next time will someone please tell me it's called wine tasting for a reason? I walked out of here TANKED. what do you expect when they give you 12 half glasses of sparkling in a span of 15 minutes?!!! nevertheless, the place was really cute and quaint, and the artwork on the walls featured a local artist. The server was really nice, and just laughed her ass off as I downed every glass. I ended up buying a bottle of their Cremant....simply delicious! I guess you can only get it there too, since they only make a limited number of cases each year. Their prices don't really go above $30 a bottle, and the tasting fee is included if you buy at least one product. Next time you pass through Anderson Valley, make a pit stop!!! read more

Nice tasting room with interesting works of art, and nice selection of sparkling wines to taste. Only issue was, we asked to buy a bottle of the Brut Rose Excellence, and when we got back to where we were staying, we pulled it out of the bag to discover they had sold us a bottle of pinot noir instead - something we hadn't tasted. read more

Worse tasting experience. Stephanie was impersonable, did not tell us what we were tasting and tried to rush us through the process. I finally stopped the tasting, and asked why she was being rude to us and her reply was, " I have a toothache." Unacceptable, inexcusable. If you have a bad toothache, you should take a sick day. It was too bad. I do not recommend this tasting room. If you happen to be in the area, keep driving. read more

Meh. I only came here once, and probably will not return, based on the personalities of the two staff in the tasting room during our visit. They appeared as though we inconvenienced them with our presence, and were not friendly at all during our tasting. It was a little uncomfortable. We bought our bottle of Cremant and high-tailed it out of there. Based on all the quality in the Valley, you can skip this one. read more

All sparkling wines all the time. Okay there were a few whites but they are overshadowed by their bubblier sister. The tasting room makes me think I am in Martha Stewart's New England cabin, all crisp and white panneled. The server was almost over friendly and kept making vague sexual references. To what you ask? Anything he could. If I cared more for the bubbly I probably would have rated this place higher. I didn't know this but they are owned by the creators of Cristal that all the rap artists like so much. I am the unfortunate recipient of champagne headaches from most sparkling wines so I guess I'll never quite know what they're talking about. Still a good place to try out. read more

It's a long drive from the Bay Area but worth the drive though ,very scenic and when you get there,the sparkling wines are great!

We stopped here purely based on the fact that our dog's nickname is lord snarfenberger, which sounds a lot like Scharffenberger! There was only one person working there at the time, and she didn't seem too amused by the nickname when we told her, but after we stayed and chit-chatted for a bit she really warmed up to us. If you love sparkling wine then this is a great place to stop. It all tasted very similar to my palate, except the cremant. I loved this wine. It tasted like a cream soda of sparkling wine. The artist that displayed work there currently featured photographs of the bottom of wine glasses. Overall, it was a great visit and I would return for the cremant! read more

Scharffenberger Cellars - Wineries Near Me - Philo, California

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Always love stopping at Scharffenberger. The wine is wonderful and so is the staff. It's the perfect spot for a picnic. On this most recent trip after a long hike we had a picnic and glass of brut rosé. We met Christy and she is super helpful and friendly. She was the best! read more

It was difficult to rate this place a one. I was looking for a lower rating. It is a real toss up between the aloof attitude of the "hostess" and the poor quality of the sparkling wines as to which is a bigger turn off and reason to avoid stopping here. The staff was one bored person who went about her work like she was chained behind the counter and had the attentiveness to six customers (our group) that you can only find in France - ignoring your every request with a sneer. AVOID THIS PLACE. It gives a bad name to the Valley. read more

One of the best tastings I have ever been to. Maybe because there was no pressure to buy or too much talk of wine club. Very casual and nice tasting. Very inexpensive. We had 5-6 tastings and almost all bubbles which is my favorite. I ended up buying the library reserve since I have never seen it in stores. The tasting room does have some interesting artwork as well. I would definitely go back. read more

Great experience! 6 different champagnes, one white and one red wine for a very affordable price! Friendly staff and a beautiful garden. Our favorite was the Cremant champagne. Will definitely come back if we are in this area again. read more

We visited the Scharffenberger Tasting Room in Philo, California in early September 2016. The drive from the SF Bay Area was just beautiful, especially through the redwoods. We had a destination in Ft. Bragg for the weekend. The tasting room in Philo was quaint and the gardens were comfortable looking. I loved it. The server was very nice & friendly. We enjoyed all the wines served, but the Cremant and the Pink Ice were our favorites. We returned on our way home for more Pink Ice. Today, we joined the wine club and again purchased the Pink Ice for our upcoming holidays. It is a pretty shade of rose from Pinot grapes and it takes a frozen, half strawberry, perfectly. read more

