Came here last weekend and met in a "tasting" barn. It's so cute as it had both outdoor and indoor…read moretables and chairs, so you can bring a lunch before the tastings. We tasted a variety, but I loved the berry-ish cider. (Sweet and easy to sip) Barn was air conditioned, so it's great to come in during a hot day. As you drive up the small hill, make sure and turn right or else go around and you'll see it. This cidery shares the tasting barn with an aperitif and a wine tasting business, so you can enjoy all three types of beverages while sitting on a stool (just don't fall lol) Ambiance is unpretencious, friendly and casual. I'm a berry lover so I was drawn to that particular one. (First of three ciders) Can't wait to return. Happy libations all !!!

Found this gem while exploring Petaluma brewery options - they're brand new. Housed in a big…read moretasting room, you can try four local ciders, a selection of tasty small batch aperitifs, wines, and fill a growler with those ciders too. Note that it's cash and check only as of today although credit cards are coming. Great service. Tasting hours are 12-4 Saturday and Sunday and weekdays by appointment (these hours are not immediately evident on Yelp or their website). I called ahead today (Saturday) to check and they were happy to send someone over for a tasting. We tried all 4 ciders and all 4 aperitifs. I liked the raspberry cider and the semi dry champagne yeast cider as well as the blood orange, strawberry and citrus aperitifs. Their house dog is super cute too. Definitely recommended!

Don't know why the sole reviewer before myself gave only 1 star, but I and a coworker were given…read moresamples of their vodka and clear whiskey, which I've never seen before, but loved, and they both were very smooth with very little burn at all. No chaser needed. I personally would classify Lightning Spirits as medium, if not top shelf. I highly recommend. Can't wait to try their other spirits.

Barely found the door and when we did, it was booted shut at 2:45pm…read more If your Yelp review says you are open 9-5, be op n9-5!! If you are going to brag about winning gold.:. LET US TASTE IT!!!

A group of four of us had a fantastic time at Ambix recently, where we learned all sorts of…read moreinteresting behind-the-scenes stuff about the orchard and the distillation process, then sampled a number of their different products. I brought four bottles of their brandy/pommeau when I went to visit friends in China, who'd never tasted anything like that before. Nothing but five-star reviews!

A fabulous place to visit, whether you are new to apple brandy or a seasoned expert. If you are in…read morethe latter camp, David and Zoe (the owner-operator couple) have a wealth of knowledge and it seems like there is nothing they like to do more than introduce people to their product and the orchard, and chat about the process. There aren't very many places like this one, where you can have as in-depth and personalized experience as you want to and never feel rushed. There's a new, small club, and they are very generous with their early members with releases and fun pick-up parties. It's also an attractive location fairly close to the town of Sebastopol and to other wineries and dairies, if you're making a whole day of visiting the area.

Decided to drop by on a whim, and we tried their cider tastings. It's a small tasting area, but…read moreLuna (the dog - in photo!) is adorable, and there is some outside seating. Very casual experience. To preface, we're not big cider fans, but we're trying to branch out to try new things. Cider flight (4oz x 3) was $15, and included gravitude, which seems to be their staple, nehou, and persimmon (which is only available in house seasonally). As we dropped by on a whim, I didn't know their ciders are dry, but the host told us that at the start. Regardless, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we liked the dry ciders. They were quite refreshing, particularly the persimmon one. You can taste the sweet persimmon undertones. Of course, we liked the one that was seasonal and only available in the tasting room! Apparently, they make other flavors in different seasons. Our host teased us with watermelon in the summer as a previous flavor, so I will eagerly await that for my next visit.

Didn't really feel welcome and not that impressed with the expensive cider samples…read moreMost of the ciders were very dry and the tasting require two costs for the cider and then the distilled beverages

CLEAN & CRISP!! ORGANIC TOO!!…read more Came here on labor day weekend. Owner is a 1 man brewing company. Knows his product well. Wife and I had a one on one tasting with him. Great experience! Be prepared to get drunk because he gives plenty of ciders, wine, and hard liquor. We were able to bring in outside snacks which helped. Great conversationalist. Organically brewed, clean and crisp product.

Trevor makes amazing ciders (and wines!) and clearly enjoys sharing his passion for the process. We…read morecalled ahead to schedule a tasting. He shared several of his ciders with us, and upon hearing of our interest in some wine varietals, offered us some wines he had made. He is passionate about the process and committed to making the highest quality products that he can. This will be a regular stop for us on future visits to Petaluma or the region.

They have a great selection of everything. Scored Yamazaki 12 and Fortelenza. Appreciate…read morethe service.

