If you want a REAL tour of Sonoma and it's many magnificent wineries, book Tom and Susie. They have connections everywhere and will get you into wineries you can't get into on your own. Their knowledge of the area and its wineries is unparalleled. They are incredibly friendly and generous. read more

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I can't rave enough about our tour with Tom. Our group of four had the best day ever. We went to three vineyards as well as Tom's home. Each vineyard was small and unique. We got a real feel for the area and the wine making experience. We started with a tour and tasting at Glen Lyon. Picture yourself at a picnic table with the most beautiful mountains and vineyard as your backdrop tasting wine that came from vines just a few feet away, that's the experience you get with Tom. It's worth every single penny and I will always book with Tom when I "revisit". On a side note my mom needed a prescription filled and Tom dropped it off while we ate lunch in his amazing backyard and took us back to pick it up when we were done with our tour, it just showed what a kind man he is! His wife who got to enjoy lunch with was a real gem, very warm and welcoming. As a bonus they have two super cute dogs and their homemade wine was delicious!!! This was the exact experience I was hoping for and it exceeded my expectations. read more

Tom's Secret Winery Tours - Tom and Susan's yard! At their house for lunch drinking wine grown from these vines! - Wine Tours Near Me - Sonoma, California

Hello, I am the GM for the Jack London Lodge in Glen Ellen, Ca.....Sonoma Valley. Everytime we refer our guests to this tour, they come back so happy. Tom is professional yet warm and engaging. He takes the road less traveled and really shows people what our valley is all about.......and usually has a surprise or two up his sleeve! I would definatley stand behind this tour company. If my guests are happy.....I'm happy. Cheers ! read more

We went on a tour with Tom and his wife Susie this weekend and had a great time! Tom and his wife are really friendly, informative and very hospitable. Tom and Susie have lived and been growing wine in the Sonoma/Napa area for many years and know all the secret wine spots. We had been to many of the commercial wineries in the area and were more interested in finding the off the beaten path wineries. Tom and Susie took us to some amazing private wineries where we had personal tours, barrel tastings and very informative discussions with the owners and vintners. We highly recommend this tour for anyone interested in visiting some really amazing private wineries in the Napa/Sonoma area. read more

Tom certainly lived up to his five star ratings! I've been on many large scale commercial wine tours around the country and wanted to treat my girl friends to something more off the beaten path. Tom sure delivered! He was excellent at communicating ahead of time. He interviewed us to learn what kind of wine we preferred and based our itinerary on that. He picked us up in his truck promptly and had lots of extra water & snacks for us. He knows the Sonoma area extensively and provided great info about the region, farmers, and wine varieties. He knows unique small scale organic wine growers and took us to some truly amazing places where the winemakers showed us behind the scenes, let us partake in some wine mash down, bottling, and labeling. It was a one of a kind, unforgettable experience! His wife Suzie came along with us and shared lunch with us at their home. She's delightful! They were both humorous, generous, and very jovial and cheery people. I cannot recommend this enough! read more

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So my girlfriend and I were in Sonoma Valley for a wedding, which took place at a very strange venue to say the least (a story best left untold). In any event, we decided to stay in Glen Ellen for the weekend and wanted to go wine tasting. The big concern is always drinking and driving, so I decided to ask the ornery, unpleasant (dare I say nasty) proprietor of the bed and breakfast inn we were staying at for a recommendation. I am very glad that I did, because I was introduced to Tom, of Tom's Secret Winery Tours, and his lovely wife Susie, who came along with us. First of all, it needs to be said that, without any prior notice, Tom agreed to take us out for 5 hours of wine tasting. So accomodating! Even though he had no time to make any arrangements, Tom managed to take us to 3 or 4 awesome wineries for wine tasting, none of which ending up costing us any money. Plus, Tom (being in the business) gets awesome discounts on wine purchases at all of the wineries. Tom and Susie are gracious and wonderful hosts! They know so much about wine and are happy to share their knowledge. We felt more like we were hanging out with friends for the afternoon, than being taken out on a paid wine bus tour. And, because Tom does not drink and is the designated driver, everyone else is free to do so.... The afternoon flew by all too quickly, and we ended up at Tom and Susie's beautiful home, to taste wines made with their own grapes! What a completely lovely, awesome, fun experience. I don't often write a review on Yelp, but was so impressed with Tom that I just felt compelled to share my enthusiasm for his "Secret Winery Tours". And although it's not what I could call inexpensive, Tom offers great value and if you think about what you'll save in tasting fees (not to mention avoiding a possible DUI), it's actually a bargain. If you are going to be in the Napa Valley/Sonoma Valley area and want to go wine tasting without any hassles or concerns about drinking and driving, and enjoy a lovely afternoon, I highly recommend that you call Tom (and maybe if you're nice, he and Susie will invite you back to their house for wine and yummy garlic bread). :-) The best money you'll ever spend! read more

If the wine bus tours are in the "been there, done that" category for you and you want a unique glimpse of wineries off the beaten path, Tom is your man. In the business himself, Tom can arrange private tastings, like one on one with the winemaker in his living room or stand in the barn next to the vineyard and have a taste of award winning wines. No joke. Fantastic experience!! Fair price. read more

Went on a tour with Tom and his wife Suzie last weekend. We had some amazing wine and it was definitely our favorite wine tasting experience to date. Forget the big tours and big public wineries - just book with Tom and go. read more

