Kenwood

The Mayo Family Reserve Room (there is also one in Healdsburg) is the food and wine pairing sister to the main Mayo Family Winery tasting room in Glen Ellen. At the Kenwood Reserve Room, it's all about food and wine pairing and Mayo does it very well. Approximately seven different wines are paired with small samples of food, expertly prepared by an in-house chef.

It's highly recommended to call ahead for reservations. Mayo accepts walk-ins but you run the chance of a long wait depending on the timing. Much better to call ahead and go tasting for an hour or so prior to your appointment. Groups of ten or more should definately make reservations as the tasting room is small.

Kenwood has an old -but nicely refurbished- barn-like feel to it. Professional yet cozy, Kenwood is a great place for any collector of wine labels as their Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon focuses on contemporary artist created wine labels.

A small tasting room that -from the outside- the VJB Vineyards and Cellar tasting room has the appearance of a road side antique store. It is hard to notice if not for the fact that it resides right next to Cafe Citti, which happens to be one of the best lunch stops along Sonoma Highway. VJB's focus is on Italian varietals so make a point to stop in before or after you lunch at Citti.

The Wine Room is a co-op tasting room. This means a collection of wineries share the overhead and combine to make one tasting room. This is great for people who want to try lots of different wines and particualrly those of smaller wineries. Bad for people who want to experience the million dollar tasting room with the impressive architecture and manicured gardens. The Wine Room consists of five wineries: Moondance Cellars, Orchard Station Winery, The Friendly Dog Winery, Smothers/Remick Ridge Vineyards, and Sonoma Valley Portworks.

The tasting room itself originally started as the Smothers Tasting Room (yes, as in Tom Smothers of the Smothers Brothers). In recent years it moved the co-op way with the Smothers wines still available.

The Wine Room actually isn't a bad place for a picnic as a small grassy picnic area resides next to the tasting room.

Elegant and one of the best Sonoma wineries at which to host an event (wedding, corporate gathering, etc), St. Francis Winery is a mission style building equipped for both indoor or outdoor events.

SL Cellars is a converted old country schoolhouse right off Sonoma Highway. A laid back place that hosts live music performances on weekends, SL Cellars is ideal for group picnics and outdoor events.

Landmark is a family owned winery (the owners are descendants of John Deere - yes, the tractor guy) particularly known for their Chardonnay as well as their Pinot Noir and Syrah. An old mission style building with beautiful fountains, a large pond, and vast lawn space, Landmark is very good for outdoor event hosting (small and large group picnics). Food and wine pairings are offered by appointment as are wagon tours (weekends only, call ahead).

Kunde Estate Winery conveys an eco-friendly vibe almost immediately. It is ideal for the nature loving wine enthusiast as they host nature hikes and really emphasize their committment to embracing and preserving the environment. A good place for the wine curious to ask questions and learn about wine as Kunde has an overt committment to sharing the knowledge and understanding of their winemaking process.