We spent a lovely few hours at Benziger Family Winery in Glen Ellen on a recent Sonoma trip…read more Although they were busy, we appreciated being able to walk in without a reservation and still enjoy tastings at the main bar. Our server, Patrick, was personable, knowledgeable, and truly went above and beyond. He gave us a great understanding of the history of the family winery as well as the nuances of the various wines. He never made us feel rushed, and we enjoyed sitting outside, taking in the beautiful views--and watching the tractor tours pass by--while we tasted. Patrick even shared side-by-side trios of Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons to highlight differences in winemaking methods, vineyard sites, and soils, which made for a particularly interesting and educational tasting experience. In fact, it was every bit as informative and enjoyable as other tasting experiences we've had that were far more expensive, more formal, and required advance reservations.    The tasting room also features a wonderful selection of gifts and specialty items. By the end of our visit, we left with three bottles of wine (2025 Frank Johnson Sauv Blanc and two 2022 Three Blocks Cab Sauvs) along with several gifts and mementos. Benziger has a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere and is both kid and pet-friendly. We also stopped by their sister winery, Imagery, afterward and found it to be another Sonoma gem. We wouldn't hesitate to return to either.

We did the sit down, more formal tasting. It was quite nice, on the great patio. But they also have…read morethe stand up tasting in the shop for a little less money. We didn't do the tour, but they have a trolley tour if you are looking for something with out having to walk a lot.

Our friends recommended that we come here to the tasting room at Laurel Glen. We had a tasting…read moreappointment set up with Juan Carlos who did an amazing job. It was a smaller room but was nice and cozy since it was just us in there. Juan Carlos was the nicest guy ever and was very knowledgeable. We were able to taste some older vintages which was really cool to do some side by side with newer vintages. I loved the varietals they had like Gruner and Riesling. The reds were also spectacular and it was a great last tasting to our day.

My wife and I have been visiting and drinking Laurel Glen wines for years. Their Cabernet is…read moreabsolutely fantastic. Likewise the tasting room space and experience, tucked in the tiny hamlet of Glen Ellen, is personal and relaxed, which tends to not be the case in many other tasting rooms in and around Napa. If you're a Cabernet drinker (or want to be), this is the right place.

Both Wine Snob* and Wolves Lovers + Thieves are a must-stop in Glen Ellen!…read more The husband and wife duo, Ryan and Lindsey, are incredible, welcoming hosts, winemakers, servers, you name it.. offering some delicious wines along the way. Both locations are walking distance from each other, and easy to stop in without reservations for a tasting or even if you just want a glass. We first stopped at Wolves Lovers + Thieves for their tasting of 4 sparking wines. Each sparking is produced from different methods: pétillant-natural, Champagne method, and Charmat method. There were a variety of grapes too, one of which I had not had before, the chardonnay musqué, which they offer in a still version at Wine Snob*! Ryan and Lindsey are so knowledgeable and were happy to share their love for wine with us. I wouldn't necessarily call myself a wine snob, but I know what I like and these two tasting rooms are the places to be!

Super nice people. Their unique blends are fun and interesting. Super chill. Give it a try for a…read morechange of pace.

Unbelievable service and wine. Highly recommend this hidden gem. Came for my bday with a group of…read more10 and they took care of us beautifully.

