There is absolutely more to do in Cambria aside from Hearst Castle, and one of those things is $10 wine tasting. That sign alone caught my eye immediately and when you go inside, it is a great wine store featuring mostly local smallbatch wineries in the region, and the staff are very friendly. Trina gave me some local recommendations for dinner and overall was very well-versed her knowledge of the wines from the different areas and even convinced me to buy a bottle of Moscato. I also got a cute coaster for a souvenir! Highly recommend. read more

See all

After a delicious meal we decided to take a walk and ended up in this awesome place! We were greeted immediately upon entry which was a good feeling. We met Luann who was kind and knowledgeable about the wines we decided to taste. We stood at the bar to do five wine tastings. The curated list of options is spectacular. Plenty of options but not overwhelming. We loved this experience so much we went back the next day and did it again! Kindness goes along way and wine tastings g is meant to be fun and memorable. Fermentations gave us that each time! I'm looking forward to drinking some of the bottles we purchased and may even join the club! When in Cambria stop by and treat yourself! read more

Fermentations - Wine tasting menu - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

This a great place to get grounded on some of the varieties of wine in the Central Coast. It costs $10 for 5 tasting, with about 25 options in the red, white, bubbly and unconventional categories. Several of the more well known wineries are represented, like Tablas Creek and Justin. But there are also some lesser known labels, so it's a good place to try wines from places you might want to visit in the Paso area. They also have a good selection of wine themed gifts and gadgets. They also have a small selection of wine by the bottle to purchase; we bought three bottles and received a 5% discount. Fermentations is definitely worth a visit. read more

Our nephew and his girlfriend introduced my fiancee and I to this beautiful little town where the people are kind, the restaurants are delicious and this place Fermentations was a delight! Miss Cheri was ABSOLUTELY charming! She's very knowledgeable about wine, the town and life in general. We had such a great time with her she got us signed up for the wine membership. Cheri! Hold our 3 bottles for February we already booked for March 13th weekend and we booked on a Friday just so we can go see you! Thank you Cheri! read more

My wife and I went to Harmony one Saturday afternoon and wanted to stop in Cambria. We participated in a single wine tasting and allowed us to share a glass. We discovered a very good and affordable Jolanda Peach Moscato, that was delicious and sweet and crisp. We purchased a bunch of bottles for a wedding brunch. Thank you Fermentations. read more

Well worth the visit. Also excellent wine club. When in Cambria well worth stopping by.

The people are so nice and helpful and friendly. Nice selection of wines. They use to have a great gift shop but not much of a selection now. read more

You betcha I recommend this place. I can't believe I waited this long to come here. First of all, a tasting flight is $10 for 5 wines or $2 a taste. They serve a variety of wines and allow you to practically taste anything, order a glass or even pop open a bottle. They have great service and a great wine club that of course I joined! Check them out the next time you are in the area. read more

See all

$5 wine tasting - 1$ per wine selection. There's a variety of wine to choose from and the kind lady who was serving us that day had a recommendation for each category (I.e. white, red, bubbly). Since they're considered a bar, they have a 21 & under area. Their membership is a great deal, we ended up leaving with 3 wines. I didn't notice that my daughter dropped one of her teething toys, luckily one of the staff members called us & we were able to retrieve it. read more

Fermentations - a person holding a wine glass - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

See all

We loved the hostess who was very knowledgeable about the wine she served us and gave us a beautiful background on each wine that was served that day. We also were able to purchase a charcuterie board to enjoy with the tasting, the ambience was magnificent and the intimate atmosphere and experience made for a special outing while sightseeing on our vacation/honeymoon. read more

Fermentations - Beautiful local art on wall in store lounge area. - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

See all

Great customer service and recommendations Great selection of wines Tasting selection is awesome read more

A nice wine shop to shop and taste local wines as well as wines from other countries. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable about the wines they serve. You can also purchase bottles of wine and/or become part of their wine club. We have been a few times and enjoyed each visit. read more

