10 Weekend Getaways From Los Angeles (PHOTOS)

Why: This quaint rural town on California’s Central Coast has a burgeoning food and wine scene that’s only a four-hour drive northwest of L.A.
Stay: Check into the four-year-old Hotel Cheval (rooms, from $265; 1021 Pine St.), a quiet 16-room property with an intimate courtyard where fireplaces blaze. An equestrian motif can be seen throughout, from the horseshoe-shaped bar to the horse-drawn carriage to the resident Belgian draft horse, Chester. The well-situated boutique inn is just a few blocks from downtown wine-tasting rooms such as Clayhouse (849 13th St.) and Pianetta (29 13th St.) and seriously refined restaurants like Il Cortile (dinner, $65; 608 12th St.), where chef Santos McDonal has been serving contemporary old-world Italian dishes like zucchini blossoms and black truffle risotto since opening, in late 2009. For American fare, there’s four-year-old Artisan (dinner, $50; 1401 Park St.), where the menu includes Alaskan halibut with artichoke and green garlic.

Do: Tour the olive groves at Pasolivo (8530 Vineyard Dr.), a local olive oil company whose citrine-hued olio nuovo is used by L.A. restaurants like Mario Batali’s Osteria Mozza. Drive past knobby oaks and rolling hills to reach the seven-year-old Epoch Estate Wines (5414 Vineyard Dr.). Owned by Bill and Liz Armstrong, it’s known for its complex Syrahs and Mourvèdres.

Back in town, choose from more than 150 varieties of cheeses, including Central Coast Goat Gouda and the popular coffee-bean-and-lavender-rubbed Barely Buzzed, at Vivant Fine Cheese, right next door to Hotel Cheval (840 11th St.).