California is definitely something special. One of my favorite areas is the wine country in Central California. Not Napa or Sonoma (obviously those are nice too), but down in the Santa Ynez Valley and around Paso Robles, which is a great little town near many wineries & with some outstanding restaurants, particularly Artisan and Villa Creek.
Paso Robles is relatively near
San Luis Obispo, though it's easier to just stay in Paso rather than driving in from SLO every day to wine taste, or you can stay in
Santa Barbara and try the wines around Santa Maria.