Now that things seem like they're finally going back to normal, covid-wise, I'm trying to clear my queue of reviews from the road trip we took up the coast, the Christmas right *before* covid changed everything. So this is a review of an experience from almost two years ago, but I definitely get the impression this shop, and for that matter, Cambria in general, didn't really change very much. Anyway, Christmas of 2019, we stopped in Cambria for an evening on our way up the coast by car. We'd been wine tasting in Paso Robles in the morning - this shop wasn't specifically on our list, we just had a bit of extra time, and saw a sign for $5 wine tasting down the street from the little motel we'd just checked into, so we had to pop in and check it out. It's not a very large shop, but has a surprisingly decent-sized list of open wines you could taste (about half were local/California coast wineries, the other half were European), $5 for 5 tastes, which isn't bad at all. At least at the time, they also had a pretty decent selection of Ports, which is totally our thing - trying four random fun Ports, including a chocolate Port (and also one other wine) for $5? Yes please! I mean, I wouldn't come to Cambria *just* for this tasting, but if I was back in the area, I'd definitely stop in to see what they were pouring here. The "olive oil tasting" they advertised on their sign was pretty dinky though - they only had 3 olive oils, none of which were particularly interesting or exciting. But that also clearly isn't the point. read more

If you need some wine tastings in Cambria after 5 pm, note the other great tasting shops like Moonstone shut down. We just wanted some wine to go with some takeout food. At 7:30 pm. Note plenty of restaurants were open midweek in January. Fermentations has one nice older gal Cherie pouring in the evenings. She works hard. The wine selections just were not that great...in a region of great wines. But hey, tastings were just $1 each. We found something. Next time we will arrive in afternoon and go directly to Moonstone tasting room! Yet Fermentations is open till 8 and it did the job for us. read more

See all

$5 for 5 tastings. The best deal I've ever seen in the market. The town is quite small and we decided to step in and do the tasting. They have quite a menu and let you select 5 for tasting. Something famous there is is the chocolate liquor. I tried it but I wasn't a fan. Our server was a lady and she was very sweet. Loved all the tastings and the stories behind the wine. Best deal in town, best deal in the the bay! read more

See all

This is a fun little place, right in the heart of downtown Cambria. Unlike a winery, where you can expect several pours from their current offerings, here, you are handed a list with a lot of options, and you check off the five you would like to taste. Others in your party can select whatever they want as well, so it's kind of fun to share, compare notes, enjoy new discoveries and talk trash about the ones you might not like. A lot of times, for us, it's the last stop of the day, then you can grab dinner afterwards at any of the nice spots downtown. Not a lot of seating, so be prepared for that if it's a busy weekend. Some of the servers are not as experienced as they might be, but then again, they have a lot more to keep track of that somebody pouring at a winery with only five wines to remember. It's a fun stop in any case, and we often take guests there at the end of a day of tasting in the area. read more

I have been visiting this business for many years on trips to Cambria. We have always enjoyed the wine selection, staff and ambiance but our visit this weekend was one of the worst customer service experiences I have had in a very long time. I will not be returning! Two ladies were working and the lady who served us our wine was very pleasant. The younger blonde woman was incredibly rude. Complaining that we moved a chair from another table that no one was sitting at. We had a larger group and had planned to all order wine once we were settled. Her rude behavior was so off putting that we all opted to pay for the drinks ordered and just leave. Investing in a customer service course for this individual is suggested at the very least. I see several other reviews with the same complaint. Too many options in Cambria that value customers and provide wonderful service to waste money and time on mediocre wine and terrible service! read more

What a fun and friendly venue, offering lots of wine for tastings. I think it was $6 for 5 one ounce pours. Just enough t wine to try lots and not get too buzzed. If you like a wine, you can buy a glass. Also, bottle discounts on purchase of three bottles or more. I'd come back! read more

Fermentations - Friendly service - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

While doing some shopping, we came across Fermentations. A great stop for all your wine needs and wants. Tasting was only $5 for 5 wines and then some! Interesting moscatos (peach and pineapple) and some nice red blends like If You See Kay (Yep! Lol!) Our host was hilarious and made our visit especially enjoyable. Also tried some chocolate wine that tasted like chocolate milk. I had to use the spit bucket more than I care to because I was the driver and no Uber in this town, but our host told us not to worry because if I overdid it the local tow truck driver could give us a ride! I didn't really want to test out this ride service, but good to know. If you're in town, you'll definitely want to make this one of your stops. read more

See all

I love this little town and this little shop. I was strolling by since i reservations later that evening and saw they had $5 wine tasting and was like why not expand you pallet. I walked in the staff is all so friendly and nice. I talked with them and let them know I'm not a wine drinker by any means and when i do it has to be sweet. I was given a great amount to choose from in the tasting and they poor more than enough for you to really sip and enjoy. I enjoyed my time and somehow ended up with two new wines for my collection. read more

