Super place! Visited today (4/11/26) and enjoyed the spiel, the wines and some very special food pairings. The wines are a notch above the other Somerset wineries, and the people very fun. Plus we shared the company of Blackjack, the handsomeness dog in wine country. read more

Cantiga Wineworks - Blackjack. The best winery dog. - Wineries Near Me - Somerset, California

We loved it all - the wine, the staff, the small bite food pairings! Sitting out on the patio for the tasting was so pleasant, tons of shade from the trees and really peaceful out there. Would come back! read more

Cantiga Wineworks was a surprise standout for me at this year's Passport Weekend and I am so glad my group was willing to stop here at my request as I had never been here before. The winery is a little off the beaten path in Somerset and at first glance looks like a converted church, but walk around the building to the main entrance and you're greeted with a lovely shaded picnic area with a flowing fountain and the vineyard so close you can smell it. This is definitely on my short list of future wine-filled picnic spots. When we arrived it was a little chaotic given that a tipsy party of 12 was just ahead of us, but the gracious hosts took their time to explain this winery's philosophy of avoiding malolactic fermentation for a much slower, natural wine-making process. This is particularly good for people who have allergies or a sensitivity to wine. If that is you or someone you know, bring them here for sure. Cantiga is also serious about their food pairing and actually offers a complete wine tasting with pairing for $15 on the regular. I was prepared to have zero options for food per usual, but was thrilled when they not only asked about allergies and dietary needs but also accommodated me with a completely vegan five wine tasting and pairing. We all thought that both the wine and the food was absolutely delicious and cannot wait to go back and try more. Cantiga Wineworks is truly a star of Somerset! read more

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Most amazing experience! Incredible wines, delicious and creative food pairings, magical location, and INCREDIBLE service + stories! we loved hearing about their unique (to California) approach to winemaking and chatting with the winemaker. We left feeling like family! We will be back, especially considering the lack of headaches and hangovers! read more

Visited Cantiga in the summer and although it was a warm day, the patio was nice. They have a lot of outdoor seating and a beautiful water feature that added a calmness and gives the experience an Italy feel! The staff is very friendly and accommodating. The owner spent significant time explaining their unique wine making process; which is considered "old world" wine making without all the preservatives. The wine was paired beautifully with small bites and scrumptious! If you visit, you MUST do the pairing!! Highly recommend! read more

The building outside is a work of art, the wine was amazing and we got some of the best service there, we went on a few stops and this one was my favorite, they take time to talk to you and get to know you. On top of that they have the cutest and sweetest dog and cat to greet you and accompany you. Will be coming back very soon read more

We stopped in here yesterday at the recommendation of other folks at a different winery during conversation. Glad we did. This is no opulent joint with grandiose views and expensive cheeses. If that's what you want, don't bother. But, if you want an education on what wine making used to be before some made wine making a science experiment, stop in and experience clean, beautiful wines. Paired with tastings for each variety, from their home made hummus, pesto and olive tapenade We bought a half dozen and joined their club! read more

This place is phenomenal. Great wine and great prices. Plus you get little tapas with every wine pour. Had an amazing time here and the people were so kind, friendly, and knowledgeable. Can't wait to go back! read more

Cantiga Wineworks is located in the town of Somerset in El Dorado County. My wife and I first visited them in 2010 and are now wine club members for life. Their tasting room is kinda small but has a good cozy feeling. It has a nice picnic area out side and does not feel so commercial. Very relaxing! The view is just amazing. When you visit Cantiga, stay until sunset and you will see what I mean... Rich and Christine truly love sharing their knowledge of wines and why they make their wines in the old traditional way. We loved listening to their passion for wine making, they explained why other wines are made the way they are today verses hundreds of years ago. All of their wines are made in the "Non - malolactic" method and their wines are just amazing!! Most white wines are paired with fish or light pastas. Cantiga's whites can stand up to any steak or BBQ. This is the 1st Chardonnay we have ever tasted that goes great with a steak or lamb. The Red wines they offer are just as wonderful and when paired with good food they truly explode with flavor. Cantiga's Red & White wines can be laid down for 20 - 30 years with proper storage. Store their wine in a thermostatic wine case at 55-60 degrees and their wines will age wonderfully. I recommend letting the wines breath in a decanter for at least one hour before serving. For the white wines we like to set the decanter on a cold plate to keep it chilled while it breathes. Please visit their website for tasting room location and hours. This is one winery you will be glad you visited... ~ Cheers read more

Their new tasting experience is awesome. Luv the flights and the personal service was amazing.

