Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Loxton Cellars

    4.8 (198 reviews)
    ModerateWineries
    Open • 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

    By appointment only

    Loxton Cellars Photos

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Loxton Cellars

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Brian M.

    True hidden gem. Amazing deal $20 PP walk-ins welcome anytime. Usually you will be personally hosted by the owner winemaker himself chris loxton. Who is an absolute delight to be around. Dont miss this one! Great vino! And beautiful grounds

    ENOTOOLS Vega 10 de-stemmer machine. That's owner Chris Loxton up top with Christy, getting the grapes out of the box.
    Daniel B.

    Loxton Cellars was our favorite stop on a wine tour we took with Platypus Wine Tours: https://www.yelp.com/biz/platypus-wine-tours-napa. Loxton is one of my favorite wineries of all the ones I've visited in both the Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley wine regions over the years. Here are the reasons why: 1. This is a small, humble, intimate winery where you can see every step of the winemaking process. Unlike other wineries, this one doesn't have that touristy, commercialized feel. It's the opposite. This is a sole proprietorship. Owner/winemaker Chris Loxton and his team are very welcoming, transparent, and open with the business. Again, unlike other wineries, this one is a labor of love. It's refreshing and genuine. 2. The wines taste great and are reasonably priced. I'm not a wine connoisseur. I just know all the wines we tasted at Loxton were fantastic and some of the best I've tasted anywhere. I ended up buying a bottle of the 2021 Sencillo (Sonoma County, $28) and the 2019 Zinfandel, Sonoma Hillside Vineyards (Sonoma Valley, $32). We took the bottle of Sencillo, a white wine, with us to our nice steak and seafood dinner in Petaluma. To date, it's perhaps the most enjoyable white I've had. The Zin was wonderful as well. 3. The staff is terrific. "Lisa of Loxton" was our guide. She took us on a small tour of the facility and led our wine tasting. She had a great personality, very laid-back and easygoing. We got along well with her. We also met Kristi, who was polite and friendly. We saw Chris, but didn't get the chance to meet him. He and the staff were busy working. I liked how they let us get up close to the grapes and the ENOTOOLS Vega 10 destemmer machine. Since I'd not seen one that close and in action before, I thought it was fascinating. We met other staff, but I forgot their names. Everyone was nice. 4. It's not crowded. This goes along with item 1 above. During our visit around 11am on an ordinary Friday, we were one of only two or three groups total on the property at any given time. And we had the biggest group with six people. It felt like it was just us and a handful of workers. Our visit was quiet, comfortable, and relaxing. We stayed for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Our tasting was conducted at a table outside, right next to the vineyards. The weather was perfect. If you end up buying wines from Loxton, I suggest having them ship your wine for you. Like the wine prices, the shipping cost that Lisa quoted to me for a shipment to North Carolina was reasonable. Sonoma Valley has businesses that will pack and ship wine for you, but you have to find locations that are open where and when it is convenient for you. To save yourself time and effort, just have the winery pack and ship for you. Our tasting fee was $20 per person, but the fee was waived if we purchased wine, so we each bought at least one bottle. About 40% of Loxton wines are estate wines, from Chris' five-acre property. The rest comes from other vineyards in Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, and the Petaluma Gap. The 2017 Syrah estate wine was magnificent. You can't come to Loxton and not try the Syrah, a.k.a. Shiraz. I recommend it. You can see some of the hills where the non-estate grapes originated from the Loxton property: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/loxton-cellars-glen-ellen-2?select=ay43IaKuQ6sPtJwY5k-zyA. Unlike other winery owners, Chris was there working on the grounds, getting his hands dirty during our visit. He's a former experimental physicist and research scientist. Thank you to Lisa, Kristi, Chris, and the rest of the Loxton Cellars team for a delightful experience and the delicious wine.

    Rose and Syrah overlooking the vineyards.
    Terri B.