Lasseter Family Winery was the third and final stop on our Platypus Wine Tour. I highly recommend…read morePlatypus Wine Tours: https://www.yelp.com/biz/platypus-wine-tours-napa. Our first two stops were Loxton Cellars and Mayo Family Winery. Lasseter, Loxton, and Mayo are all located in Glen Ellen. I enjoyed our wine tasting experiences at all three places. Lasseter Family Winery was by far the most different of the three because it was the biggest, most modern and "luxurious," backed by the most money, and it felt the most corporate/commercialized. Lasseter Family Winery is owned by John and Nancy Lasseter. John is known for being a former executive at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, and the director of popular animated movies like Toy Story (1995), A Bug's Life (1998), and Cars (2006). In this sense, the Lasseter Family Winery reminds me of another Sonoma County winery, Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyersville. It's cool, but as my friends and I discussed during our visit here, these types of wineries struck us as when rich guys get enough money to open their own winery "for fun." The other wineries, Loxton in particular, are much smaller "mom and pop" businesses. They're more genuine labors of love. This one, and others like it, feel completely different. I think one of the guys in our group liked Lasseter the best. He bought several bottles. My favorite from this particular tour was Loxton, but Lasseter was good too. I liked Lasseter better than Mayo. We visited Lasseter on an ordinary Friday around 2:30pm and stayed for about two hours, maybe a little longer. It wasn't very busy during our stay. Alex was our guide and he was great. He explained everything well and had a good sense of humor. In terms of presentation and details (e.g., tasting sheet, menu, order form), Lasseter was among the best I've seen. High-quality materials, well-designed, etc. Our tasting menu was customized and printed just for our group of six. Here's what we had (all Sonoma Valley estate wines, priced per 750 mL): * 2021 Enjoue ($35) * 2020 Voila ($55) * 2016 Chemin de Fer ($56) * 2016 Paysage ($62) * 2015 Amoureux ($64) Our order form had seven additional wines including a couple non-estate wines (12 total). Along with the five listed above, Alex brought one or two extra wines for us to try. By this point in the day, I was 17+ wine tastings in and don't remember much. I'm a lightweight and not a wine connoisseur, but I do like wine, especially with a nice meal. I don't recall any one of Lasseter's wines standing out from the others. I just remember each one tasted high-quality and delicious. We ordered some cheese and charcuterie boards to go with our tasting and they were tasty as well. Something else we thought was neat was the wine label artwork by Dennis Ziemienski. His designs are fun and colorful. His paintings were on display inside the main building and there was merchandise featuring his artwork that was available for purchase. When we visited, the weather was perfect (sunny and in the 60s) and the grounds and facilities were beautiful. Really nice. We walked around a bit, but weren't able to get far as the road heading south from the main building was closed off. The cost for the tasting at Lasseter was $40 per person (double the rates at both Loxton and Mayo) and each cheese tray was $25.

The MOST outstanding experience! A wonderful experience with history, geography, and wine tasting…read morewoven into a beautiful afternoon. 10+ customer service. Highly recommended!!!

I cannot say enough positive things about Talisman. My friends and I were celebrating our 50th…read morebirthdays and happened upon this tasting room. We were surprised and delighted by the quality of every single pour, as well as the amazing customer service. Marshall not only educated us about wine, but helped us make our dinner reservations on time, and gave us all a wonderful tasting experience. This is the first tasting room I'll visit on my next trip to Sonoma and I highly recommend!

Beautiful grounds and a relaxing experience with delicious wines…read more Setting: Scenic and relaxed with bocce ball, cornhole, ample indoor/outdoor seatingand beautiful vineyard views. Service: Mixed--waited 30 minutes before being greeted or given any direction, but the wine experts were warm, knowledgeable, and made up for the rocky start. Experience: The picnic for two was charming and tasty, with generous pours and a laid-back vibe. Great place to sip, snack, and soak in Sonoma.

Wonderful educational and creative experience at Imagery Estates winery. Our host, CJ, talked us…read morethrough a delicious flight of wines, all made by award winning female winemaker, Jaime Benzinger. (The tasting is $45 for non members.) We started with a dry, well crafted North Coast Brut. We moved on to 2023 Viogner, which was strongly citrus forward. CJ poured the Wow Oui, a classic Sauvignon Blanc with stone fruit and grass, perfect for this lovely green setting which featured families picnicking and playing bocce ball, and dogs and well dressed kids playing on the grass. Our wines were paired with three kinds of 'chips' as part of our "All That & A Bag of Chips" experience and included a trio of delicious flavors: a sweet chip from The Saucy Ladies (NY), locally produced hippie dust popcorn from Santa Rosa and a new favorite, Lebanese-inspired pita chips from Spread Kitchen Sonoma. (Which we liked so much, we opted for an early dinner at Spread later, the same day.) We are fans of red. Unsurprisingly the 2021 Barbera, Malbec and Lagrein pours were delicious. The Lagrein was particularly dark, inky and unusual. The quality of all the wine produced at Imagery was excellent: balanced and delicious. The winery is focused on sustainability practices including biodynamic farming and features a wildlife sanctuary and an insectary. The wine club gets you reciprocal membership at the mothership, biodynamic winery, Benzinger. A memorable, enjoyable, relaxing, and educational wine experience at Imagery drinking great wines and looking out over estate vines. All wines feature custom labels with original art, all featuring the Imagery Parthenon.

