Small wine shop that allows you to sample certain wines before purchase. We walked in looking to purchase a bottle of wine for dinner, and found a decently priced red. Selection is fairly limited though! It was fairly quiet inside, but there's some tables indoors and outdoors if you want to drink your wine there. I also saw some board games in the corner. read more

Listen- karaoke night here DOES NOT COME TO PLAY! The energy was live, fun, and full of energy. Everyone was super kind, it felt like a community. Like we all knew each other- despite likely never seeing each other again after that night. The bartender (I wish I remembered her name!) was amazing, attentive, and made your brief interaction feel personable. It's a small space but it feels really cozy! You can sit at the bar, at a table top, or snuggle into a comfy lounge chair. Plenty of wine options and a few non-alcoholic options for those interested! Can't wait to come back. read more

Popped in on a Tuesday afternoon for a glass of wine and some peace and quiet while waiting for a friend. I was the only person in there so there were tons of options of where to sit so I opted for a table near the window. I asked the person working there what her favorite Sauvignon Blanc was and she told me but then offered to have me try both so I could decide. They were playing amazing country music the entire time. The farmer's market was starting and she mentioned that the locals usually grab food there and bring it over to Sovino for a glass of wine. It's not on a street you can drive on, it's in the Portola Plaza, but I had no trouble finding street parking. There's also a parking garage nearby. They don't have their own restroom but you can use the Portola Hotel's right across the way. read more

A very lively wine bar with karaoke setup on a Sat night! They offered a pretty good selection of wines from Bordeaux blends to Pinots! Overall great spot to just relax and enjoy some reds! Service was attentive and the waitress had a very bubbly energy, which added to the liveliness of the whole place. read more

We were in Monterey for my birthday and wanted to have a relaxing night at a wine bar. We walked by Sovino and thought it looked cute so we planned to walk down the pier and when we headed back, the whole atmosphere had changed and there was my boyfriend's favorite thing: karaoke!! The staff and other patrons were SO NICE!! We are not local but everyone was including us to sit at their tables, join their conversations, and the nicest guy ever even bought us a bottle of wine to take home!! I truly could not believe our luck finding the most fun and welcoming place at the start of the weekend. We definitely plan to come back in the summer and bring some friends who also love karaoke - we had an incredible time!! read more

Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant - Inside of the wine bar - Wine Bars Near Me - Monterey, California

See all

I went there with my friend to buy a nice bottle of wine for someone. We walked in and neither of us were greeted. There was only one other customer and the woman working was focused on talking to him about politics, tv, etc. We walked around being indecisive for no less than 10 minutes and the woman never even glanced at us. We didn't have time to go anywhere else, but I was a little disappointed in the wine selection because most of the selection were local vineyards. I like supporting local, but I was hoping for more international selections and more red varieties than the standard cabernet, merlot, syrah, zinfandel, and a few blends that didn't specify the grapes. My fault for not seeing the 1 foot tall table, but I slammed my shin into it twice while we were there because it's right in the walkway and the woman still didn't look up from her one customer. One of our other friends, who had been shopping in other stores around here walked in asking why we were still there. We finally decided on one and as we walked toward the woman with the bottle, she asked if we needed help finding anything.... I have never once been to a wine seller where they didn't even say hello, but also didn't offer their expertise or advice without needing to be asked. Everywhere else I've been they have been extremely knowledgeable and helpful when I wasn't sure what to get. This place was not and I will not be returning. read more

Wine is really good. Our server Cass was super nice and sweet and also full of knowledge. Super cute and comfy place. read more

Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant - Wine Bars Near Me - Monterey, California

See all

Cute little bar in Downtown Monterey! They have a wide selection of wines & snacks! The customer service was 10/10. Can't wait to go back! read more

Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant - Wine Bars Near Me - Monterey, California

See all

Wish we had the chance to sit here and do some wine tasting, but given we had young kids with us, that wasn't an option. The ambiance inside was dark and cozy and would have made for a good way to pass the afternoon by sampling some of their wine flights. My husband came in just to purchase a couple of bottles and walked out with a nice Chardonnay and Zinfandel which were very enjoyable. However, the prices here are on the higher end. Since the labels are not specific to this merchant, you can buy the same things as a wholesaler for much less. read more

A lovely place to stop in for a little wine just steps from the Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. The karaoke nights are fun and not too loud and they have trivia and a painting night. The owner Claire is very nice and I have felt like part of the group chat since the first time I walked in. read more