Four of us visited on Oct. 27. It was a wet day and we were the only visitors at that time. I smelled cigarette smoke when we walked in but it dissipated quickly. A few minutes later the two younger women, who were behind the tasting bar when we walked in, were sitting on the front porch with full glasses of wine/sparkling and one of the was smoking. A little later one of them came inside to refill their glasses, bringing the smell inside when the door was opened. Even though it was raining lightly it would have been lovely to sit in the porch while we went through our tastings. But having someone smoking right by the front door made it disgusting to even have to walk through that smell when we left. read more

Awesome location amidst gardens and a gravel seating area. The ambiance was something between Mediterranean and American countryside. We arrived to an empty tasting bar and were warmly greeted. Our pourer seemed a little uncomfortable but was nevertheless friendly and pleasant. I wasn't a huge fan of the wines. We got around 6-7 pours and I liked 2 of them. One was their big production sparkling that I can get for $8 less at the grocery store. I left with a Cremant (sparkling). My friends expressed a lot more enthusiasm but what do they know ;-) read more

I love wine tasting!!! This was my first stop in Anderson Valley. The tasting room was not busy...there was one couple tasting at the bar. My husband and I stood at the bar for a few minutes with out the staff even saying hi (or, I'll be right with you). I was so appalled by their lack of customer service that we walked out. Even if their wine was 5 stars, I dont feel like I'm missing out on anything. read more

This winery is located on the 128 that connects Cloverdale/101 with Mendocino and Fort Bragg. Schaffenberger is best known for it's sparkling wines, of which it produces 25,000 cases a year. It's sparkling wines are truly fantastic, however, we were lucky enough to stop in for tasting on a day when they were pouring their syrah which I thought was also excellent. read more

They only had five or six champagnes/wines to taste from and none of them really stuck out in my mind. The mini art gallery is appealing but it seemed more show-y. All of their bottles were pre-wrapped in colorful tissue paper which I thought was odd. read more

i wish i could give 2.5 stars.... but i'm not giving 3. went there yesterday for a tasting and the woman who worked the counter was not the most friendly. granted, there were 9 of us and but we weren't rude or even drunk. it was our first stop. we were coming from a wedding weekend that was so fantastic and this was a bit of a let down. i just wish that there could have been more controlled eye rolling and some more information about what we were drinking. i don't know very much about the cellar and wanted to learn about it. the other woman was very nice and even engaged in small talk with us. i bought 3 bottles and my friend bought 3 bottles, so it's not like we didn't spend some money there. i was so looking forward to it but it just did not deliver. plus there was a $3 tasting fee. at least i love the wine i got. i guess that's something! read more

Ah, now we're talking. Funky little place that makes a funky little sparkler. I was a big fan of their Brut, but not of their Dry. It is certainly not as clean and bright as Roederer (http://www.yelp.com/biz/_l1UFxfUsRaUgCWyIm6dFQ?hrid=zIc7v6k7MoSMX7paOt78eQ) but it tastes more "artisanal" - which I dig. Their Chardonnay is also worth checking out. Not much on the list, only 4 wines, but they were all quite nice and make it definitely worth a stop. read more

Sharffenberger sparkling wine can be pretty good, mainly their Blanc de Blancs, however the tasting room experience was lacking. The tasting room is a cute building surrounded by the Alexander Valley's natural beauty, but the tasting room workers are at best merely polite. I felt like my business wasn't wanted the moment I walked in and was charged a tasting fee even after purchasing some bottles. You're better off skipping this place and visiting their sister winery Roderer Estates, which has better service, wine, and a gorgeous view of the valley. read more

Very pleasant atmosphere, lovely sparkleings and stills to choose from. Don't miss out on the Cremant, which was our group's hands down favorite. Lots of neat stuff to taste that aren't on the mainstream distribution list. Pretty small tasting room, so be prepared to be patient. read more

Now owned by Roederer. A $3 tasting fee??? Unbelievable deal. The tasting room won't blow you away - but for $3 you will feel like you got a great deal and sipped some very nice wines. Anderson Valley provides unbelievable values - and this is yet another great example. Forget uptight Napa and come here instead! read more

