop the tide for our readers for – at least – four reasons: its range and reservoir of varietals that are expertly executed, its strategically located spots, its social soul and the sheer educational exuberance of its staff.