Wine tasting does not typically have a lot in common with the practices of mindful spiritual and philosophical inquiry. That's probably not what Robert Mondavi meant when he extolled the virtues of the wine country lifestyle. But Sonoma always tends to do things a bit differently than Napa, and at Pangloss Cellars, this is readily evident. For starters, it's a wine cellar, not a vineyard or winery. The wines are made off site at a Moon Mountain facility (with caves for aging) using grapes sourced from Sonoma Valley and parts beyond, including Anderson Valley, the Alder Springs Vineyard in northern Mendocino County, and the west Sonoma Coast (which may soon become its own AVA). The winemaker, Erich B., is granted freedom to experiment with his wine technique and fermentation and aging styles, resulting in wines that prompt you to ponder, not party. It brings out the cerebral side of wine in addition to the sensual. I guess this is what happens when you take courses in intellectual history and philosophy at UC Irvine before being initiated into the winemakers' guild by training with Sonoma legends like Arrowood and Ramey; you are inspired not just by science and technology but also by the full panoply of the humanities to create a memorable cultural artifact rather than a mere commodity for the luxury market. The classic bar tasting here, $25 for 5 wines, is best prearranged by phoning ahead of time to secure your spots facing the central heart of the stone walled tasting room, with a living olive tree emerging from the core. Around you are leather couches and comfortable looking armchairs where the more Epicurean inclined guests come to enjoy food and wine pairings or wines by the glass. The Stoics should stick to the bar, at least on their first visit, to truly appreciate the wines, which will evolve in the glass as the tasting proceeds. The Freemasons and Mystics are probably hiding out in the members-only Cellar tasting lounge in the back, or discussing the merits of Pommard versus Calera clones at the speakeasy style Texture tasting room (Chardonnay and Pinot only). As far as the bar experience goes, meticulous attention to detail is key. Each of your pours will be served in its own, varietal specific glass. Pinot and Chardonnay get globe shaped stemware, while Bordeaux, Rhône, and New World wines like Zinfandel come in taller glasses that narrow at the top. Water glasses are polished sections of old dark glass wine bottles. Your menu and tasting notes come on textured paper that is pleasant to the touch. The lighting is a mixture of natural light from East Napa Street and select fixtures like minimalist chandeliers. Music was muted, and extraneous conversation noises were dispersed by high ceilings and absorbed by non-reflective, noise cancelling surfaces, creating a library-like calm on the Saturday afternoon I visited. Books, painted pictures, and old photographs decorate the walls, but not to the point of overstimulation. Aggressive marketing materials, pandering wine critics' scores and reviews, and the standard array of wine tasting room collectibles were also absent. There is a sleek, salon-like feel to the space that evokes the 18th century Enlightenment era that inspired the Pangloss name, from Voltaire's famously wicked satire, Candide. The wine club is called the Optimist Society. Try doing any of this in Paso Robles or Napa. It just wouldn't fly. Pangloss wines are limited in production and many are available to members only. The ones that guests can buy are larger production but still small runs of Pinot, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Cabernet. Access to the esoteric wines requires more commitment than a single visit, so start easy and see if you respond as positively to the Pangloss Weltanschauung as I did. Just leave the pessimists at home! If you like wines made by Broc Cellars, Forlorn Hope, Mathiasson, Wind Gap, Drew, or Sean Thackeray, you'll probably be happy here at Pangloss, and your more open-minded friends will too. The wines here, while conversation-inducing, are more accessible than fundamentalist styles of natural wines made with high acid, spontaneous fermentation, low alcohol, and limited oak, but traditional, big and bold Sonoma Valley wines these aren't exactly, either. A pilgrimage to Pangloss Cellars is highly recommended if you are feeling exhausted by more typically made, mass market wines or if you are simply looking to broaden your horizons into the world of single vineyard, small batch ultra premium wine that is priced well for the quality of the product being served. Enough to make an optimist out of almost anyone who worries about the future of Californian wine in a age of changing climates and consumer preferences. read more

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Went here with another couple. Tastings were expensive. Asked to do two shared tastings with emphasis on the shared. The server brought 4 tastings and claimed to have been confused. We also ordered one cheese plate to share. When the bill came we were charged for two. Confused again. This is a clip joint. On top of it all the wine is mediocre at best. Worst wine tasting experience ever. read more

Beautiful tasting room, with friendly knowledgeable staff. We tasted the reds and were not disappointed. They also offer food pairings. They are great for groups. Centrally located across from Sonoma Plaza. This is a most stop! read more