Tasting room has no seats and is a little uncomfortable. The employees are nice and knowledgeable. Sparkling wines are pretty good; other wines are so-so. read more

This was the only winery that charged us a tasting fee ($3) during our entire time in Anderson Valley (we visited six wineries total), and it was totally not worth it. The woman pouring our tastings had very little to say to us and made no attempt at small talk. Her male co-worker walked out in the middle of our tasting and seemed to have more personality. Unfortunately, he did not live up to his potential and was soon occupied by other wine tasters. The wine itself was pretty good, but the lackluster experience and lack of personality from the pourers did not make me inclined to buy a bottle (which is saying a lot considering the $3 fee would have gone towards the purchase and the wines were priced under $30). After finishing our tastings, my friends and I paid the fee and quickly exited to head to Toulouse (where we had an awesome time). read more

We stopped in late last Monday afternoon. The setting was very pleasant and the young hostess who served us was a credit to the Cellars as she was both friendly and knowledgeable. The $3 tasting fee was very reasonable and we left with several bottles of Cremant. read more

Our favorite stop of the day. Wines were delicious and the woman pouring for us was really nice and welcoming to our large group (which included 3 toddlers!). Their tasting menu even noted that they welcome kids and had both crayons and juice for their entertainment. Beautiful grounds and a nice picnic area as well. read more

Awful, really, really bad service. We walked in on a quiet Friday morning. There were only two other customers tasting wine. They completely ignored us, while we came in with good intentions - taste and buy some good wine. The lady behind the counter only served us after some loud coughing and hand waving. She was extremely rude, and we were obviously interrupting her "busy" day. The second glass was even more difficult - she was completely focused on the other two customers. After a while we gave up. What a lousy way to treat customers. There is obviously something wrong with the lady behind the counter or with the way she was trained, or both. We'll never go back there, especially with so many other CUSTOMER FRIENDLY places to visit. It's their loss - we purchase quit a bit of wine regularly. read more

Small tasting room, but absolutely lovely in its service. Sparkling wines have never really been my thing until now, and our tasting guide couldn't have been nicer in introducing me to some varietals that were delicious. Friendly warm vibe, not to be missed. read more

Driving through the beautiful redwoods from Mendocino to Sacramento, we decided to stop at some wineries along the way. Of the five we visited, Scharffenberger, busy as all of the others, was the only winery that did not greet us when we walked in the door, nor acknowledge us for the full five to ten minutes we stood in the room. I can't rate or buy the wine if I can't get served. We did not have that issue with any other winery. read more

This still gets five stars! :o) I was a designated driver for some friends tasting here during a wine day during the Labor Day weekend. We sat outside and brought the tastes out. The child in the group was accommodated with colors, paper, and apple juice. The dog in the group was given water (and bags were on hand to manage any possible waste issues). Smelling that bubbly goodness and seeing those elegant glasses was enough to make me crazy, but I held fast with my DD status. I did buy two bottles to reward myself with later: Yes, it was just as good as imagined. More recently, I picnicked in their gorgeous grounds and purchased two single glasses of bubbly to accompany the Trader Joes foodstuffs. I cannot recommend a picnic here enough. The hostess this last weekend, Shyla (I think...) said that she even goes there when she's not at work. That's a pretty nice spot, when the employees come in on their off days to relax! read more

Today to my complete surprise, UPS delivered a box from Scharffenberger Cellars. Inside was a bottle of Pinot Noir AND a bottle of their Brut sparkling wine with a lovely letter from their Director of Hospitality and Tasting Room Operations. In my previous review, I had panned Scharffenberger Cellars for their lack of response. The negative review was not so much about the quality and taste of the wines, but primarily about the lack of acknowledgement to my note. I was delighted to receive the letter, but the wines exceeded my expectations! I applaud your customer service. My husband and I are looking forward to serving the new bottle of Pinot. Our heartfelt thanks. read more

It is a small tatsting room, but we liked Scharffenberger better than Roederer because the servers were friendlier. We actually like sparkling wine of this cellar better, too. If you like sparkling wine, it is worth visiting. read more

Nice sparkling wine selection, friendly staff, intimate tasting room. Less relaxed than other winery tasting rooms in the area, but worth a stop. read more

We had a wonderful experience tasting sparking wines. The Vintner was knowledgable and had a lovely deameanor. The sparking wines were delicious and well priced. Worth the drive to Philo to check this place out! read more