Sonoma's Best Wneries for First Timers
Sonoma’s best wineries for first timers. From big names to hidden gems. here’s the perfect short cut to planning your wine tasting trip where every stop is a good one. 2 for 1 deals too! Updated 2026.
SONOMA’S BEST WINERIES FOR FIRST TIMERS
Picking Which Wineries to Visit in Sonoma Just Got a Lot Easier!
Unlike Napa where the wineries are lined up one after another on the main highway, Sonoma’s 425 wineries are spread out over a 50 mile stretch. Which ones are the best? That’s hard to answer but I will tell you which ones first timers love the most, the wineries that over the years have delighted visitors with great wines and memorable experiences. These are my favorites and I bet will become yours too.
On a budget? If you’re looking for the FREE tastings and 2 for 1 deals then head over to the Sonoma Deals section and make sure you add a few of these into your itinerary.
Easiest Way to Experience Sonoma? Book a Tour!
As much fun it is to plan out a trip to Sonoma there are times when you just want someone else to do all of the thinking, all of the planning, and all of the driving. Tell them Wally sent you as I get a small referral fee which is how I keep my site running.
PLATYPUS TOURS: The classic “join in” tour with shuttles that seat typically around 10. Lunch included, tasting fees extra but discounted. $139 pp
BOHEMIAN HIGHWAY: Luxury private tour for up to 6 people, visit off the tourist radar wineries and indulge in a gourmet picnic lunch. All tasting fees included, $369 pp.
MELISSA’S CUSTOM SONOMA TOURS: A private driver, a luxury vehicle, and wineries selected based on your budget and requests. Every tour is custom curated by Melissa. She’ll arrange winery and lunch options and disclose all of the pricing options before you commit so you know exactly what you’re paying. Up to 11 people, the more you have the better the rate!
Look for this 🍷 for 2 for 1 Deals
Look for this wine glass 🍷 to spot the wineries that offer 2 for 1 tastings or discounts with the Priority Wine Pass. The pass is $39 if you get it on my site, a $30 discount, and you need just one pass per couple. Good for a year, good in Napa too, use the pass and save half on your tasting fees.
BEST CARNEROS WINERIES
At the southern tip is the Carneros Region, gateway to both Napa and Sonoma
Yes, I know that Carneros is actually “Napa” but I think it’s a good place to start your trip to Sonoma. You’ll find great chardonnays and pinot noirs here and plenty of great winery options. Pick a few to visit on your way deeper into Sonoma.
Domaine Carneros
An elegant way to start your day!
You might feel a bit like royalty here when you enter into this luxurious winery. Famous for their sparkling wine, your tasting flight is served either in their elegant, Louis XV-style salon or out on the expansive terraces which offer sweeping views of the rolling, vine-covered hills. 21 and above (no kiddos allowed), reservations required. Tastings start at $45 pp.
RuVango Winery 🍷
Original Dali sketches and 2 for 1 with Priority Wine Pass
A hidden gem winery, it feels high end, it looks high end, and their hospitality rivals the best high end wineries, but it’s affordably priced. With art and architecture, a wine tour and barrel tastings, there’s not a better place to spend an afternoon than their deck overlooking the vineyards.
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for $45 with a Priority Wine Pass - buy the pass for $39.
Cuvaison Vineyards
Taste right in the vineyards!
This place is so fancy that budget minded me at first turned away - until I saw they offer a casual vineyard flight for just $40 pp. You’ll sample three of their pinot noirs “at your own pace” which means you’re basically on your own but I’m good with that if it means I can experience a fancy winery within my budget.
BEST SOUTH SONOMA WINERIES
Just as you officially enter Sonoma you’ll be greeted by a number of great winery options!
Unlike Napa where you cruise the main highway to find the bulk of the wineries, Sonoma wineries are clustered into areas. At the south tip along Highway 121 is the first pocket. If you are coming from the San Francisco Bay Area you’ll be passing right through this area - let’s check those out first. These top picks are listed geographically from South to North.
Remember to look for this icon 🍷 for the deals on the Priority Wine Pass.
Cline Family Cellars 🍷
They have mini-donkeys!
Two for one tastings, beautifully landscaped grounds with a pond, and two mini-donkeys named Fancy and Pudding just begging you to take a selfie with them. Lovely picnic spot, outside food allowed with reservations and wine purchase.
Cline Family Cellars Tasting Info | Map
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for 1 ($25 or $35 flight) with a Priority Wine Pass everyday except Saturday - buy the pass for $39.
Gloria Ferrer
Make your day sparkle!
Gloria Ferrer Vineyards sparkles almost as much as their sparkling wine. With wines by the glass starting at $12 and bottles at $34 it’s a lot more affordable than nearby Domaine Carneros and they even allow walk-ins if space allows. Beautiful winery with views to match.
Anaba Winery
They have mini-donkeys!
Two for one tastings, beautifully landscaped grounds with a pond, and two mini-donkeys named Fancy and Pudding just begging you to take a selfie with them. Lovely picnic spot, outside food allowed with reservations and wine purchase.
