Tasting Flights Are the Easiest Way to Find Your Next Favorite Drink. These Are the Best Spots for Sipping.

Every year the Sunset Travel Awards honor the best in travel in the West. This year we had over 600 entries across all categories (a record number!). These spots are the 2023 winners of the Where to Eat and Drink: Best Tasting Flights category. Check out the complete list of winners here. For our definitive directory to travel in the West, click here.

Best Tasting Flights

Benny Boy Brewing

Marie Buck

Husband-and-wife team Chelsey Rosetter and Benny Farber created the coolest outdoor tasting experience at their cidery in L.A.’s Lincoln Heights, where they host fall apple pressing and pop-up food trucks. Don’t miss the seasonal release of their excellent Pippin Pommeau, which tastes like the holidays in a glass.

Presqu’ile Winery

Trevor Gordon

If nuanced, cold-climate Pinot Noir is your jam, this family-owned winery in the Santa Maria Valley is a must. For the quintessential bucolic-vineyard experience, pull off the 101 to their hilltop lounge, where you’ll nibble on mezze made from their on-site organic garden while tasting world-class wines.

Bivouac Ciderworks

Jamie Southerland

Situated in the ultra-hip North Park nabe of San Diego, this woman-owned cidery provides a nice foil to the beer-focused scene in this part of SoCal. There’s also a notable restaurant on site serving simpatico bar bites like cider-battered shrimp (which happens to be gluten-free) and polenta tots with spicy ranch.