Was looking for some wine tasting options in Monterey and this came up with trivia the night we were in town! I love trivia but I've only ever done it at breweries so I was excited to try it out at a wine bar. It's a cute spot with different seating options and a great menu of wines and snacks. I did a flight that I curated from the menu and all of them were delicious. Trivia was also super fun! I would definitely come back either for trivia, one of their other events or just for a tasting. Located in a convenient spot too! read more

Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant - Build your own flight for $15 - Wine Bars Near Me - Monterey, California

Great local wine bar spot. Had a little time to kill and stopped in. Some great local selections and people are very nice. Sitting out on the patio is a dream. I highly recommend you visit the spot. read more

Just moved to Monterey and met the owner at another local spot. She was very down to earth and welcomed us to join in pumpkin carving the next day. The wine selection was great and the conversation with other customers inside made it feel like home. Will definitely be going back! read more

Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant - a carved pumpkin and two glasses of wine - Wine Bars Near Me - Monterey, California

First time to this wine bar and I was greeted by Harry my goodness this young gentleman was such a friendly man I instantly felt welcomed I ordered a glass of Sovino Pinot noir I asked him for a recommendation for food and told him to surprise me PROSCUITTO BRIE PANINI was what he brought out and my goodness I was not disappointed! The wine was great, the food was great and the customer service that Harry brought was amazing! read more

See all

Sovino is the BEST wine bar in Monterey! Claire and her colleagues serve a rich selection of local wines AND they have a nice cross section of local beer on tap! Happy hour prices are excellent. The location is conveniently located on the path between downtown and Fisherman's Wharf. Super casual, homey atmosphere. Every week you can count on a few nights of sing-along karaoke or trivia! I'm a local...I love it! read more

Just an amazing place! Great ambience both inside and out! Awesome selection of wine with recommendations if you're not sure what you want...nice selection of charcuterie or nibbles..everything you want, including a totally chill vibe! read more

This is a great, cozy little wine bar on heritage harbor. The selection of wine is outstanding and the prices aren't extortionate, unlike many other places nearby. The lady behind the bar was knowledgeable, friendly and unpretentious. read more

Came in because of the very cute patio area and chalkboard happy hour advertising. Was beyond impressed with the service, atmosphere, wine and food. The olive, fig, goat cheese bruschetta was amazing... see my pics for proof. Loved reading Claire's story (I am originally a dress-up for box wine and cheap cheese gal myself)... and the bartender was a joy. I will be back, bring co-workers and try more wines/food. Thank you for a wonderful evening. read more

See all

This is one of our favorite places to go in Monterey. Claire always is rotating in new local wines and beers; the menu is always changing and never disappointing! Trivia nights are a ton of fun as are the paint nights with Bunny! Come in when you're down to hang out, slow down, sit by the fire pit and enjoy yourself! read more

Customers, beware, open the tab with my credit card, paid cash, forgot my card, went back the next morning to retrieve my card and they were closed until late in the afternoon, had to get back on the road, and then they charged my card with no signed receipt, had to cancel my credit card, while traveling, disputed the charge, they convinced my credit card company that it was a legit charge so I've paid $75 for one glass of wine. Unbelievable, stay away from this place, super shady. read more

This is our 2nd visit to Monterey this year and both times we have tried to visit Sovino Wine Bar. Both times we came at 3 pm which is the advertised opening time. Both times we waited 15-30 minutes and neither time did anyone come to open the wine bar very disappointing! read more

A must stop when visiting Monterey. Located in Portola Plaza, it's a charming boutique wine bar conveniently on your way to the Old Fisherman's Wharf. I really liked the owner, Claire, who was very personable, funny and made you feel like a regular. She has a great selection of wines, and her mother paints all of the artwork on display. I really enjoyed the wine, the conversations with some of the locals (Craig) and hope to make it back in the near future! read more

Love the fire pits outside. Very inviting and welcoming. Excellent staff with personable service. A plus they serve beer and wine! read more

The wine was amazing. Both Claire and Jason offered impeccable service and made our experience very enjoyable. I will definitely be returning to this wine bar when I visit Monterey again. Chin chin. read more

Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant - Wine and games = perfection - Wine Bars Near Me - Monterey, California

