Best Food and Wine Resorts: Readers' Choice Awards 2016

Topping the list of the Best Food and Wine Resorts is LEED-certified Bardessono in Yountville, CA, which surprisingly claimed first place after being unranked last year. Nine of the 20 resorts listed are from California, four of which are located in the Napa Valley region. Auberge du Soleil fell from the top of the list to second place followed by Farmhouse Inn, which made a dramatic rise from 19th to third.

1. Bardessono

Yountville, California — Inviting eco-friendly property set on seven acres in the gourmet town of Yountville, 90 minutes north of San Francisco. Sixty-two suites feature gas fireplaces and private courtyards or balconies. Lucy Restaurant & Bar emphasizes local seasonal produce and small-batch wine producers.
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2. Auberge du Soleil, An Auberge Resort

Rutherford, California — Cosmopolitan resort terraced into a hillside overlooking Napa Valley vineyards in Rutherford, 90 minutes north of San Francisco. Fifty villa-style lodgings feature gas fireplaces, oversize baths and picturesque verandas. The superb restaurant serves Wine Country cuisine.
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3. Farmhouse Inn

Forestville, California — Sophisticated, family-owned country-style Farmhouse Inn in the Russian River Valley offers 25 rooms and suites in an 1873 clapboard-sided farmhouse, adjacent farmworkers’ cottages and a barn. The menu of the Michelin-starred restaurant draws on the agricultural diversity of the area.
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4. Blackberry Farm

Walland, Tennessee — Blackberry Farm is a country house hotel of 68 rooms owned by the Beall family since 1976, set on a 4,200-acre estate bordering Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Award-winning The Barn serves exceptional “Foothills Cuisine” that borrows from both classic haute cuisine and foods indigenous to the region
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5. Meadowood Napa Valley

St. Helena, California — Distinctive resort on a 250-acre estate in the heart of Napa Valley in St. Helena, 90 minutes north of San Francisco. Clusters of dormered cottages contain 85 guest quarters. A clubhouse provides casual grill luncheons. The formal restaurant has deservedly garnered three Michelin stars.
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6. Calistoga Ranch, An Auberge Resort

Calistoga, California — Tranquil 157-acre resort of 50 cedar-clad freestanding guest lodges in a wooded canyon at the northern edge of the Napa Valley. Lodge bedrooms and living rooms are connected by furnished decks (some with hot tubs); all have fireplaces and outdoor rainfall showers.
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7. Post Ranch Inn

Big Sur, California — Unique coastal resort set along a bluff directly above the Pacific in Big Sur. Thirty-nine lodgings include Cliff House, suspended over cliffs; Pacific Suites with woodburning fireplaces and private entrances; Ocean Houses, recessed into a ridge; plus Coast Houses — all with ocean views. The Sierra Mar restaurant is backed by an impressive wine cellar.
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8. The Inn at Little Washington

Washington, Virginia — Smartly appointed country inn and gourmet sanctuary on the main street of Washington, a rural village in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Twenty-four guest rooms and suites contain antiques, plush fabrics and marble baths. The celebrated restaurant offers a 14,000-bottle wine cellar.
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9. San Ysidro Ranch

Santa Barbara, California — Sophisticated 500-acre cottage-style resort in the leafy foothills of Montecito, just outside Santa Barbara. Landscaped grounds contain 41 handsome lodgings in peaked-roof cottages. Dining venues include the award-winning indoor/outdoor Stonehouse restaurant and a bistro-bar.
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10. The White Barn Inn & Spa

Kennebunk Beach, Maine — Sophisticated inn situated in colorful Kennebunkport, 30 minutes from Portland. The 26 stylishly appointed rooms, suites and waterfront cottages are decorated with antiques. The inn’s acclaimed restaurant is housed in two restored 19th-century barns. The service is top-notch and the menu changes weekly.
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11. Beau-Rivage

Geneva, Switzerland — Classically elegant family-owned hotel dating from 1865, overlooking Lake Geneva. The 90 accommodations are spacious and refined. An atrium-style period lobby leads to a convivial piano bar. The one Michelin star Le Chat-Botté, overseen by chef Dominique Gauthier, offers French cuisine with a contemporary flair.
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12. Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons

Oxford, England — Gourmet retreat in a transformed 15th-century stone manor, set amid 27 acres of gardens, 75 minutes northwest of London. Thirty-two individually designed rooms and suites are in the main house and garden wing. The renowned two-star contemporary French restaurant is divided into three formal dining rooms, including a conservatory.
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13. The St. Regis Aspen Resort

Aspen, Colorado — Stylish 179-room St. Regis Aspen Resort hotel situated at the base of Aspen Mountain. A comfortable wood-paneled salon features a combination of Western and art deco furnishings. Chefs Club by Food & Wine restaurant offers a rotating menu from the magazine’s “Best New Chef” award winners.
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14. Bernardus Lodge and Spa

Carmel Valley, California — Distinctive resort in the peaceful Carmel Valley amid 28 acres of oak-covered hills. Several adobe-style buildings house 73 rooms, suites and villas. The rustic main building contains an inviting living room-lounge, a cozy library and Lucia restaurant serving “California country cuisine.”
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15. Domaine Les Crayères

Reims, France — Grand château housing 20 exquisitely appointed accommodations and gracious public salons, surrounded by a pretty 17-acre English-style park in Reims, 90 minutes northeast of Paris. Wood-paneled Le Parc restaurant offers an extraordinary wine cellar boasting more than 200 varieties of Champagne alone.
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16. Blantyre

Lenox, Massachusetts — Tudor-style mansion set on 117 acres near Tanglewood. The 22 beautifully decorated guest quarters are set within The Main House, The Carriage House and several secluded cottages. Chef Arnaud Cotar offers superb cuisine served with old-fashioned elegance and formality (jacket and tie required).
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17. L'Auberge Carmel

Carmel-By-the-Sea, California — Gourmet retreat surrounding a tranquil tiled courtyard in a convenient location just a few blocks from the beach. This three-story stucco-clad 1929 building comprises 20 guest rooms. The excellent 12-table Aubergine restaurant offers a multi-course Asian-influenced central Californian menu.
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18. Château Cordeillan-Bages

Pauillac, France — Housed in a 17th-century former monastery surrounded by the vineyards of the Médoc, this handsome property features chef Jean-Luc Rocha’s innovative two-star restaurant. Public areas and the 28 accommodations are similarly avant-garde. The immense wine cellar includes more than 200 Champagnes.
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19. La Residence

Franschhoek, South Africa — Sumptuous Tuscan-style La Residence villa-hotel sits amid a 30-acre wine and olive estate in the Franschhoek Valley. Eleven lavish suites have spacious baths and Persian carpets; private balconies offer panoramic views of the valley, vineyards and mountains.
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20. Lake House

Daylesford, Victoria, Australia — Country house hotel set on a wooded and sheltered hillside overlooking Lake Daylesford. Dignified yellow clapboard main structure houses homey library/lounge and attractive dining room with central freestanding fireplace that offers contemporary, locally inspired Australian cuisine backed by a superlative wine list.
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