Pangloss Cellars - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Sonoma, California

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Love the tasting room itself with its mix of modern and rustic along with the most welcoming staff. That being said, the wines themselves were largely just okay and appropriate for the price point. I did really the pinot noir though with its brambly fruit notes. The lounge area around the bar is very inviting where one can order wines by the glass or a flight. If anything I'd opt to do that if you're with friends in the area after going through the portfolio once. Of note, the price for the tasting is very good at $20 for 6+ generous pours though cannot be waived unless you buy 3+ bottles. read more

It pains me to give them only the Eek! review as I am deeply disappointed in this winery for their shipping procedures. Dont't get me wrong, their wine is outstanding, their service too. However using Styrofoam for shipment is absolutely unacceptable. If you care for the environment - http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ed-polystyrene-ban-20180126-story.html - please deny their shipment. I canceled my membership and will advise my clients to stop their memberships until further notice. In this fragile environment it is all of our responsibility to make a difference. It is your call. @panglosscellars lead by example please. You are the only winery I know using Styrofoam. There are so many much better and most likely cheaper options. Please change and you have my business back in a second. Thank you. read more

Popped in here for an impromptu glass of wine. Our lovely server Ethan couldn't have been more helpful in our wine selections and was perfectly attentive. Such a beautiful indoor space and also has an outdoor patio. Great cheese board and ambiance - 10/10! read more

Pangloss Cellars has created a truly stunning tasting room on the Sonoma Plaza. The reds are delicious and the staff is so friendly and knowledgeable (shout out to Jeff!). Pop in for a sophisticated, relaxing time. read more

Pangloss Cellars - One for here and one for the road! - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Sonoma, California

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I love the ambiance of Pangloss Cellars. It feels like you just stepped into a Restoration Hardware magazine! We have visited a couple of times and they have a fantastic pairing menu, especially if you love Cabernet. You can also just opt for a glass instead of a flight. I have ordered a glass of their Cabernet blend and it has always been fantastic. The service is attentive without being obnoxious and the entire experience is just a treat. Worth a visit if you have never been. read more

Pangloss Cellars - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Sonoma, California

Less impressed with the wine than I was the service. Now, I'm sure these guys recycle the same jokes but they were funny, and engaging and very friendly. Definitely worth a drop-in. read more

Pangloss Cellars - I like it here! - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Sonoma, California

I had a really bad experience with someone on the phone while trying to get more information on my reservation. The person on the other line just hang up. This was such a poor service quality. read more

Carmen was amazing!! The ambiance is moody and sexy with a bit of whimsy! The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Carmen remembered us from an email and offered congratulations for our celebration trip with a glass of sparkling wine. The wines were delicious! They were tailored to our specific tastes!! Can't recommend enough!! read more

We did a last minute pairing here with our family and young daughter and they were very accommodating which was such a pleasant surprise! The staff was very nice and the wine was delicious! We thoroughly enjoyed our pairing and our server was great! The interior in this tasting room is also very beautiful and great for photos. Supposedly it was the old general store of Sonoma so the building itself is worth the stop. We enjoyed our short visit and we would definitely recommend this tasting room to anyone visiting the Sonoma town center. read more

Excellent tasting! Ask for Christina. She made our experience wonderful. Very knowledgeable, extremely personable, and helpful on any recommendations around the area. She knew her wines and described each wine well. We walked out happy and will be coming back to visit. read more

Beautiful set up in and outside. Great knowledge and help pairing wines with food and all the goods a wine tasting needs! Some of the best service in Sonoma! read more

Pangloss Cellars - charcuterie board - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Sonoma, California

Our hospitality coordinator Brant was beyond par. He presented full backgrounds on each wine selection and great parings. You have to stop by and ask for him. Thank you Grant for helping us celebrate read more

This place is not only beautiful, it's full of knowledgable staff who have fantastic customer service skills. And the wine is delicious. Gerry (Jerry?) was our server and he was exceptional! - we'll be back because of him. Thank you, Gerry! read more

This winery has only been around for coming up 3 years. The host Ivan was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. He was able to help us figure out the best combinations between the snacks to pair wth the different wines we had. My favorite was the moon mountain cabinernet from the Optimist flight. They also have a caviar with white wine flight that was equally spectacular. The wine was great and the environment was awesome with history filled from within. My girlfriend and I loved it so much we joined the membership club and took off with 6 bottles of wines ourselves. Definitely will be coming back! read more

