Overall very good selection here. Not much to complain about but it was okay. We've been to other places and this isn't bad nor wasn't good. Just a nice old average spot. read more

We really want to see this local spot thrive! We stopped in around 2:30pm on a Saturday afternoon after spotting a sign for matcha soft serve -- it looked like a cool, inviting place. I'm also always on the lookout for great spots for a girls' night out, especially ones with a unique wine list and a vibe that welcomes conversation over a special (even expensive) bottle. There's a lot of potential here. The wine selection was interesting -- definitely not your typical grocery store picks -- and the Japanese sake selection stood out, which was a nice surprise. That said, our experience could have been much better. When we walked in, it wasn't clear what the concept of the space was: a wine shop? Cheese store? Soft serve bar? Wine tasting room? A little clarity or signage could help. More importantly, there was no greeting at all. Three staff members were visible -- one talking to guests at the bar, the other two chatting with each other. Despite us walking around for a solid five minutes, no one made eye contact, acknowledged us, or offered a welcome. That lack of basic hospitality unfortunately left a negative impression. At any place that depends on customer interest -- be it a restaurant, wine bar, shop, or tasting room -- hospitality is everything. A simple hello, eye contact, or "let us know if you have any questions" goes a long way. Even better would have been a brief introduction to the wine program, the soft serve, or how tastings work. Unfortunately, we ended up leaving without the matcha soft serve or a bottle of wine -- and both were things we came in specifically to try and purchase. We didn't even get noticed, as if we never came through the doors. We genuinely want this business to do well. If the staff can be trained to lead with warmth and curiosity, we believe people will not only return but also tell their friends -- just like we would have. That kind of word-of-mouth builds loyal followings, especially in local neighborhoods. We hope to come back soon and see those small but essential improvements. You've got something special here -- now just add the welcome. read more

I made a special trip to Vineyard Gate and I left with several bottles of wine and sake. This bottle shop made me feel like a kid in a candy store. I found a sake I haven't seen since a trip to Kyoto in 2019! I was super excited to encounter it again. The curated wine selection is also very good and i found bottles here that I haven't seen anywhere else--including San Francisco and Oakland. Alex, the owner, is very amiable, knowledgeable and hospitable. He also spins some good jazz records too! read more

Vineyard Gate - a hand holding a bottle of wine - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Millbrae, California

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Always great selection, particularly of natural wines and sake, and helpful and informed guidance. Great events, too.

Great selection of hard to find natural wines. Even better now with a section dedicated to tasting and even coffee.

Tremendous Customer support & attention to your needs. Go the Xtra mile! React positively to questions & will without fail get you an answer. read more

It was a little while back but I got a delicious natural Sauvignon blanc from here! The owner was very approachable. I'm 23 so I don't know a lot about wine yet and on a budget but I wanted to surprise a friend with something really yummy and I didn't feel out of place here :) There was a cocktail popup happening inside and if I wasn't in a mild time crunch I would have ordered one! read more

How does this place not have full 5 stars? What a hidden gem this place is! One of the only places outside of SF and Oakland to have such a great selection of natural wines and sour beers! I heard of natural wines online and wanted to find a local store to visit. Vineyard Gate is the right place to come! They have orange wines, natural white and reds, sour beers, and petnat. read more

Vineyard Gate - Alex the owner. Passionate, knowledgeable, and just an all around fun person to be around! - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Millbrae, California

The best place to get natural wine. Welcoming vibes. Alex (owner) is super passionate and knowledgeable about low intervention wines.

What an amazing wine shop! This is exactly what I was looking for while we were staying at a hotel in Millbrae during a weekend between apartments. We had just gotten word that we were approved for a new apartment so I came in looking for something to celebrate after we sign the lease, and something to enjoy that night. The owner was incredibly helpful in picking out something that would fit our taste, plus a few others. He also didn't flinch when I told him the price point I was looking for, unlike some other wine shops will do. While we're staying in San Francisco, I'll definitely make the point to come back and stock up once we're in the new place. read more

My go to spot for Sake. Always easy to order and pickup, nice selection of premium sake.