Always a good time at Cantiga! I love all the wines here, whites included. The atmosphere is always relaxed and inviting. My favorite wine of the weekend was Cantiga's Grenache! I love this winery! Cantiga never disappoints. read more

Im a local up here and have been to most of the wineries. There are only 3 that I personally recommend to family and friends, Cantiga is always the first on the list. Almost everyone I know that has tried there wines, asks me to pick up a case for them if im heading there way. This is also the only wine in my cellar that I hide when my inlaws are coming over. The staff is great and they are very dog and family friendly. I cant say enough good things about this winery. read more

Cantiga Wineworks - Wineries Near Me - Somerset, California

This is by far the best kept secret of California wine making. Richard's Cab has the most pronounced cherry I've ever tasted in a wine and the brightness of every wine on his table is so refreshing. These are wines made to put down for years as they age to perfection. Recently opened a 2001 Barbera and a 2000 Chardonnay (Yes Chardonnay) Both were reminiscent of old world classics. Smooth, balanced with no hint of tannins or acidity...... Amazing. Try to find that in CA for under $100 a bottle. No ML's in this house! The thick and viscous mouth feel of lactic acid in ML'ed wines is a complete turn off to my pallet and I'm happy to report that you won't find it here. The Minimal sulfites in the wines make for a pleasant morning after for those of us who have sensitivities to them. Classic French style processes mimic the great wines of the Bordeaux and Rhone regions to a "T". If you're serious about wine and truly understand what makes a fine wine. (or you'd like to learn) A visit to Cantiga is a must. read more

We stopped here on a whim after we had gone to our usual winery and I'm so thankful we stopped that first time. At the time we didn't join the wine club as it was structured differently but they have since changed that this year and I'm on my third shipment. It's absolutely the best! They explain everything about their traditional wine making and their passion for it shows greatly in all their wines. It's the only wine I buy now. read more

Cantiga Wineworks winery is truly a gem of the El Dorado county wine trail. So glad I have discovered it! Rich & Christine are awesome! Their wine is absolutely amazing! read more

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These are great wines and the people who run it are always very helpful and responsive. I used to live about 1/4 of a mile from them and now that I've moved back to the Bay Area, still enjoy everything they send. I have a cooking club and we regularly enjoy these wines with our meals. Saving the wines for some time to appreciate them even more is recommended but wine doesn't last long around here and we enjoy them usually within months of receiving a shipment. If you get a chance, go to a tasting and enjoy the wines, the information and, if you are there at the right time, the creative appetizers! read more

Outstanding wine made the way wine was intended to be made, This is the only winery that I personally recommend to my friends. Fantastic read more

The very best of the best...wonderful experience every time. Don't miss out on visiting this spectacular winery! It is our favorite in the US!! read more

This place truly is a gem! Every single wine is great! I can't think of any other winery that I can say that about. The atmosphere is relaxed, a great place to just hang out and talk. The owners, Rich and Christine are very welcoming and great hosts, as is their manager, Seth. Great people, who are passionate about their wine and do a great job! read more

Rich and the team really know what they're doing! We were introduced to Cantiga through some friends on a wine trip a few years ago. We were sold after the first tasting and joined the club on the spot. Every bottle we've opened has been a treat and we love sharing with friends who haven't experienced it before. I'm not usually much of a white drinker but these wines converted me! You can't go wrong with any of the wines, and I really enjoy learning about the varietals and how they were made. The staff are very friendly, knowledgeable and there's no snooty wine snobbery here! Just great people making great wine and their passion really comes through! read more

Some of my favorite foothill wines. I have been a member of their wine club for years now. Go into the tasting room to receive an education on traditional wine making methods. Try the fantastic wines! Wines are often expertly paired with tasty morsels. Prices are a bit steep, but worth it. Kids like to play outside in the large garden area. read more

Had a great time yesterday at Cantiga Wineworks. Our first stop, and could have been the last! Not only the wines were amazing, the pairings offered with each tasting were delicious and left us wanting more. The information Rich shared was priceless. Will definitely be going back to this soon to be, not so secret, gem of El Dorado County! read more

Cantiga is one of the best wineries in the foothills. We enjoy every ourselves every time we go up there. Rich and staff are always accommodating and just genuinely good people. And the wine? Amazing... read more

We have been wine club members here for years. We love the wines they produce and are always happy to bring friends and family here. The folks who work here and run the place are very nice, too. When I have a function to go to I always take a bottle of Cantiga with me and everyone raves about it. I especially like the Troubadour! They also have great events. Check them out, you won't be disappointed. read more

My favorite winery! Traditional European winemaking, malolactic-free -- a friendly family-owned operation that produces consistently excellent wine! read more

Fantastic winery. I can't say enough about the quality of wine. Stop by and let Seth educate about the wine.

