I try not to use the phrase a "hidden gem" too often or not at all, but Sonoma Aperitif should fall…read moreinto that category if it indeed a legitimate term to use! I had loose plans to visit Sonoma Aperitif on a weekend a few months back, but was not committed due to other plans. Well I had some spare time and figured I'd try to stop by and see if I could do a walk in tasting/sample. Laura who is the owner graciously accepted us into her old style barn converted into a tasting room. It really displays the Petaluma hospitality as well as the true country vibe of the aesthetics inside. For those a tad confused about Aperitifs, it is not your normal cocktail you will throw back or glass of wine/beer. They are typically served before or after (Sometimes depending on the country/region) to cleanse the palette. This is not to say you cannot make cocktails with it, but typically from what I have been told it is an after or before meal "sipper". Back to the tasting, Laura had a few that she was pouring today ranging from Lime/Citrus to Buddhas hand and Grapefruit. All had their very own distinction from each other. The real jewel of the tasting was the fact that Laura was pairing everything with very simple ingredients to make delicious cocktails! To give an example a aperitif splash with a rosemary shrub gave the aperitif a whole different level of complexity. The tasting itself was very affordable, and at the time included a wine tasting at the same bar by another company (No longer being offered though). Flavors may change throughout the year due to the seasons of various fruits though, so what one may see on one visit, may be gone the next depending on inventory, so keep that in mind if you really like any of the aperitifs. I could easily recommend this to someone who is looking for an alternative to Wine and Beer tastings.

Apéritif is a French word derived from the Latin verb aperire, which means "to open". An apéritif…read moreis an alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite, and is therefore usually dry rather than sweet." Fantastic alternative from ciders and wine tasting. (But I still love ciders and wine :) I've never experienced aperitif. Laura, the creative mistress and owner was highly informative and had so much passion with her creations. Her previous career led her to this wonderful libation. The public gets to reap the rewards. This tasting bar shares the barn themed building. We came in to taste her aperitif creations and ciders from a very new up and coming cidery, "Acre and Spade" (see my Yelp review) After our cider tastimg, she placed 3 different tall slim bottles of aperitifs and poured each one in a very tiny martini stemmed glass, along with a ceramic bucket to pour any extra aperitif. As she poured each aperitif one flavor at a time, she offered the flavor profile. It's great with a bit of ice, which is extra perfect on hot days. She then made a cocktail using a lemon flavored "shrub *" and one of the aperitif (sorry I forgot which one). It was delish. I felt so "classy" lol. She added a sprig of fresh rosemary, so as your sipping, your nose picks up the Rosemary aroma. We offered our opinion for each aperitif and she listened intently as we slowly tasted each one. Their was no wrong answer as each flavor description is subjective to our own taste buds. This visit was eye opening, informative and very enjoyable. Our group ended up purchasing a pack of cider and few bottles of aperitif. She mentioned she had a few strawberry aperitif which we were lucky to enjoy. These aperitifs will be part of holiday dinners or any festive group gatherings. But equally fantastic for summer parties or warm/hot weather. * "The term "shrub" can also be applied to the sweetened vinegar-based syrup, from which the cocktail is made; the syrup is also known as drinking vinegar. Drinking vinegar is often infused with fruit juice, herbs and spices for use in mixed drinks."

Hotel recommended this as a chill place to drink wine. the wine folk are amazing. Suzanne and Greg…read moreand even met the owner Heather was so friendly. Greg helped me plan out places to go with a giant map and j loved it. I did the wine flight and it was great. Then I got what they call the POOL WINE. Just ask! If you're looking for something not incredibly busy this is the plaxe :)

What a fun experience and what good wines! We did both a…read moretasting and we purchased a bottle of Rose and had it in store, so I had the best of both worlds: enjoyed the description of the delicious wines and tasted sips of them, while I enjoyed my very soft and fine glass of rose! Declan was our host. He is half a poet for descriptions of the wines body and flavors, and a sommelier as far a knowledge of the components and types: in fact he was the full Monty! Go in, enjoy the wines and relish in his fun company! Enjoy!