It was our first time here and we were super excited because we're just huge wineos. The experience though was shitty. Soon as we came in we weren't greeted. It was just one bartender with one customer or her friend at the bar. She didn't acknowledge us for a little while then finally gave us menus. She Didn't explain the menu she didn't give ANY information about anything. So we just went with the wines that sounded good to us. She made us feel like we were a bother almost. She came to our table maybe twice and both times she made us feel like we weren't ordering fast enough or we were ruining her time with her friend. I wish our experience was better because this place seems cool especially to bring friends over the decor was so cute. But we won't be coming back. Please hire better employees... read more

Be friendly , acknowledge people . It's not that difficult . Come on . Welcome , hello , can I answer any questions ? read more

I dont hand out 5 Star reviews that easily. You have a better chance of being my boyfriend than getting a 5 Star review.... Hmmm, maybe I need to change my boyfriend policy, I digress. But, Sovino Wine Bar is very deserving of this honor. So, we had just finished an amazing dinner at Old Fishermans Grotto down on the Wharf. If you are n the area, and need a great dinner (or lunch) recommendation scurry on over to OFG (It becomes hip with just initials). The food is amazing. Anywho, me being the wine connoisseur I am decided I wanted to try some local wine after dinner. Screw dessert, bring on the wine. My son said their was a wine bar nearby and we decided to walk. Its a short quick jaunt. But it was kinda chilly. Anywho we finally arrive to Sovino. Be warned, Sovino is in the what seems like a nice pedestrian area. But due to the long-lasting construction at Portola. Chile that damn construction is a mess, anyways. So, Sovino is a wine bar slash wine store. You can come in for some sips or bottles, and in my case both. I did a tasting. I tasted all reds, at least I think I did. Anywho, the reds that stood out are: 2014 Joy Pinot Noir 2014 Pierce Ranch Cabernet 2015 Jeff Runquist Barbera OK, so the Jeff Runquist Barbera was so delciious I bought two bottles. It didnt have anything to do with the fact that if you buy two bottles the tasting is free lol. No, honestly that Barbera had bite and was amazing. But the best part of being here was the company. Conversation flowed, between groups and the lovely young lady pouring wine. Her mom and dad were there also, and I sorta got an invite to Comfort Food Night. See you soon my adoptive wine family. Love this place, come now. Eat, drink and be merry, read more

See all

We recently had a private birthday party at Sovino Wine Bar and it was amazing! The place was warm and comfy and the staff was absolutely fantastic. We brought in some outside food and entertainment (Thanks Alex Lucero!) and the crew at Sovino helped us set everything up and pick out some great wine. Sovino's wine selection offers something for everyone's taste as well as budget. Extra bonus was some superb beers on tap and a few in bottles and cans as well. We urge everyone to check the place out for yourselves. Mark / Lucy / Therese (and 40 or 50 other party goers!) read more

Horrible experience and overpriced. Even though it wasn't busy, we had to wait for 1 of the 2 women milling about to pay any attention to me and my friend as we stood at the bar waiting to be served. We had 2 glasses of wine - one a Pinot Noir and one a glass of Chardonnay - and neither was good. My Pinot Noir was sour. And we paid $26 dollars for it. The worst part of the visit was the service... the women working there made it seem like we were doing them a favor by being there. Not friendly and definitely not worth the price. read more

What a fun place! There is a long-ish list of wines to choose for a taste or a glass or buy the whole bottle to share. They also have a good selection of appetizers to accompany the wines. This establishment is a wine shop too; prices are quite reasonable. Service is efficient and friendly. TIP: happy Hour is Tues-Weds-Thurs a few hours in the early evening and all wines available for tasting or drinking are HALF price. Generous pours, too. I highly recommend a visit to Sovino Wine Bar, when you're nearby. read more

Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant - Wine Bars Near Me - Monterey, California

Monday Night Trivia Night is fantastic! Close and intimate, guests aren't screaming over each other. The small bites/small plates options are great! The pita bread and hummus are so warm and fresh, with a great pairing on wine. Wine, has a great local selection. The staff are warm and welcoming! Can't wait to come back next week! read more

Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant - Wine Bars Near Me - Monterey, California

