OT - Best place to go in California's wine country?

Sonoma Mission Inn. Pricy, but very nice.

B&B's - try http://www.bbnapavalley.com/

There are many wine regions in California but I'm guessing if they are coming from out of state that the region won't be a factor.

The Sonoma/Napa area is obviously most well-known. There has been a lot of investment over the years in those two regions so the wineries are most impressive and there are a bevy of B&Bs there. That said it's a snootier area and the pricing is jacked up to the point that it's not the best value for your gift certificate in my opinion.

There are two areas closer to LA that are in my opinion very nice and not nearly as expensive. The one area is just north of Santa Barbara. These are the wineries that were featured in the movie Sideways. The tastings there used to be free but after the fallout of the movie they are now charging $5, 10, 15 for tastings. I don't know for sure if there are a lot of B&Bs in the area. However one idea would be to put them up in Santa Barbara which is absolutely beautiful. It's right on the ocean and has a fantastic bar/restaurant life.

The last region is not as well known, Paso Robles. My friend and his wife had a romantic getaway weekend there and had a great time.

If by "wine country" you mean Napa/Sonoma, than disregard the Paso rec. Don't get me wrong, Napa's king. But my wife & I like that Paso's closer to home (SoCal), wines are excellent, bottles are cheaper, and it's less pretentious.

http://www.pasowine.com/

www.pasoroblesinn.com

I strongly recommend the Harvest Inn. The bed and breakfast is composed of individual cottages, each incredible.

www.harvestinn.com

and there are others here who obviously have more recent experience. But, Napa or Sonoma would be my suggestion. Napa is more "congested" but not in a bad way.

As far as certificates, don't know how much you want to spend, but . . .

The Rutherford Grille in, suprise, Rutherford was a high point of our trip. Pretty cool spot for a late lunch after touring.

There is a cooking institute in Napa, that may also have some rooms available. I have heard great things about the classes there, and that would be a pretty unique gift for someone who likes to cook. I have not done that myself. Quick google: Culinary Institute of America.

Good luck.

Thanks so much to everyone who responded. Very helpful suggestions!

I was actually visiting LA this weekend and we drove up to the Santa Barbara area and stayed in a town called Solvang. There were a ton of wineries within 10 minutes and all charged about $10 to sample 6-7 wines. I didn't see a ton of resorts/B&B's although I'm sure there are some, but it was a great experience and a lot of fun...hope this helps

If they happen to be a Jack London fans (and you choose Napa / Sonoma), this is pretty cool:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/DEFAULT.ASP?page_id=478

This recommends Kenwood Inn in Sonoma. Off the beaten path. Pricy but sublime
10400 Sonoma Highway
Kenwood, CA 95452
http://www.kenwoodinn.com/main.html
800-353-6966
707-833-1293 spa
I spent 17 years in San Francisco and many days in wine country. I also recommend the Napa Valley Wine Library Association wine tastings. Napa has the best wines because of the talent and money. Sonoma is less crowded and better at Pinot Nior and many Chards. Most popular (crowded) time of the year is September and October with the harvest. It is pouring rain there now. Arrange for wine tours ahead of time. Both Napa and Sonoma have winery maps to help plan your trips.

I suggest this place, if you wind up in Napa...

http://www.candlelightinn.com/

From there, you can go to Sonoma/Napa as you wish.

If I were you, however, I would stay at this place called the Dophin Inn on the central cost.
http://www.thedolphinbay.com/

Pismo Beach is beautiful, and easily driveable to Santa Barbara County, Edna Valley, and even Paso Robles, which are also excellent parts of wine country.

Hilton - Sonoma Wine Country in Santa Rosa, CA was a nice place to stay! You are in the middle of Somoma Wine Country and you could always take the 30 minute drive east to reach Napa Valley or 20 minutes North to Healdsburg, Dry Creek area. We stayed there last fall and will go back again this year.

Wente vineyard in Livermore, CA is another nice winery that has a golf course and restaurant w/ it, you would have to call and check re onsite places to stay, they may have something but I don't know for sure.

We visited Cliff Lede winery when we were there and they have The Poetry Inn by Cliff Lede Winery in Napa is another one my wife has heard of that is supposed to be very good, it has a spa with it etc. see www.poetryinn.com will be pricey but

The other location that we loved the wines and the country was Paso Robles, you can Google Resorts & Spas Paso Robles and it gives you a couple good ones the way it looks. I would recommend this area if they are interested in wine for sure. We had our best old vine zin in Paso at Turley winery.

When we were out there last fall we had lunch at Auberge in Napa they also have inn and spa see aubergedusoleil.com probably pricey but came highly recommended to us from Buoncristiani Winery.

Good Luck!

A few places i have stayed over the years:

Auberge du soleil http://www.aubergedusoleil.com/

Meadowood http://www.meadowood.com/

Yountville is a great place to stay in the center of the Valley. Walking distance to great restaurants, which can be very important after a day of tastings....

Personal favorite is Lavender, an 8-room inn: www.lavendernapa.com

and that was in 2005 when I went. If the goal is to get them a pricey bed/breakfast thingy, suggest checking tripadvisor.com and see what's top rated in Sonoma, Healdsberg.

My girlfriend and I have gone to several different places for wine tasting and one of my favorites was Temecula. It's an up and coming place for wineries about an hour and a half south of LA. There are about 30 wineries all in 5 mile radius and the local police are pretty cool about staying away from the area so if you decide to drive after a few you should be all right. We stayed at this amazing bed and breakfast that I would definitely reccomend. It's called Loma Vista and is right in the middle of it all. The food was great and the owners are truly amazing. Here is the link:

http://www.lomavistabb.com/LomaVistaBB.com.html

I recently stayed at the Sheraton Sonoma County, in Petaluma. It's a hotel, obviously, (as opposed to a romantic bed & breakfast) but I thought it was a pretty nice place, good rooms, attractive common areas, etc.... and it's not a far drive from there to some good places. Just an option to throw out there.

...in any region, but I highly recommend the Sanford and Chimney Rock Wineries. Sanford is in Santa Barbara, and Chimney Rock is in Napa.