Pangloss is a beautiful winery with a tasting room in the downtown Sonoma square area. This winery was referred to us by a neighboring winery and everything they told us was spot on. The only thing we weren't expecting is for the place to be super crowded and so we actually weren't able to get in on our first attempt. Second time around and with a reservation, we got the pleasure of tasting some great red wines at the bar. I decided to join the wine club, which gives you exclusive access to some very fine wines and (free!) future wine tasting. I've only been a member for a little under a year, but my experience has been wonderful thus far. We've come back for tastings in their hipster classy lounge area and have enjoyed the service. They allow you to customize your wine selection (not all wineries allow this) and offer select wines only to members. They don't offer discounts on their wine but are comparable to other wineries their size. read more

Pangloss Cellars - Members board - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Sonoma, California

Hands down the best wine tasting experience I've ever had - out of probably hundreds of experiences. The woman who helped us had a college degree in wine studies and she delivered her wine knowledge in a perfectly professional, knowledgeable way. Her demeanor was more of a high end sommelier than a tasting room worker or restaurant server. It was so awesome!! I appreciate when someone can explain to me where the grapes are grown and how the climate affects the wine - like why these three local Pinot Noirs are so different. It helps me learn since I'm working on passing the theory part of the WSET 3. The wines were all at least very good and the charcuterie plate had a good selection of cheeses, meats, dried fruits, and other goodies. Gotta love the Humbolt Fog goat cheese and Mt Tam triple cream. read more

This review is for a tasting of Texture wines. It's a small production label under the same umbrella as Pangloss and consists of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The tasting takes place in one of their private back rooms and I'm pretty sure you need to call to set up an appointment as it's not a "walk in" kind of experience. My friend is a club member of "Texture" and invited me to try the wines. I'm very skeptical of California Chardonnays as they aren't really my cup of tea anymore but, thought I'd give Texture a shot because my buddy has solid knowledge of what's legit and what isn't. If you're reading this, props Kyle. The tasting itself consisted of four wines (two chardonnays, two pinot noirs). Each of the wines were paired with a small bite from their chef ranging from caviar to foie gras and they were all heavenly! As far as the wine goes, the Chardonnay was some of the best I've had in recent memory. I would close my eyes, take a sip and try to distinguish the difference between the Puligny Montrachet that it reminded me of, and guess what? They were pretty damn close. Moral of the story, if you're a fan of French (old world) Chardonnay, then check this place out. Bravo Texture, you've gained a club member. See you soon. read more

Pangloss Cellars - Texture tasting - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Sonoma, California

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This rating is more about the cool space and the attentive, friendly team there. I am not the biggest fan of their wines based on what I have tried, but they're certainly not "bad", just not my style perhaps. It's a cool place to do tasting flights, by the glass or a food-paired wine experience. read more

This place is phenomenal and so welcoming. We had a grape day - the wine is fantastic, the people really know their stuff and they made our experience in Sonoma beyond exceptional. Highly recommend trying their wine flights and food complements tastings. read more

Pangloss Cellars - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Sonoma, California

This tasting room is absolutely beautiful. I usually steer away from tasting rooms in downtown Sonoma/Napa/etc and go for off the beaten path vineyards/estates. I think Pangloss really delivers on ambiance and is beyond any tasting room I've visited before. Our tasting was OK - all of the wines were very chilled, so it was actually difficult to taste some of them. We ended up buying a few and agreed they were much more enjoyable at home when at a more normal temperature (full disclosure, I'm no wine snob and I do chill my reds sometimes but not to this extent - they were refrigerator cold). Now that we've tasted at home, I can say I really enjoyed the wine, especially the pinots. My only issue with this spot is that half of their wines are only available for purchase if you join their club. I live in SF and go to wine country often. I don't love joining too many clubs because it limits being able to try new places. We would have purchased 4 more bottles than we did if they would have let us, but all our favorites were for club members only. read more

Awesome experience! We did the Sonoma seasonal tasting, delish wine and delish food. Staff was exceptionally nice and accommodating (had vegetarians in our party). read more

Kudos to Jason during our visit. He had a distinct educational style that made it easy to identify the different wines, characterize them, and appreciate them. In just a little over an hour I came away with a much better understanding than I entered with, and the selection we were provided certainly left us feeling satisfied. It's nice to have such an intimate experience right by the plaza, so those that are staying within walking distance would do well to stop by. read more