Fermentations - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

Yes, this is a "Must Stop" if you are into wine Or even if you are just a novist as far as Wine goes. The staff was amazing, very helpful, Knowledgeable on the different varieties of wine And made it a Very Fun and exciting experience. We taste tested a variety of different wines. Some I Really Liked and some were just not for Me personally. I had no idea that there were so Many different options of flavors. I ended up buying enough different varieties to fill Up a bag. And I got to keep my glass as well. Very Much worth stopping at. read more

What a great experience. We came here to burn some time waiting on a dinner reservation and ended up doing the wine tasting. Wee meet up with Geraldine who was not only helpful explaining what we were drinking but have us some great tips on where to visit during our weekend excursion. read more

My girlfriend and I had the absolute best time here! Prices were great, atmosphere was great, and most of all the people there were amazing and so much fun! If you're in the area and miss this place you have definitely missed out. read more

Fermentations - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

I walked into this store to buy a bottle of wine and was offended to see a collection of insulated cups with the phrase "drunk wives matter" in the style of the Black Lives Matter logo. This is completely tone deaf and opportunistic regarding the tragic events we keep witnessing in the news today. It's disappointing that someone would create such a thing and even more so that business owners would sell them. I hope that others will agree by liking this review so that the business owner knows this is not OK. read more

Fermentations - Cup - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

$5 for 5 tastings including a free wine glass - really can't beat that! Cute lil wine shop located in the town of Cambria. They had about 15 reds, whites, ports on the tasting menu to choose from. The staff were very friendly and definitely gave us a very generous pour. The only thing was that they were not very knowledgeable about the wines they were selling or were able to provide pairing recommendations. Overall, a pleasant experience. read more

Fermentations - Frog balls! - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

Our first stop of the day, a freebie wine tasting that came with our Cambria Pines Lodge stay. Our tasting included keeping our wine glasses. The little shop is in the quaint downtown area of Cambria, and has more than wine tasting. They have a nice selection of wine paraphernalia, great foodie gifts, funny wine related signs, and tasty snacks and local jams/mustards/sauces and so on. While we did not purchase any wine at this stop, it was a nice experience. And its location is in an interesting section of town with a lot of boutique stores that can entertain you for hours, whether you choose to spend money or not. read more

Fermentations - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

We were early for checking in at the Cambria Pines Lodge, and this place with its fun wine slogans looked like an inviting way to spend an hour, and it really was. We tasted five wines for $5, and got to choose off their extensive list, which is a nice change, because I could taste the Prosecco, while my husband could try only reds. We agreed the pinot noir and chocolate port were winners. There are also tastings of vinegar, oils, and mustard to clear your palate before the next taste. The pourer was very pleasant, and we found some cute gifts and cards while savoring some nice central coast wines. Discounts if you buy three or more bottles, so we grabbed a Prosecco too, in case of an emergency... read more

Fermentations - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

Fermentations is in the center of old town Cambria in a large and open old comercial building. The owners are friendly, and Ron was very knowledgable about the regional wines we were tasting. The $5 tasting I did included 5 reds all made here on the central coast. All were wonderful. They had a nice display of local olive oils, balsamic vinegers and mustard mixes you could sample between tastes as well. Besides selling the wines available for tasting (20 varieties) they also have a pretty interesting collection of wine related knick knacks, signs and accessories for sale. We visited on a rainy day, and the owner, Ron, said it was not unusual for people to have a tasting, choose a glass of their favorite then settle into one of the window tables and use their free WiFi while they sipped and watched the world go by...seemed like an attractive option the day we were there! read more

See all

We always stop into Fermentations during our semiannual trips to Cambria. First, you can't beat their wine tasting deal! 5 tastings for $5. Granted the tasting isn't HUGE, but it's well more than enough to decide if you like a wine or not. We always leave with 2 bottles of something we discover there. We always seem to get different staff every time we go, but they are always friendly and knowledgeable. (This last time we got a lady that's originally from Maine and she was a hoot) They've got an interesting assortment of wine associate gift-type merchandise as well. On top of all of this, they allow our small dachshund/beagle to rest at our feet while doing our tasting. Dog friendly is always a BIG plus for us. read more

