Green Valley, Green Valley, CA

Green Valley is vineyard country on the Solano County side of the Napa line, a short drive from Fairfield and its freeway, and it moves at a different pace from the suburbs next door. Rock Creek Vineyard on Green Valley Road makes only red wines and pours on Saturday afternoons, with reservations recommended. G V Cellars farms a 30-acre estate vineyard of Italian varieties, and its road is lined with vines on both sides. Compared with Napa, the roads carry less traffic and the tasting rooms rarely feel crowded. Il Fiorello Olive Oil Company on Mankas Corner Road is the stop that surprises first-time visitors. It runs an olive mill and a gift shop above a grove of more than 2,000 trees, with tastings every day from 11 to 5 and a patio that looks across the olives toward the hills. Homes are spread over roughly eight square miles, so lots run large and the nearest neighbor is often a field or a vineyard row away. Most are single-family houses set among oaks, vines and pasture, and the roads curve with the land instead of following a grid. For a long walk or a trail run, Rockville Hills Regional Park lies just outside, with more than 600 acres of oak woodland and grassland, over 30 miles of trails, a lake and a pond. The main entrance is on Abernathy Road, and leashed dogs are allowed. Buzz Coffee at Village 360, just beyond the boundary, is the closest espresso and pastry stop, with baked goods from its own pastry chef. Full grocery runs go to Fairfield. Every errand beyond wine and olive oil is a car trip from Green Valley, and the curves slow those trips more than the map suggests. In exchange, warm afternoons here cool off with a bay breeze in the evening, the same pattern that ripens the grapes.