Cline Family Cellars Tasting Info | Map
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for 1 ($25 or $35 flight) with a Priority Wine Pass everyday except Saturday - buy the pass for $39.
Kivelstadt Cellars 🍷
Wine tasting and the perfect wine country lunch spot!
100 year old trees with picnic tables and an outside bar, Kivelstadt Cellars might not look fancy on the outside but it’s a hidden gem. It’s also home to Bloom Carneros, one of the best places for innovative wine country cuisine in a casual setting.
Kivelstadt Cellars Tasting Info | Bloom Carneros | Map
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for 1 on Thurs, Fri and Monday, save $30 - buy the pass for $39.
BEST WINERIES NEAR SONOMA PLAZA
Don’t keep driving just to get to the plaza - there are some great wineries on the way!
Day trippers and first timers will find plenty of wineries to love with enough options to fill up your itinerary without having to do a lot of driving. These top picks are listed geographically from South to North.
Gunlach Bundschu Winery
It’s not impolite to simply call it Gun Bun!
Sonoma’s second oldest winery - they opened a few months after Buena Vista Winery - and still family owned and run. Their casual approach to wine tasting makes for a welcoming visit whether you sit outside on their patio or take a tour into their barrel room. Walk-in’s welcome for an old school, stand up bar tasting, a good way to experience Gun Bun wines and hospitality in 45 minutes.
The Donum Estate
Modern Art Sculptures combined with Pinots and chardonnay!
A winery where the art is equally impressive as the wines. Don’t miss the Vertical Panorama Pavilion, a stunning glass dome canopy made of 832 recycled glass panels that cast rainbow-hued light across the terrace. Splurge on the $100 pp Carneros Experience where your tasting is also a guided tour of the art installations.
Scribe Winery
Old California, a “members only” tasting luxury experience!
This isn’t your parent’s wine tasting experience. Gone is the whisper quiet tasting room, replaced with a picnic blanket to lay out on the rolling hillside, away from the crowds and tour busses, and a picnic basket filled with locally sourced, farm-to-table garden snacks. Aimed at a younger affluent crowd, it’s stylized and stylish. And yes, you do need to join their club to visit so get the info here.
Buena Vista Winery
Beautiful and Historic, a Must Visit Winery!
Founded in 1857, Buena Vista Winery is a California Historic Landmark, stunningly beautiful inside and out. Known as California’s first premium winery and named the Best Winery in a recent People’s Choice award, if you want an impressive historic winery, this is it. From bar tastings to exotic caves, bubbles to barrels, you’ll find a wine tasting experience that will delight whether you’re new to wine or a serious collector.
BEST WINERIES AT SONOMA PLAZA
The Sonoma Plaza is loaded with shops and restaurants and surrounded by great wineries!
Shopping, restaurants, wine tasting and a public park where open bottles are a-OK! Sonoma Plaza is the perfect destination for a day in Sonoma without worrying about driving. Don’t miss the Sonoma Cheese Factory for snacks and great BBQ. These top picks are listed geographically from the South to North.
Remember to look for this icon 🍷 for the deals on the Priority Wine Pass.
Highway 12 Winery 🍷
Tucked away down “Vine Alley” is a rustic tasting room
Nicknamed “The Barn”, Highway 12 is hidden down a small walkway alley filled with shops. Patio tables and outdoor furniture, award winning wines, walk-in’s welcome as well as outside food. Didn’t I tell you to stop at the Sonoma Cheese Factory already?
Highway 12 Winery Tasting Info | Map
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for 1 tasting, save $25 - buy the pass for $39.
Pangloss Cellars
Beautiful tasting room in a historic building
A lovingly restored 1902 building with original rustic beams and floors set the scene for this quietly elegant wine tasting setting. Food and wine pairing options, walk-in’s welcome upon availability, a classy 90 minute tasting experience offered at 10:00 am, 12:30 pm, 2:15 pm and 4:00 pm.
Auteur Sonoma Bungalow
Cozy and laid back atmosphere at their original tasting room
Auteur Winery has grown - their Healdsburg location is modern and grandiose. But their original tasting room, a bungalow off the Sonoma Plaza, retains all the charm and friendly hospitality you would expect from a family run winery along with creative and exceptional wines.
Walt Wines
Sister winery to Hall Wines focused on Pinots and Chardonnay
You might know Hall Winery in Napa - it’s huge, it’s got the giant rabbit sculpture, and it’s very popular. Walt Wines is a more low key sister winery, a bungalow tasting room with an outdoor patio for casual tastings. Modern and hip but tastefully rustic, walk-in’s welcome. There’s even a sparkling only tasting experience.
BEST WINERIES GLEN ELLEN AND KENWOOD
As you leave the Sonoma Plaza and go north you’ll arrive at Glen Ellen and Kenwood
Sonoma is so big and spread out that no one would blame you if you stopped your wine tasting after reaching the plaza. But doing so means missing the next ten miles of great winery stops in Glen Ellen and Kenwood. These top picks are listed geographically from the South to North. Lots of 2 for 1 deals!
Remember to look for this icon 🍷 for the deals on the Priority Wine Pass.