We had a tour with Tom yesterday and it was fantastic!! He picked us up at our Airbnb, and took us to Glen Lyon, a super charming family run winery. We got to meet the winemaker/farmer and did a tasting on his patio. Afterwards, Tom took us to his house/little zin vineyard, and we had lunch on his patio, along with some homemade wine. Next we went to Dunstan Wines and Blue Door, both small wineries that make good Chardonnay and excelllllent Pinot. At the end of the day, he dropped us back off at our Airbnb, and even packed up some of his music and homemade zin for us!! Highly recommend-- Tom is super charming and knowledgeable, and this was priced similarly (if not cheaper) to bigger, much less personal tours that I saw. Will definitely be telling my friends who are interested in visiting Sonoma about this tour read more

Tom, you are AMAZING, from start to finish, you are a stand up guy. WOW, my wife and I were picked up at out hotel and were given a tour of the Sonoma Valley before enjoying our first tasting. By the way, Tom has wine bottles for you filled up with water so you stay hydrated and enjoy your wine without going overboard with the ETOH. We then got a tour of Tom's and his wife's small zinfandel vineyard and was served lunch, OH and enjoyed barrel tasting from their own wine. Tom and his wife Suzy were wonderful, what great people. Their view was incredible also. From there, we enjoyed two more private wine tours and tastings, Belden wines was absolutely "AWESOME". Nate is the owner, his family, vineyard and wines are definitely something special, and we are looking forward to being apart of what they do, thank you Nate. Again thank you Tom, highly recommend Tom's Secret Winery Tour, CHEERS! read more

Tom's wine tour was excellent! What makes it unique is that you are visiting small, non-commercial wineries. The winemakers he takes you to are incredibly knowledgeable and their wine is the best we have ever tasted. Tom's very easy going and went out of his way to make our day great. You cannot beat his price for the quality tour you receive. Would highly recommend using Tom's tours! read more

Tom's Secret Wine Tours was an unforgettable experience for us. Tom plans everything so you don't have to worry about a thing. My boyfriend worked with Tom to plan the full day excursion including an engagement. If you have a preference or have visited the area a lot he will cater to your needs. We went to 3 wineries and had lunch at Tom's with his very lovely wife. Tom was in touch with my boyfriend about all the details and was very responsive when we had any questions. The first two wineries we visited we were the only people in the tasting room and the owner and wine maker came over and explained each wine to us and included food pairings. It was such a personal experience and we learned so much about the wine and the start of the winery. The third winery was newer and beautiful- they gave us a tour of the caves and grounds. In between wineries Tom answered all of our questions and even showed us his 100 year old Zinfandel grapes. I have been to a lot of wineries and have hired drivers and done tours. This was by far the best experience if your are looking for a personal, carefree experience. read more

My husband and I had a great time. Tom was a great host and we learned about wine without the snooty atmosphere. I highly recommend. Enjoy! read more

Tom lived up to the well deserved 5-star rating. He stayed in touch with us during our trip and when our flight finally arrived 4 hrs late, he had already arranged back up tours at private vineyards. He met us each day with his homegrown wine and Sonoma Market's best breakfast. This review comes after 5 months of "I'll get around to it" but hopefully our delay will show just how great he was! Snoot snoot rocks! read more

Tom's Secret Wine Tours was the BEST. We went to exclusive off the beaten path wineries that aren't consumed by "tourists". Not that there is anything wrong with those types of wineries, but if you want a more intimate experience try Tom's Secret Wine Tours. Tom and his lovely wife Sue aka Momma took us out for hours and we went to some top notch wineries. I have friends in the business and when I told them where I went they were impressed. I was also impressed with Tom and Sue's knowledge of wine as they grow and make wine themselves so they really know their stuff and are happy to share with one and all. If you are looking for something different this is it. I suggest you give them a try. read more

We were lucky enough to have a tour with Tom several weeks ago. It was the perfect tour for us. We did not want to go to the major wineries, listen to boring tours and taste OK wine. Tom planned the day out beautifully, and took us to some really unique spots. We found some killer wines and were able to enjoy a few wonderful open houses! Tom and his wife, Susie, know REALLY good wine and are willing to teach you what they know! It was such an easy day, we felt like we were hanging out with old friends! We look forward to coming back and HIGHLY recommend spending a day with Tom (and Susie)! read more

Tom took us on an excellent adventure. Our first experience in wine county and it was a great day!

While planning our trip to Sonoma, we decided to hire a driver to hit some wineries and not worry about driving since we knew we would do some tasting. I researched many drivers / tours and none seemed to fit what we wanted - a day of going to small vineyards and not having to take out a loan to do it. I came across Tom's tours on Yelp and was a bit nervous since there was no website, but called based on the recommendations. From the first time we talked I knew we had found our guy! Tom was great to work with - kept in touch and was so nice about asking what kinds of wine we like to customize the trip to our tastes. Since we are all novices and it was our first time in Sonoma - we told him to pick since we just wanted a variety. He sent me many email updates as to the places we would go which was great because then we could all do a little research and get even more excited for our day in Sonoma. Tom picked us up at 10:30 and we drove around to 4 vineyards until 4:00 in the afternoon. He had such a variety - from a sit down tasting at a wine shop with linen napkins to a grape farmer who taught us about the grapes and farming aspect and served us wine out of barrels in his pole barn. We loved all of the stops for different reasons - learning about the craft, tasting awesome wines, and the intimacy of having the tastings and vineyard managers all to ourselves. Based on what we felt we did, we thought the price was an absolute steal. The other nice thing is that we felt no pressure to purchase wine, although we got a few bottles at each stop. Many of the places had wine clubs, where for $90 - $120 you can have shipments made to you a few times year. That was a great option for us - more of a pay as you go rather than all up front. Everyone on our tour thought Tom had a fun personality so you will definitely have some laughs throughout the day, and he was a very safe driver too. I would HIGHLY recommend him for finding little gems that you never knew existed. read more