Had the privilege of going up to the estate property to do a tasting with some friends…read morethe views are spectacular and the wines are just amazing very excited about the price points I can't wait to take my VIPs here for a great experience We got to sit down with the GM Korbin Ming And taste through four amazing wines!!

The wine here is absolutely fantastic and I'm so glad we decided to stop here during our day trip…read moreto wine country. They specialize in bordeaux style wines, so if you're into that, this place is absolutely worth a visit! I honestly liked every single wine that we tried, but my favorite had to be the Merlot. It was a bigger red, but very in line with my pallet. The tasting is a little pricey, but if you buy 3 bottles, they wave a tasting fee. Otherwise it's $20/person. Well worth it because the wines are awesome and in line with other tasting fees in the area.

Winemaker Eric Ross is personable and fun to chat with. When visiting Glen Ellen, be sure to stop…read morein and say "hello". Take a walk down memory lane when going to the restroom. Eric was a photographer for SF Chronicle back in the day. He welcomes lots of questions. Ask to try the port. I learned quite a bit from him. Nice and cozy tasting room with comfy couch and seating, makes you feel right at home. Hubby and I stayed up here after Grape Escape, and I booked him a long massage next door, so I can continue wine tasting - clever I know. Eric was at the counter when I walked in. I totally lucked out having the winemaker himself pour me wines and talk about all things vino! I purchased a tasty bottle and off we went to explore more of Glen Ellen. Highly recommended, come on a weekday. 'Til we meet again ~ cheers! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/eric-ross-winery-glen-ellen?select=lZ6rdJ91m01gSaATlAAxBg

Came here with a reservation for my family of four and our pup. Love that this is a small business…read moreso we came to support during our short getaway in Glen Ellen. The owner runs his own shop and ran everything safely and amazingly. He wore a mask and had seatings outdoor spaces apart from one another. He was a fun person to chat with and appreciated his recommendations. A tasting is $20 per person, but if you purchase two bottles, it is waived. We ended up with our favorite, his Port wine mixed with a bit of whiskey! It was surprisingly sweet and delicious! A huge fan of it and definitely recommend :) he even brought out fresh water for my pup during the warm day. Great service and good wine :)

Chris Loxton gave us one of the most memorable and humor infused tours. We were SO fortunate to…read moremeet him and be able to see this vineyard from HIS perspective as well! He truly gives his heart and soul to making these wines!

The service was wonderful, pretty grounds & vineyards! The tasting room is in the barrel room where…read morethey keep the wines, very cozy kitsch. Our favorite was a Syrah and a port. We bought a few bottles and will definitely be back!

Really great and thoughtfully crafted wine tasting experience in a beautiful setting. We did the…read moremost basic tasting which came with a chef created bite and a tour to the wine cave. The tasting took place in the tasting room which had floor to ceiling windows looking out at the vineyard, then we strolled past the garden, into the cave, and back to the tasting room. The property is absolutely gorgeous, both the buildings and the views. Reservations are required as the tastings are very intimate with one person from the tasting team assigned to each group. We were helped by Rachel who had a plethora of knowledge, it was actually amazing how much she knew. The tasting menu had four wines, but we did get to try some additional pours that were open, including fun side-by-side comparisons. The wines were good, but my favorites were on the pricey side, so unfortunately I didn't bring any home with me.

I recently did a tasting at Hamel, and it was such a nice experience! The wine and the tasting are…read moredefinitely on the pricier side, but they were all very delicious. The food that they brought out for us to taste was also delicious. It was very cool to tour the facility and learn about their dry farming, organic & biodynamic farming, and more. Service was great, the place is absolutely beautiful and gives off a fancier feel than other wineries. I would definitely come back.