    Loxton Cellars is our favorite spot in Sonoma Valley. One of the very few if only that still welcomes walk-ins, tastings are $20 I believe which is another bargain. The tasting is waived if you purchase a bottle. I promise you will buy more than one. On this visit we passed on the tasting as we are very familiar with their wines. We each purchased a glass and went out to the Adirondack chairs and sat savoring our wine overlooking the vineyard. The wines are always wonderful. Loxton is a small winery owned by Chris Loxton who is from Australia and from a family of winemakers. You will typically see Chris in the tasting room, guiding a tour or working in the vineyard. He is so nice and personable and very easy to talk to. Everyone working at the winery is knowledgeable about the wines and so friendly. It is not pretentious, very unique and quaint. Truly a treasure amongst the bigger wineries and that is why we adore coming here.

    Margie W.

    Perfect service provided by Loxton himself, the most knowledgeable man who makes wine himself. He is funny and very casual very friendly and approachable! I'd love to go back! I highly recommend this place!

    He's the owner and really cool
    Rew C.

    Terrific Chris Loxton, the owner/ winemaker did the tasting at Loxton and he was very entertaining and charming. Tasted my group on his Rose of Syrah, then his Syrah, and then Zinfandel from the infamous Rossi vineyard and then his Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah blend- terrific and then finishes it off with a late harvest Zin port. With just a touch of sweetness, it's sublime and so perfect to end the tasting.

    Chris Loxton
    Tina M.

    THE BEST wine tasting experience in Sonoma!! Chris is personable, interesting, educated, calculated and shares his passion and wealth of knowledge with his guests. You're going to want to buy his wine even before you taste it! And once you do, you're going to join the wine club!! His attention to detail is evident in the final product. He knows the vines, the rows, the intricacies like the back of his hand. When you care more about quality than quantity, you're going to produce excellence. And besides, listening to him talk is worth the stop! ;)

    Bonnie G.

    Such an ideal, intimidate, easy wine-tasting experience at this beautiful, sprawling vineyard run by just four passionate (and dog-friendly) people. You sit outside at picnic tables shaded by an orange umbrella and look out at the rows of grapevines. Loved the port and rose especially, and took home a bottle of rose. Brought our dog and wandered the vineyards after and they all loved it. 5 stars!!!!

    Ashley S.

    I came here on a Platypus tour and I am so glad that they took us here!! When we arrived we were greeted by the owner- this sweet Australian man. He told us about his grapes and what he's done while being a wine maker. He was super sweet and was very passionate about his wines! We tried a handful of his wines and they were all great. My favorite was the Cabernet. I bought 2 bottles to take home. The scenery is great as well; it is so picturesque! It's a really great spot to enjoy some wine and talk to the wine maker himself! I would definitely come back here when visiting Napa/Sonoma again.

    The Orange Couple in the Loxton Vineyard

    See all

    1 month ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Robert H.
    57
    270
    123

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Bruce R.
    61
    116
    0

    8 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Loxton is a smaller winery with wines tailored more towards the Australia line. We loved the port. Nice grounds and friendly dog.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 1
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Rew C.
    1548
    831
    3667

    4 years ago

    Helpful 7
    Thanks 3
    Love this 8
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 4
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Brian D.
    0
    77
    369

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Small winery with great views, delicious wines and the best, most knowledgeable Australian owner.., we learned a lot and enjoyed a lot.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tara A.
    16
    25
    7

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Teresa K.
    164
    147
    7

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    8 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 7
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Rosa G.
    17
    106
    50

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    16 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Lauren C.
    60
    55
    43

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 5

    Ask the Community - Loxton Cellars

    Review Highlights - Loxton Cellars

    “Chris Loxton grew up in vineyard in Australia and his family has been in the wine industry for generations.”

    Mentioned in 37 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Benziger Family Winery - Explore our gorgeous Sonoma Mountain Estate on our award-winning tour, and learn about our sustainable Biodynamic farming practices.