I'm not going to name names, but there are certain local wine tasting places that use these spouts to pour their flights that cause a few puny dribbles of wine to fall into your glass. Try a bold red at some of these places and the wine sticks to that glass maybe allowing a drop of wine to hit your tongue. I was a member at a place like this and could barely taste the wine before being given my quarterly haul. Then I had the awesome luck of meeting Claire and Jason at Sovino Wine Merchant. They offered a decently priced "choose your own adventure" style tasting menu that allows you to pick 5 from a strong list of about 20 different local wines (sparkling, red, white). I dropped that old club and immediately signed up for there's. They have routinely offered a great selection of local wines from many of the region's top producers and an awesome mix of smaller lot wines that I would have never come across otherwise. The tasting is probably one of the best opportunities in the surrounding area to try all different wines because many many other places don't give you any options and have set menu you can't really stray from. Tasting fees are waived with bottle purchases, but I definitely recommend joining the wine club. If I was forced to only keep one wine club membership, this would be it for sure. read more

This was a strange place to buy wine. It's more of a retail store rather than a tasting place, but you can taste wines and pay by the taste. The wines we had were okay, not great. What made the whole visit awkward was that we were lied to by the geography-challenged young man who worked there. We specifically asked for a wine from the Monterey region. He suggested something that was from 40 miles away--Monterey County is very large, so okay. Later, when I saw the bottle, I noted that it was from Napa (which is 150+ miles away). I also overheard him tell a couple that the Contra Costa wine that he was pouring come from a region northwest of SF. Hmmm. read more

**3.5 STARS** S.O. and I decided to stop by here before our dinner... just to check out what they have and it was almost closing time on a Sunday so we didn't stay long. I asked the owner if he had any Cakebread Pinot opened ... he said no but he did let us taste two Pinots that was at the opposite end of what the Cakebread taste like. Granted I didn't like any of the two wines (S.O. liked the sweeter Pinot...) but he was friendly and gave me suggestions in terms of trying out other vineyards. They have a variety of wine selection so if you're staying at the Portola hotel... stop by here if you want to bring a bottle for dinner. Decent pricing as well... and the owner was friendly. read more

I had a great experience at Sovino on a Saturday night while visiting Monterey for the weekend with friends. Ideal for both large and small groups. We showed up with a group of 11 and the service was great! Plenty of comfortable seating and friendly staff. read more

Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant - Accommodates large groups - Wine Bars Near Me - Monterey, California

See all

This is great place to take a break from all the great tourism Monterey has to offer. Relaxed with a glass and some friends before heading the dinner on Alvarado St. Staff is kind and positive and easy to talk to. I really loved that they focus on Central Coast wines! Make sure to grab a spot by the window for people watching! read more

Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant - Bachelorette at Wine from the Heart. Sipping classy! - Wine Bars Near Me - Monterey, California

This is a great place to come and hang out and taste wines if you are in Monterey. Their tasting menu of $10 for 5 wines is such a great deal! The "bar-tender" we had was super nice. He was very friendly and knowledgeable about the wines. We came with some friends before going to dinner and enjoyed ourselves. We will definitely come back! In fact, if they had snacks, it would be a great place for a happy hour or something along those lines. read more

Stopped in here on a recent trip on a whim - was not disappointed! We sat down to do a tasting and left very happy. The tasting was $15 for 5 pours and worth it. The pours are a reasonable size and most wines are sourced locally - visiting here is the next best thing to actually visiting the wineries. Our server was very helpful and had a lot of experience with wine descriptions and able to provide his personal preferences. Really enjoyed the laid back feel and conversation. read more

I recently visited Wine From the Heart and WOW! Apparently it is under new ownership and the new owner has made some incredible changes. It doesn't even feel like the same wine bar! Instead of an old drabby feeling, the new owner, Claire, gave the whole place a face lift. It is a place I actually want to go hang out now. I did a tasting and the owner, Claire, was very knowledgeable. She poured some great wines and was fun to chat with during my visit. What's great about this kind of wine bar is, because she isn't directly affiliated with a winery, her tasting selections are always changing. I will definitely be coming back soon! Claire also mentioned she has partnered with several local restaurants, and if you buy a bottle of wine from her shop, they will not charge a corkage fee if you bring it to dinner. What a great service! read more

See all

Pre-COVID, Sovino was a favorite of ours for trivia nights that were paired with friendly service, great wine, and delicious snacks. As the times have changed, we had to shift gears a bit. Sovino hosted our virtual Paint and Sip, and I couldn't recommend it more highly. It was a great team building experience, and Bunny was a fantastic instructor. She took the time to provide individualized feedback and assistance, and made artists out of all of us! Claire was great to work with for coordinating, and was in constant contact for all my questions and was so helpful in accommodating our requests. It is a great opportunity for a fun and social event, especially during these socially distant times. read more