B. R. Cohn
Rock and Roll Winery
(Glen Ellen) Founded by the manager for 70’s supergroup The Doobie Bros., B. R. Cohn has live music from Spring to Fall on Saturdays (and some Sundays). Wines by the glass starting at $15 with no reservations required and tasting flights starting at $40. Group friendly, call the winery for more details if you want them to host an event.
Imagery Winery 🍷
Great spot for a picnic and two tastings for $25 with the wine pass.
(Glen Ellen) With it’s expansive lawn area and openness to allowing outside food, Imagery Winery is a top pick for a winery picnic destination. Use your Priority Wine Pass for 2 for 1’s at the bar. Cheese, charcuterie and snacks available for purchase too. Picnic tables free of charge with a one bottle purchase on weekdays, $50 on weekends.
Imagery Winery Tasting Info | Map
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for 1 tasting, save $25 - buy the pass for $39.
Mayo Family Winery 🍷
Buy one bottle and you get a Two for One discount, save $25
(Glen Ellen) With only 5,000 bottle produced annually, Mayo Family Winery is a family owned and run winery making high quality, single vineyard wines. Outside food allowed, wines by the glass as well. Walk-in’s welcome.
Mayo Family Winery Tasting Info | Map
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for 1 tasting, save $25 - buy the pass for $39.
Benzinger Winery 🍷
Two for one bar tasting with the Wine Pass, save $25
(Glen Ellen) The tram ride through the vineyards is tempting but save a few bucks and do the two for one using your Priority Wine Pass and spend the money you saved on a bottle to enjoy at one of their picnic tables where you can purchase snacks or bring in your own. Walk-in’s welcome.
Benzinger Winery Tasting Info | Map
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for 1 tasting, save $25 - buy the pass for $39.
Loxton Cellars 🍷
Super small winery, two for one, save $20
(Glen Ellen) With the production area right in the tasting room and Chris Loxton the winemaker himself probably at the bar, Loxton Cellars is a great way to get up close and personal with a small wine producer. Walk the vineyards and tour the winery with Chris daily at 10:30 (reservations required). Outside food and walk-in’s allowed.
Loxton Cellars Tasting Info | Map
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for 1 tasting, save $20 - buy the pass for $39.
Deerfield Ranch and Wine Caves 🍷
Taste deep in their wine cave - Two for One, save $35
(Kenwood) If you’ve ever priced a tasting in a wine cave in Napa you probably walked away shocked. But Deerfield Ranch has a great cave with sofas and comfy chairs and tastings are two for one with a Priority Wine Pass. They’ll even take groups up to ten with the 2 for 1 deal as long as you have one pass for every two people.
Deerfield Ranch Tasting Info | Map
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for 1 tasting, save $35 - buy the pass for $39.
Kunde Family Winery
Beautiful setting and wine caves too!
(Kenwood) With it’s park-like setting, complete with tables overlooking the lovely pond under shady trees and umbrellas, you might think visiting Kunde is going to be terribly expensive but it’s not. Walk-in’s welcome, visit their tasting bar / lounge or partake on a cave tour, both just $25 pp. Of splurge on their mountain top tasting where you’ll be treated to stunning views of the valley below, $100 pp. Fun Fact: Kunde was the backdrop for many of the winery scenes from the movie Bottle Shock.
Kenwood Vineyards
Closed as of May 2026 but poised to return
(Kenwood) Keep an eye on this one, a classic Sonoma winery with deep roots that date back to the 1900’s. Kenwood Vineyards, as we know it today, purchased the land and started producing wines in the ‘70s. It went on to become one of Sonoma’s most well known wines and was recently sold back to it’s original owner who envisions returning it to it’s previous glory. If you are in the area give this one a click to see if they’ve reopened and if so, go visit them to support their return and email me.
VJB Cellars 🍷
The perfect lunch spot in Kenwood and 2 for 1 Tastings!
(Kenwood) Start with a two for one bar tasting - no reservations required - and then head to the lively, umbrella covered patio for a wood-fired pizza or burger. Full deli with panini sandwiches and gelato as well. The two for one is enough to draw you in but save time to enjoy a bite, whether a snack or full lunch.
VJB Cellars Tasting Info | Map
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for 1 tasting, save $30 - buy the pass for $39.
Chateau St. Jean
Visit a real chateau that was once someone’s summer home!
(Kenwood) You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to Europe with it’s bubbling fountains, elegant courtyards and historic architecture. From a classic bar tasting to a picnic basket experience, Chateau St.Jean offers an enjoyable experience in elegant surroundings.
St. Francis Winery 🍷
Visit one of Sonoma’s most famous wineries, Two for One!
(Kenwood) With sprawling views of the vineyards and mountains behind, enjoy a 2 for 1 tasting for just $45 per couple. Walk-in’s and day-of reservations welcome and groups up to 8 (with one pass per couple) can get the two for one deal. Or splurge on their extravagant wine and food pairing, a six course communal meal that rivals some fine dining restaurants, a memorable experience that’s sure to be a highlight.
St Francis Winery Tasting Info | Map
WINE PASS DEAL: 2 for 1 tasting, save $45 - buy the pass for $39.