From our call to visiting this place was absolutely perfect! Ethan was our attendant during our Cellar Tasting and he was absolutely wonderful!! Such an educational tasting with an awesome vino -- highly recommend attending!!! read more

Loved it; all 8 of us. We have very diverse opinions & tastes but everyone agreed this was out favorite place by far. Ethan was our host; he was outstanding. Our group learned so much about wine, tasting & glass section. Definitely a MUST when visiting downtown Sonoma. read more

Pangloss Cellars - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Sonoma, California

My friends and I had Cellar Experience. Fantastic! The host, Ethan was great! His great personality and passion towards wine made our experience extra enjoyable. I'd like to go back to Pangloss Cellars soon. read more

My husband and I visited Pangloss while visiting Sonoma. We sat outside for a tasting and absolutely loved it. Our host, Ethan, was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging! We ended up returning the following day to buy a bottle to enjoy in the Park. Highly recommend! read more

What a joy and pleasure to visit this beautiful tasting room in downtown Sonoma. There are only good things to say about this spot. Conveniently located, beautiful interior decor, delicious wines, wonderful and attentive staff members, comfortable seating, amazing food pairing options (snacks), and classy fashionable clientele. I love, love, love this spot. Note: you can sit either at the bar or in seats/couch areas. The bar is fun and the couch area is nice if you come with a larger group. Note: I strongly encourage you to spend the extra money and try one of their "boards" to pair with the wine. Yummmmmm. I have yet to try to caviar one but will do it soon. read more

Lane is AMAZING and took very good care of us! Will be back for the amazing wine and cheese board.

Been coming here for a few years. Used to be very relaxing. Now with all the corporate events and reserved seats, the average joe feels rather unwelcome. Especially when the hostess tells you all the seats are reserved and you can only sit at the bar. After about 45 minutes to an hour, the reserved people finally showed up. By that time we were done.....feeling rather second class. Pangloss has become less passionate about wines and more passionate about $$$. This is not the best of all worlds. read more

Thank you Ethan for an enjoyable, educational tasting. I've been to Pangloss several times as I worked on Sonoma square for a minute. The tasting room is very warm and inviting as well as the staff. Ethan has hosted me twice and he has given an excellent tasting experience both times. It is always much more engaging when your host is a wine educator sharing their knowledge in a fun, passionate, non-bougie way. The wines are good and who else makes Marsanne? Thanks for the challenge Ethan! One of the best tasting rooms on the Sonoma square. If you're a wine geek or have a lot of questions about wine ask for Ethan. read more

Logan really made our visit a great one. Came as a group on a very rainy and ghost-town-quiet Super Bowl Sunday to be greeted by Logan and his team. He was very relaxed and knowledgeable about the wine he poured us. The time flew by and it was such a relaxed afternoon. Of course we found a number of wines we liked and left with a good number! I've never given much clout to wine bars in Sonoma - instead preferring to visit wineries - but this place changed my mind, and made me realize the error of my ways. I would certainly recommend this place to new wine tasters and seasoned vets alike. You won't be disappointed. read more

Good wine, great decor, and most importantly excellent service. Ask for holly. Very knowledgeable and welcoming. She walked us through the flight and ensured it was a great experience. Overall great way to spend an afternoon in downtown Sonoma. read more

We had an amazing time here! We wanted a nice but laid back wine tasting experience in Sonoma and this was definitely the place to go. We were a bit worried about going to a pretentious winery, but this place was super welcoming while still being classy and fancy. Amber served us and she was incredibly helpful and so sweet! My husband and I shared one wine tasting and they were super accommodating. A great experience for our first time in Sonoma! read more

Beautiful setting super modern. The service here is awesome they serve you a rose to start. We got the cheese plate and the red wine tasting. They explain and describe everything you try. read more

Beautiful decor, comfy chairs or couches to sit while tasting wine. Nice music. Great charcuterie board and red flight. read more

Pangloss Cellars - 1 of 5 comfy chairs to sit and relax while sampling wines. - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Sonoma, California

Non pretentious, friendly tasting room. Not too crazy about their whites or Pinot noir. Zinfandel is ok. The best of the lot is their cabarnet Sauvignon. Great hosting, seating and ambiance. Okay on their wines. read more

Pangloss Cellars - Spacious seating, great hosts - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Sonoma, California

A horrible and pathetic service by the host. The staffs have an attitude. Def not enjoyed the whole time we were there. Do not go to this cellar read more