Bay Area Wine Faves
My favorite wineries and tasting rooms in the Bay Area, as of November 2023.
Mostly Sonoma, plus some of my favorite tasting rooms in the East Bay.
Any natural winery I include makes really drinkable low volatile acidity wines.
Sonoma
Most of my Sonoma faves are in Dry Creek west of Healdsburg.
Unti - https://www.untivineyards.com/
Italian and Rhone varietals in Dry Creek with a low-key tasting room and very knowledgeable staff. I wouldn’t call their wines either classic/traditional or modern, they are just authentic and good. I also love their tasting room binders where you can nerd out on wine stats if you want.
Ridge - https://www.ridgewine.com/
Classic at this point but they were pioneers at the time they were founded by some Stanford engineers in the 1960s. Traditional style single-vineyard wines at an amazing price point. They describe themselves as “pre-industrial.” Also regional leaders in sustainability. Their Dry Creek tasting room is a little more formal than their og spot in the South Bay outside Cupertino (blame Napa), but it’s still a great experience.
Preston - https://prestonfarmandwinery.com/vineyards-and-winery
Farm and winery toward the end of Dry Creek Road. Have not been but it’s at the top of my list for my next trip!
Scribe - https://scribewinery.com/
A new school fave in Sonoma proper, popular with influencers types but their property is gorgeous and their wines are very good.
Sebastopol
Jolie-Laide - https://jolielaidewines.com/
Sophisticated and satisfying natural wines at a good price point. Mostly wholesale/club sales until recently, brand new winery space in Sebastopol that’s still in soft open.
Napa
Ferdinand - https://www.ferdinandwines.com/
Small wine project in Napa, no tasting room but on a few retail shelves. Keep an eye out for it! Black label with gold type. Really good.
East Bay
Prima Materia - https://www.prima-materia.com/
I wrote about their carbonic Nebbiolo for Bi-Rite and thought they just sounded really interesting, and the wine was refreshing and delicious. Mostly Italian varietals, they have a tasting room in Oakland and a vineyard up in Lake County (north of Napa). I’m not super deep on them yet but I want to try more of their wines.
Donkey & Goat - https://www.donkeyandgoat.com/
Hands down my favorite natural wine, we are members of their wine club. Their wines are surprising and interesting while still being very refined and drinkable. Along with Broc and Hammerling they are on a block in North Berkeley with a bunch of neat producers, making it worth the trip.
Broc Cellars - https://broccellars.com/
Natural winery with a tasting room in North Berkeley, they buy from organic vineyards between the Central Coast and Mendocino. Really delicious at a nice price point (~$30s).