    Benziger Family Winery

    4.3(661 reviews)
    2.1 mi
    •$$
    Established in 1980
    Walk-ins welcome

    We spent a lovely few hours at Benziger Family Winery in Glen Ellen on a recent Sonoma trip…read more Although they were busy, we appreciated being able to walk in without a reservation and still enjoy tastings at the main bar. Our server, Patrick, was personable, knowledgeable, and truly went above and beyond. He gave us a great understanding of the history of the family winery as well as the nuances of the various wines. He never made us feel rushed, and we enjoyed sitting outside, taking in the beautiful views--and watching the tractor tours pass by--while we tasted. Patrick even shared side-by-side trios of Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons to highlight differences in winemaking methods, vineyard sites, and soils, which made for a particularly interesting and educational tasting experience. In fact, it was every bit as informative and enjoyable as other tasting experiences we've had that were far more expensive, more formal, and required advance reservations.    The tasting room also features a wonderful selection of gifts and specialty items. By the end of our visit, we left with three bottles of wine (2025 Frank Johnson Sauv Blanc and two 2022 Three Blocks Cab Sauvs) along with several gifts and mementos. Benziger has a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere and is both kid and pet-friendly. We also stopped by their sister winery, Imagery, afterward and found it to be another Sonoma gem. We wouldn't hesitate to return to either.

    We did the sit down, more formal tasting. It was quite nice, on the great patio. But they also have…read morethe stand up tasting in the shop for a little less money. We didn't do the tour, but they have a trolley tour if you are looking for something with out having to walk a lot.

    Photos
    Benziger Family Winery - Take a ride through the vineyards on our award-winning Biodynamic Tractor Tram Tour. Voted Best Winery Tour by USA Today 10Best.

    Take a ride through the vineyards on our award-winning Biodynamic Tractor Tram Tour. Voted Best Winery Tour by USA Today 10Best.

    Benziger Family Winery - Voted Best Winery in Sonoma Valley People's Choice Awards. Explore our portfolio of Biodynamic®, organic and sustainable wines.

    Voted Best Winery in Sonoma Valley People's Choice Awards. Explore our portfolio of Biodynamic®, organic and sustainable wines.

    Benziger Family Winery - Walk-ins welcome for parties of 8 or less, no reservation required.

    See all

    Walk-ins welcome for parties of 8 or less, no reservation required.

    Lasseter Family Winery

    Lasseter Family Winery

    4.8(112 reviews)
    0.5 mi
    •$$

    Unbelievable service and wine. Highly recommend this hidden gem. Came for my bday with a group of…read more10 and they took care of us beautifully.

    Lasseter Family Winery was the third and final stop on our Platypus Wine Tour. I highly recommend…read morePlatypus Wine Tours: https://www.yelp.com/biz/platypus-wine-tours-napa. Our first two stops were Loxton Cellars and Mayo Family Winery. Lasseter, Loxton, and Mayo are all located in Glen Ellen. I enjoyed our wine tasting experiences at all three places. Lasseter Family Winery was by far the most different of the three because it was the biggest, most modern and "luxurious," backed by the most money, and it felt the most corporate/commercialized. Lasseter Family Winery is owned by John and Nancy Lasseter. John is known for being a former executive at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, and the director of popular animated movies like Toy Story (1995), A Bug's Life (1998), and Cars (2006). In this sense, the Lasseter Family Winery reminds me of another Sonoma County winery, Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyersville. It's cool, but as my friends and I discussed during our visit here, these types of wineries struck us as when rich guys get enough money to open their own winery "for fun." The other wineries, Loxton in particular, are much smaller "mom and pop" businesses. They're more genuine labors of love. This one, and others like it, feel completely different. I think one of the guys in our group liked Lasseter the best. He bought several bottles. My favorite from this particular tour was Loxton, but Lasseter was good too. I liked Lasseter better than Mayo. We visited Lasseter on an ordinary Friday around 2:30pm and stayed for about two hours, maybe a little longer. It wasn't very busy during our stay. Alex was our guide and he was great. He explained everything well and had a good sense of humor. In terms of presentation and details (e.g., tasting sheet, menu, order form), Lasseter was among the best I've seen. High-quality materials, well-designed, etc. Our tasting menu was customized and printed just for our group of six. Here's what we had (all Sonoma Valley estate wines, priced per 750 mL): * 2021 Enjoue ($35) * 2020 Voila ($55) * 2016 Chemin de Fer ($56) * 2016 Paysage ($62) * 2015 Amoureux ($64) Our order form had seven additional wines including a couple non-estate wines (12 total). Along with the five listed above, Alex brought one or two extra wines for us to try. By this point in the day, I was 17+ wine tastings in and don't remember much. I'm a lightweight and not a wine connoisseur, but I do like wine, especially with a nice meal. I don't recall any one of Lasseter's wines standing out from the others. I just remember each one tasted high-quality and delicious. We ordered some cheese and charcuterie boards to go with our tasting and they were tasty as well. Something else we thought was neat was the wine label artwork by Dennis Ziemienski. His designs are fun and colorful. His paintings were on display inside the main building and there was merchandise featuring his artwork that was available for purchase. When we visited, the weather was perfect (sunny and in the 60s) and the grounds and facilities were beautiful. Really nice. We walked around a bit, but weren't able to get far as the road heading south from the main building was closed off. The cost for the tasting at Lasseter was $40 per person (double the rates at both Loxton and Mayo) and each cheese tray was $25.