Fantastic wine! Great people. Beautiful location. Bring a picnic and grab a bottle of the oakless chard. Kid friendly, so I love bringing my boys here. Always a wonderful afternoon. read more

Cantiga Wineworks - Rich being passionate about his old world style. - Wineries Near Me - Somerset, California

Great food friendly wine at a reasonable price. The atmosphere is fantastic and the people are great to visit with. Our favorite winery to visit and hang out at. read more

Among my favorite foothill wine experiences. Rich makes wine by the old-school non-malolactic method. This causes his wines to both age longer and offer a unique expression of the grape. I have some Cantiga reds that have been sitting around for 10 years and they are just now starting to properly mature -- and they are works of art. No foothill wine trip is complete without a visit to Cantiga. read more

Great wine tasting experience! Their complimentary pairings really show how delicious their wines are with foods. Cantiga is unlike any other winery we've visited -- they use an old world, non malolactic acid winemaking process that results in great wines that cellar years longer than those made by other processes. You can tell this family owned and operated winery is passionate about what they do. How lucky for us! read more

I wish I could rate them with 10 stars! This place is by far the BEST winery around! I can't say enough about their wine, Rich and Christine are excellent hosts, & great people! They make wine the way wine has always been made for thousands of years! You must go to Cantiga if you are wine tasting in El Dorado County! read more

This a great winery - excellent wines, the owner is very informative, nice location for a pinic and nice drive getting there. Will go back often. read more

We love Cantiga wines! I always recommend that tasters to this great wine-making region stop by this small, family-run boutique winery as what they taste and learn here will be uniquely wonderful. The winemakers (Rich and/or Seth, usually) will teach you about their traditional "minimal intervention" winemaking process (no malolactic fermentation) that produces a wine low in sulfites and drinkable for many with wine allergies. They pair their wine tasting with food, emphasizing how their wine is meant to be a food one brings to table. I absolutely love the pairing suggestions on their wine labels. Whatever I'm serving - Indian, Thanksgiving dinner, pizza/pasta, barbecue, cheese, pork, etc. - all I need to do is go to the wine cellar and read the pairing suggestions to find the perfect wine for my guests. Cantiga winemakers taught me how to enjoy their late harvest low-sugar sweet wines with the right food, ending years of my having turned up my nose to sweet wines. We've been wine club members since we discovered them upon our first visit to the Placerville area in 2010, and now that we live here full time, we enjoy making sure our guests visit the Cantiga winery - or at least get to taste their wine with the appropriately-matched food from our kitchen. Indeed, it's a fun, surefire way to WOW our guests. Thanks Cantiga! read more

Charming location, interesting wines, laid back, friendly people.

I've known about Cantiga for some years, through music--the kind that is pictured on their labels. My wife and I have made a couple of trips up the Hill to the Rorden's beautiful location, and find everyone hospiitable and charming. We are not wine experts, but I feel Cantigawines are as good as I need, and will ever find in the price range. Of course we are members of their wine club! Personal service is the order of the day, and we look forward to the quarterly shipments like little Christmases! read more

This place has the BEST chardonnay- ever! The non-malolactic processing just makes them delicious. The ambiance in the tasting room is lovely and the people are so friendly. I have been here a few times and will definitely keep coming back until I eventually take every person I know here ;-) Their wines are just so different, and so delicious! Yum! read more

Love this place. One of our new favorites. The owners are so passionate about their old world process that I don't mind listening to their shpiel time and again. They also don't have a bad wine in their whole selection. When we first went there a couple of years ago, we were practically the only ones there. The last time we went, a couple of months ago, it was elbow to elbow. I also like the food pairings they do. You think, "This is a good wine." And then they pair it and then you realize. .. it's a Great wine. read more

The best wine i have ever had. Done old world style so it lasts a very long time and maintains it's flavor like no other wine. Also because it is non- malolactic my husband can drink it (NO headaches!) Such a beautiful setting too. Highly recommended. read more

Worth the drive! Rich is always helpful and informative about their wines. The commitment to minimal intervention and a focus on food-friendly produces wines you won't find anywhere else in the region. They always welcome us and even our chocolate labs get to hang-out when it's not too busy. read more

No better wine than here. I can say this with certainty. Rich has amazing talent in creating wines in a pure form that allows me to drink their red wines with no headache problems. I have suffered many years with migraines after drinking red wine, but the wines here allow me to drink away with no ill effects. I encourage anyone with this problem to check out Cantiga, as it will open up your world to enjoy wines to their full extent. A visit to the tasting room will educate and enlighten you as to the possibilities of delight with good food and wine pairings. Rich and Christine are kind people who are passionate about their product. Just go here! read more