(WSJ) -  THE DREAM OF owning a winery is one that many may harbor but few are actually able to fulfill. The expense is considerable and the odds of success are incredibly long. Yet the list of actors and athletes, financiers and film directors who aspire to see their name on a label simply goes on and on.

After a recession-related pause, the number of would-be vintners has been growing of late, according to real-estate brokers who specialize in the market. And some recent high-profile sales, such as the purchase of cult-Cabernet producer Araujo Estate in Napa Valley, Calif., have given prospective buyers greater confidence, according to Napa broker Katie Somple.

But what inspires the dream itself? It's often driven by a desire to "return to the land" (preferably inside a $10 million house), or to create a legacy for the next generation. Sometimes it's simply a matter of loving wine, and sometimes it's about having something (more) to own.

The country's most sought-after winemaking address is California's Napa Valley, followed, in no particular order, by the state's Sonoma, Santa Barbara and Mendocino counties. The Willamette Valley in Oregon and Washington state's Walla Walla are also desirable locations. New York state has seen some action of late, in the Finger Lakes district and Long Island's North Fork.