Really cute ciderhouse on Solano Ave. I loved the modern and homey interior inside. My friend and I…read moretried the spot for the first time on a Saturday night-- they close at 11pm (on weekends?) which is a plus. A lot of local breweries close much earlier. Great service. The guy behind the counter was super helpful and will let you sample some stuff if you're unsure of what you want. They provide some great local cider. I've had Far West at some of other spots so glad they had the Very Juicy on tap! I'd come back again and bring some more folks.

I love this place.it so beautiful. Bunch of plant. Atmosphere is chill. And the staff is amazing!read more

I came here while on vacation decided to stop in for something to eat. I don't usually leaves…read morereviews, but this experience was worth taking a minute to write about. The service from this young man, Noe was outstanding from start to finish. He was very friendly, attentive and made sure everything was taken care of without us having to ask. He even kept our water glasses full which really stood out. it's rare to come across service like that these days. The kales was delicious and the wings were AMAZING. He definitely made our visit better and well be back because of it

Always a great experience at this restaurant! A round of applause from my family to the chef &…read morehelpers ! The food was amazing! Never disappoints . Is best to make reservations but walk ins are welcome! We had burgers, steak, beet salad ,biscuits, Mac & cheese, chocolate chips cookies and ice cream, everything was so delicious!!! the waitress was super attentive & checked on us often! Highly recommended all the food tastes fresh

Our family of five recently visited Williamson Wines using a Groupon, and we also purchased the…read morefood tasting for our teenage son. It turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip! The wine and food pairings were exceptional. Every wine was smooth, delicious, and perfectly matched with each course. My favorite pairing was the Meritage with the lemon ricotta ravioli--it was absolutely outstanding and a combination I'll be thinking about for a long time. A special thank you to Jen, our server, who made the experience even better. She was incredibly welcoming, knowledgeable, and passionate about the wines and food. She took the time to explain each pairing and made us feel right at home. Everything about the tasting exceeded our expectations. The wines were so good that we couldn't leave without joining the wine club! If you're looking for an unforgettable wine tasting with amazing food pairings and outstanding hospitality, I highly recommend Williamson Wines. We can't wait to come back!

First time wine tasting and it was a great experience. Booked the wine and food pairing through…read moreviator! Brendan is a great server and extremely knowledgeable about wine. He described all the wines and their food pairing so well. It gave my partner and I, more understanding about how a bite or wine can complement each other and bring out a spice or other notes. The environment was very friendly and welcoming, with great natural lighting. I can see us coming back here. It's in a great area with lots of shops and restaurants. Perfect to walk around after to walk off the wine.

We came here for an early Mother's Day celebration and ended up leaving as sake club members, so…read morethat tells you something. The brewery and tasting room is located in an industrial part of the city. Upon arriving you walk right into the brewery and head to the tasting area in the back where tables are set up right next to the actual brewery. Flights are $15 each and we worked our way through all of them. They offer quite a range and our favorite was the spicy flight. Each flight came with a detailed explanation of what we were tasting... covering the brewing process, alcohol content, and food pairings for each sake... and there was plenty of room for questions. That kind of walkthrough makes a real difference, especially if you're newer to sake. You leave actually knowing something. A few things: there's a small bites menu, but you can bring your own snacks as long as you take your trash with you when you leave. Dogs are not allowed. There's plenty of free street parking. Tastings are only on Saturdays and first come first serve. I also can't rave enough about the owners who have a way of giving each group their full attention even when the room is full. Pricing is fair for what you're getting. The sake is genuinely good, and joining the club was an easy decision... members receive perks such as free flights and a discount when purchasing product. We can't wait to visit again.

The owners who run Sequoia Sake are lovely. The tasting flights are very reasonably priced and the…read moresake quality is pretty great. The tasting room and distillery are all in the same building. I don't think the tours run daily, as there wasn't much going on when we went, but still fun to do a tasting. You don't find a local sake distillery in the states very often! They also offer a small menu of snacks to go with the tasting, but I found the pricing pretty expensive ($18 for half a tiny round of Mt. Tam cheese and a handful of crackers). We did the Sequoia and Seasonal flights. Really liked the nigori and kimoto (aged 5yrs) -- all the sake had nice, crisp, and clean finishes. The umeshu in the seasonal was pretty good, but probably my least favorite of the samples.