Fun place to wine taste, however they are raising their prices and they need more tables and chairs. The wine is great tasting, but it also feels like you're being rushed to leave here. The welcoming by the staff could be improved. Also it's severely warm inside. read more

We have been members at Fermentations for quite a while now. Our pick up experiences have been a little hit or miss. All that changed this weekend when we were greeted by Susan. She made our tasting an absolute delight. I was actually thinking of cancelling the membership. After our time there last Saturday, I decided to keep it. Way to go!!! Thanks, again, Susan! read more

Affordable wine tasting, yummy wines, friendly staff, and a cute shopping experience! Dog friendly too

Fermentations is a wine store in the middle of Cambria's Main St. It's a great place if you want to pick up some wine to drink during your vacation or if you forgot to bring along a wine opener. They also sell quirky napkins, have a nice collection of stemware, and a different collection of olive oils, vinegars, mustards, and jams. They have $5 tasting for 5 tastes. The tasting pours are minuscule but the price is cheap and it lets you pick what you want. I wish they'd waiver the fee though if a bottle is purchased but they don't. I honestly didn't care for any of the reds they were pouring but my wife found some tasty dessert wines. They do have some great wines for sell in the store that are not part of the tastings and the prices are not marked up much vs getting them at the winery. Last year they were selling Denner's Ditch Digger which was cool since Denner decided to close off their winery unless you're a member only. This year though they didn't have any so I got a bottle of Enroute's Pinot Noir for a reasonable price. My wife got a moscato d'asti infused with pineapple which is a perfect summer wine. All in all it's a place when you want something quick and don't feel like driving to the winery. The store gives you 5% off 3 bottles, 10% off 6 bottles, and 12% off 12 bottles. They also have their own wine club where they ship quarterly. read more

Fermentations - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

When in Cambria and Wine Tasting is on your list - stop here! Excellent Wine selection, wine accessories, fun shopping and awesome staff :) YEP, it's true $5.00 Wine Tasting - try the "Paso Pour" This Wine Tasting room is top notch ~Saluté read more

See all

I didn't do a wine tasting here because I'm a huge wine snob and after seeing the type of women at the bar I didn't even consider it, but I have to say that Fermentations has one of THE best wine-themed gift shops I've ever seen. I have shopped for wine knick-knacks all over the world and I counted at least two dozen items that I've never seen before. Funny as well as classy vino party napkins, cute wine bottle bird feeders, kitchen towels, home decor, cabernet filled chocolates, and more. Hint: if anybody out there in Yelp land wants to know the perfect gift to buy me for my birthday, holiday, etc., believe me when I tell you that you cannot go wrong if you shop at this place! read more

Fermentations - Cute gifts any wine lover is sure to adore! - Specialty Food Near Me - Cambria, California

Great little shopping store with wine tasting. Can't beat the $1/tasting. Stand at the bar or take a seat and try some wine. Service was very nice and great at explaining what we were tasting. read more

I love this place. Inexpensive wine tasting. I love their sweet wines. I joined their wine club. I have tried most of the wineries in the area and I enjoyed fermentation's the most. read more

We've been coming to Cambria for years now and over that time I have really developed a taste for wine. It's nice to revisit Fermentations with each stage of my development to better appreciate what they have to offer. This nice little store located on the main strip across from some other fine local mom and pop stores has all your wine needs from fancy decanters, wine decor and even local central coast wines. If you're interested, you can even give their quick local wine tasting a try. They feature a handful of different wines from around the area which some wine snobs might turn their head away from but there are some good things here! The reds in particular and their blends seem to be quite respectable. As I said, I truly do have a lot of fun here browsing their things when I come into town. They don't take American Express but that is typical of smaller stores. Fun place, great service, awesome products. read more

Very upsetting to see a drunk wives matter cup sold at this store. The black lives matter movement is not something to joke about. Innocent people are being killed and not receiving justice in the form of punishment for their killers. It's absolutely disgusting and distasteful. I mentioned them being offensive to the cashier and she said they had received a complaint before and I see a yelp review below mentioning this as well. I hope that the owner does the right thing and removes these cups from the store read more

The wine was excellent and the staff was fantastic. I want it to buy one of everything in the store. $5 for wine tasting is such a great deal. This little shop is a must stop when visiting Cambria. read more