    Photos
    Lasseter Family Winery
    Lasseter Family Winery
    Lasseter Family Winery

    See all

    Imagery Estate Winery

    Imagery Estate Winery

    4.2(461 reviews)
    2.5 mi
    •$$
    Walk-ins welcome
    Hipster vibe

    Beautiful grounds and a relaxing experience with delicious wines…read more Setting: Scenic and relaxed with bocce ball, cornhole, ample indoor/outdoor seatingand beautiful vineyard views. Service: Mixed--waited 30 minutes before being greeted or given any direction, but the wine experts were warm, knowledgeable, and made up for the rocky start. Experience: The picnic for two was charming and tasty, with generous pours and a laid-back vibe. Great place to sip, snack, and soak in Sonoma.

    Wonderful educational and creative experience at Imagery Estates winery. Our host, CJ, talked us…read morethrough a delicious flight of wines, all made by award winning female winemaker, Jaime Benzinger. (The tasting is $45 for non members.) We started with a dry, well crafted North Coast Brut. We moved on to 2023 Viogner, which was strongly citrus forward. CJ poured the Wow Oui, a classic Sauvignon Blanc with stone fruit and grass, perfect for this lovely green setting which featured families picnicking and playing bocce ball, and dogs and well dressed kids playing on the grass. Our wines were paired with three kinds of 'chips' as part of our "All That & A Bag of Chips" experience and included a trio of delicious flavors: a sweet chip from The Saucy Ladies (NY), locally produced hippie dust popcorn from Santa Rosa and a new favorite, Lebanese-inspired pita chips from Spread Kitchen Sonoma. (Which we liked so much, we opted for an early dinner at Spread later, the same day.) We are fans of red. Unsurprisingly the 2021 Barbera, Malbec and Lagrein pours were delicious. The Lagrein was particularly dark, inky and unusual. The quality of all the wine produced at Imagery was excellent: balanced and delicious. The winery is focused on sustainability practices including biodynamic farming and features a wildlife sanctuary and an insectary. The wine club gets you reciprocal membership at the mothership, biodynamic winery, Benzinger. A memorable, enjoyable, relaxing, and educational wine experience at Imagery drinking great wines and looking out over estate vines. All wines feature custom labels with original art, all featuring the Imagery Parthenon.

    Photos
    Imagery Estate Winery - Enjoy a walk-in wine tasting at the main bar.

    Enjoy a walk-in wine tasting at the main bar.

    Imagery Estate Winery - Give us a call to hear out about our wine tasting options -- seated tastings, walk-in tasting bar, and private experiences, too.

    Give us a call to hear out about our wine tasting options -- seated tastings, walk-in tasting bar, and private experiences, too.

    Imagery Estate Winery

    See all

    Loxton Cellars - wineries - Updated September 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...