Walking around Healdsburg on a day off and noticed some nice outdoor seating lined with planter…read moreboxes full of flowers. Walked inside to talk to someone and was seated outside. $40 for a tasting of 5 wines which included meat and cheese pairings. Really great value! They specialize in Italian varietals - specifically those of the Piedmont region, but they are grown in Mendocino county. Cool. We tried the Arneis, Cortese, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, Barbera. (I think we also got a bonus pour of Grignolino) The wines are unique expressive and true to the Piedmont varietals. We also had a great host/server (I believe her name was Alexandra, I hope that is right). She was very attentive and courteous, which, as always, can make or break a wine tasting experience. She was awesome. The meat and cheese selection was also awesome - some unique cheeses , artisan honey, and some high-quality prosciutto and mortadella. Great value and experience. Definitely give them a shot.

Nice tasting room in Healdsburg that's more of an urban winery. We were there for the Wine Road…read morebarrel tasting weekend. We were seated in the pretty back room and our host was very knowledgeable of their wines. He did a great job. Brought out some complimentary crackers, cheese, and salami too. Unfortunately we couldn't order a charcuterie board that day. They have great reviews on their wines so that's why we stopped in. If you like sweet and overly floral wines, this is the place for you.

I recently stopped back into The Hive to pick up a bottle or two of mead to bring to Girls' Night…read moredinner. I contemplated also buying honey but figured the hostess already had us covered with charcuterie, ports, olive oil and balsamic vinegars. I didn't catch the name of the man who helped me out, but he was super knowledgeable. I tasted more than a handful of different meads, ranging from bright and sweet to hoppy, to notes of cardamom and pine, to a thick almost port-like consistency, to a dry one. I also noticed one local brand, Strad Meadery represented as well. This wasn't a formal proper sit-down tasting as I was short on time, compared to when I did the actual honey tasting and they had a UC Davis Honey Flavor & Aroma Tasting Wheel to go along with. Ultimately I ended up purchasing a bottle of limited edition Sky River Chamomile Mead (Puget Sound, WA) and a specialty small-batch Monarch Series bottle of SideTrack Meadery's Celebratory Cyser Apple Mead (California Bay Area). We shared the Cyser which was great, and saving the bottle of Chamomile for a future date. I'll be back soon for lunch or to catch live music on the pollinator garden patio!

We had an amazing visit arrived before they opened at 11 AM and walked around enjoyed all of the…read moregrounds and was amazed to see passionfruit growing on the trellis. Once they opened, we did the honey tasting, and there was an incredible number of honeys that we could taste there were 7 of us and we each tried 14 honeys, 2 nut butters and 2 fruit spreads. I have to say that the tastings are the highlight of this visit because I had no idea what an amazing variety of honey wecultivate here in the Sacramento Valley. Also, my favorite honey was from Hawaii flower that's only grown on the big island... which I had to buy. The honey is insanely expensive, but when you have something that is so unique, it's worth it. After all of that tasting, I thought I was gonna have a diabetic overload, so we went and had our savory lunch. Each one of the seven of us purchased one item and asked for it to be sliced up so that we could all share. I have to say the only item on the menu that I went crazy for was the real Gouda cheese and bacon and peach sandwich. It was absolutely divine. I also really enjoyed the whipped goat cheese with honey although the nectarines on the side should have been sliced up and incorporated so that more bites could contain them. Prices are a little steep, but the atmosphere is lovely. It was a very warm day. We had the misters going. Some people didn't like getting wet, but that's OK. There was other places where you could sit and not get wet. I would definitely come here again with people new to the area to do the tasting that was super fun and I would also like to get a tour of their operation. While they don't actually harvest the honey here they contract with the local, single hive owners and they have an amazing amazing array of honeys. They do all of the packaging injuring of the products here. I was super happy to hear that they partner with the ally in a Sacramento to make their hot honey and some infuse honey's. I love shopping local and this made me super happy farm to forget it's greatest.