If the wine cave at Hourglass feels like a den for Denaerys you wouldn’t be far off: they’ve hosted Game of Thrones-themed charity wine dinners there since show writer Bryan Cogman is a big fan of the winery’s boldly balanced Cabs. Aside from the antler throne chair, the Tord Boontje crystal sculpture, and the big blue marble table, the cave owes its extra dramatic vibe to stage lighting designed by owner Jeff Smith, a rock guitarist in a previous life. Architect Olle Lundberg’s round cave door rimmed with green bottle glass makes a great selfie spot. 

The posh porch tasting paired with food at Davis Estates is only exceeded by the cave tasting experience reserved for Founders’ Club members. Besides receiving allocations of rare Phase V wines made by Philippe Melka, Founders’ Club members can scan their hands for admittance to the Cellarium, a glass tasting space with a stunning monkey pod wood table and a waterfall chandelier made of fine metal chains. The club is fully committed right now, but lucky visitors usually can get a peek. 

When Jack and Jamie Davies founded their French-inspired sparkling wine house in 1965, they also inherited some of the oldest wine caves in the region. The sparkling wine house boasts 35,000 square feet of caves, including 12,000 square feet hand dug by Chinese laborers in 1862. As you’re touring and learning the painstaking process of making fine sparkling wines, you might notice what looks like cobwebs around the caves; but it’s actually lichen. 

Just in time for the 2022 harvest, Inglenook unveiled 22,000 feet of state-of-the-art wine caves filled with gleaming stainless steel tanks. Word has it, Inglenook’s proprietor director Francis Ford Coppola lit up like a kid on Christmas morning as he drove the Komatsu excavator that punched through a wall to join the new cave with the old ones dating back to 1872. Get cozy with a Salon Tasting Flight hosted entirely in the cave, and be sure to order a side of the chef’s mushroom pate, which pairs perfectly with older reds. 

Pine Ridge’s Cellar 47 cave tasting room was once reserved for wine club members, but the winery recently opened the Stags Leap District cave to the public. New features in the 37,000 square feet of caves include better ventilation and lighting, and plush leather and velvet seating chosen by interior designer Kristin Martin. The business won’t name names, but the Pine Ridge caves were visited recently by both NBA and NFL members who love a good glass of red wine. 

The story goes that Amalia and Julio Palmaz wanted a gravity-flow winery, so their red wines stayed silky smooth, but they couldn’t get a permit to build a winery of the needed height. So instead they bored deep into Mount George to create a massive system of high-tech caves that feel like something out of a sci-fi novel, or perhaps a Bond film. Coming back to the tasting room on the surface, you’ll be transported by the supple wines paired with eclectic savory and sweet bites.