I bought a drink there and it tasted horrible like it went bad and I look at the expiration date…read moreand it says 07/10/2024. I bought it on 4/15/25. That's a just over 9 months old and it's still on the shelf! It tasted so rancid, it was really bad. There have really nice services and good employees that are helpful there but the drink shouldn't have been on the shelf. They need to do there inventory and take expired stuff off the shelves.

I try not to use the phrase a "hidden gem" too often or not at all, but Sonoma Aperitif should fall…read moreinto that category if it indeed a legitimate term to use! I had loose plans to visit Sonoma Aperitif on a weekend a few months back, but was not committed due to other plans. Well I had some spare time and figured I'd try to stop by and see if I could do a walk in tasting/sample. Laura who is the owner graciously accepted us into her old style barn converted into a tasting room. It really displays the Petaluma hospitality as well as the true country vibe of the aesthetics inside. For those a tad confused about Aperitifs, it is not your normal cocktail you will throw back or glass of wine/beer. They are typically served before or after (Sometimes depending on the country/region) to cleanse the palette. This is not to say you cannot make cocktails with it, but typically from what I have been told it is an after or before meal "sipper". Back to the tasting, Laura had a few that she was pouring today ranging from Lime/Citrus to Buddhas hand and Grapefruit. All had their very own distinction from each other. The real jewel of the tasting was the fact that Laura was pairing everything with very simple ingredients to make delicious cocktails! To give an example a aperitif splash with a rosemary shrub gave the aperitif a whole different level of complexity. The tasting itself was very affordable, and at the time included a wine tasting at the same bar by another company (No longer being offered though). Flavors may change throughout the year due to the seasons of various fruits though, so what one may see on one visit, may be gone the next depending on inventory, so keep that in mind if you really like any of the aperitifs. I could easily recommend this to someone who is looking for an alternative to Wine and Beer tastings.

Apéritif is a French word derived from the Latin verb aperire, which means "to open". An apéritif…read moreis an alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite, and is therefore usually dry rather than sweet." Fantastic alternative from ciders and wine tasting. (But I still love ciders and wine :) I've never experienced aperitif. Laura, the creative mistress and owner was highly informative and had so much passion with her creations. Her previous career led her to this wonderful libation. The public gets to reap the rewards. This tasting bar shares the barn themed building. We came in to taste her aperitif creations and ciders from a very new up and coming cidery, "Acre and Spade" (see my Yelp review) After our cider tastimg, she placed 3 different tall slim bottles of aperitifs and poured each one in a very tiny martini stemmed glass, along with a ceramic bucket to pour any extra aperitif. As she poured each aperitif one flavor at a time, she offered the flavor profile. It's great with a bit of ice, which is extra perfect on hot days. She then made a cocktail using a lemon flavored "shrub *" and one of the aperitif (sorry I forgot which one). It was delish. I felt so "classy" lol. She added a sprig of fresh rosemary, so as your sipping, your nose picks up the Rosemary aroma. We offered our opinion for each aperitif and she listened intently as we slowly tasted each one. Their was no wrong answer as each flavor description is subjective to our own taste buds. This visit was eye opening, informative and very enjoyable. Our group ended up purchasing a pack of cider and few bottles of aperitif. She mentioned she had a few strawberry aperitif which we were lucky to enjoy. These aperitifs will be part of holiday dinners or any festive group gatherings. But equally fantastic for summer parties or warm/hot weather. * "The term "shrub" can also be applied to the sweetened vinegar-based syrup, from which the cocktail is made; the syrup is also known as drinking vinegar. Drinking vinegar is often infused with fruit juice, herbs and spices for use in mixed drinks."

Cute little brewery nestled in between other cute shops and breweries... chill vibes! They have…read moreTV's to catch games and they also have communal tables outside with more TV's! Service was great and the beer was pretty good as well!

Really, I'd rate this place between 2 and 2 1/2 stars…read more We came here on a rainy Tuesday. We were looking for dog friendly places and this location came up. It's a very large venue which was nice as there was plenty of open seating. Our bartender was ok, nothing special. We asked for a bowl of water and he said there were two on the patio and pointed to one that had dog hair in it. We passed. We ordered a beer and four samplers to drink. We also ordered pizza but were told that the pizza place (Acre Pizza) couldn't do a half and half pizza and no modifications could be made. You can only add items on. So we ordered two pizzas and waited the 20-25 minutes. The pizza was ok, but nothing spectacular for the cost of 33 dollars per pizza, mine was a little burnt as well. The pizza came with two flimsy plates a few napkins and exactly 1 packet of red peppers and 1 packed of grated cheese. Just a heads up the Acre Pizza is a few doors down and when comparing menus there is a $5.00 per pizza mark up.