California Wine Country is as much about “country” as it is about wine. Today we set out to prove it. So with my husband, my father and my stepmom in tow, we headed down the hill in Sonoma to Stone Edge Farm.

Stone Edge Farm, as the name implies, is literally surrounded by stone. A magnificent block-long dry stack wall borders the property. I’ve walked my dogs past it for 10+ years but I never quite knew what was up on the inside. Holy cow!

Stone Edge is a 35-acre parcel of idyllic Sonoma property owned by Mac and Leslie McQuown, whose passion for growing things (grapes, olives, companies) knows no bounds. Philippe Thibault, the property’s hospitality director, lead our winery tour, which began with our long stroll through the gardens, orchards and vineyards. Along the way, we walked through an allée of 200-year-old olive trees and past a 1400-year-old bay tree. Philippe encouraged us to pluck tomatoes and grapes right off the vines.

The gardens at Stone Edge Farm are both edible and ornamental. What I mean is, they are spectacular to look at – lovingly laid out with one crop thoughtfully juxtaposed against the next, be they in perfect hedgerows, along curved beds, or on woven-willow trellises. Every time you turn a corner there was something else to astonish you.

The edible part is meant to support the property’s culinary director, John McReynolds, formerly the chef and founder of Cafe La Haye, long one of Sonoma’s finest restaurants. John will soon be running the Farm’s private events space in a newly acquired building just off the Plaza in town. I can’t think of a better inducement to join the Stone Edge wine club than John’s cooking. He just released first cookbook hot off the press, “Stone Edge Farm Cookbook” to delight your senses and challenge and educate your culinary skills.

Oh yeah, the wine! Philippe set out several vintages of the winery’s Cabernet and Bordeaux-blend. Like everything else on the property, the wines were grown organically by Phil Coturri, one of the most sought-after viticulturists in all of Napa-Sonoma. Needless to say, they were super but definitely in need of laying down.

For our next farm tour we scooted over to Napa Valley for the drive up to St. Helena, where Longmeadow Ranch has its farmstead and restaurant. In addition, a rich history dating back to the Civil War. Here we met our guide, Rebecca, who shuttled us among LMR’s sprawling properties.

Our first stop was their 90-acre Rutherford vineyard where we walked the gardens. Rows and rows of fruits and vegetables that seemed to stretch to the horizon. How you could plant vegetables on such valuable land defies explanation. Napa Cabernet fetches about $8,000 a ton. Tomatoes, not so much.

Then it was back in the truck for the drive up to the “home ranch” on the eastern flank of the Mayacamas. The operative word here is “ranch” — 650 acres of meadows that, depending on the time of year, serve as grazing land for LMR’s 350 head of Highland cattle. Highland are magnificent beasts. (Take a gander at the 20-year old bull they call “Custom” below.) These guys are grass-fed, all-natural, and, um, delicious. They are on the menu at LMR’s restaurant, Farmstead, where we’ve eaten several times in the past, as are the fruits and vegetables grown on the valley floor property and the eggs and olive oil produced up on the ranch. The food and the vibe here is everything you would it hope for: farm-to-table at it’s truest definition.