This review is specifically for the Vinyard Gate online shopping experience and e-mail customer service. I was able to find an extremely unique natural wine on the website that I had previously only seen at an enoteca in a wealthy suburb of Rome. I ordered one bottle and all went smoothly. The scent of the wine alone brought on a smile from ear to ear. After determining the bottles that vineyardgate had in stock were undamaged and on par with the brand's quality I decided to order two more bottles. The bottles arrived destroyed with the package leaking everywhere. After bringing this to Vinyardgate's attention via email, I immediately received an offer for a refund. Safe to say these guys are running a reliable and honest business. TL;DR: -- Online selection: A+++ -- Email response time: 16 minutes read more

I usually don't go to Millbrae to purchase wine, but what a pleasant surprise. First of all, they guy at the store was very helpful, knowledgeable and inviting. We spent quite a long time just checking wines and he wasn't getting annoyed or insisting on selling us wines. From what I saw last week, they specialize in small producers, lots of European wines, plus organic and biodynamic wines. The highlights for me were the Rieslings. They have a great selection of German Rieslings, from dry all the way to late harvest and ice wine. If you are interested in German Rieslings, it is possible to do a purchase wine from all the sweet categories found in Germany. I also saw fantastic Riojas, reserva and gran reserva from 2001 to 2005. Probably they are close to their drinking time, besides, how often do we drink older wines? If I'm around again, I'll definitely stop by read more

Being a wino, I made good use of www.wine-searcher.com/prof/ and visited several local wine shops and wineries in the area. This is one of my recent discoveries and it is a great one. First, Alex Bernardo and his wife are very nice and friendly people. I have always enjoyed talking to both of them whenever I drop by. And Alex's knowledge of wines and accommodation of his customers are the chief reasons why this small shop has helped me disposed most of my spare income. Unlike some other wine shops, where the staff seems to only have eyes for the moneyed regulars, Alex made me feel very welcome the first time I wandered in there. And his selection focuses on affordable wines, interlaced with higher end Burgundies, Bordeaux, and Rhones. I would hate to reveal my source but he does have a good stash of Domaine Tempier, Emmanuel Rouget, Perrot Minot, Dujac, and Hubert/Lucie et Auguste Lignier offerings, among others. And his prices on the late 90s Bordeaux are simply amazing, Troplong Mondot 99 for less than 80 bucks? Alex, if you are reading this, please don't raise the prices - at last not for me! :) Granted that Vineyard Gate is out of my way (I live in Cupertino) but I always make a point of swinging by once in awhile to raid his shop. And do join the shop's email list. Alex does note each customer's preferences and email his offerings accordingly. So given my preferences for Burgundies, Rhones, Provencal, and Italian wines, Alex has yet to send me an email offering for Napa, Bordeaux, or Australian wines. So now that I have posted about my secret source, please do me the favor by not buying up all of the Burgundies! :) read more

I've been here on a weekly or bi-weekly basis since we moved to Millbrae. They have 2 tastings a week - a mid-week tasting, and a weekend tasting. Getting a tasting on the weekend with Gary (the Iron Chevsky) is a treat, he is extremely knowledgeable about the wines and a pleasure to chat with. Go for the tastings, then go home with a bottle or two! read more

I have been going there for several years now. One of my favorite places to go. Owners, Alex and Amy are very friendly, knowledgeable and very honest about their wine offerings. They offer a wide selection, very competitive prices, and the best service out there. They also have a great website, www.vineyardgate.com read more

Showed up 40 mins before closing time and the store was closed on Saturday Jul 7th. Maybe it was closed this week? Nothing is mentioned on the website. Store looks great... read more

My wife and I were exploring this neighborhood and we were pleasantly surprised to find this gem of a place. We really liked the ambiance and wine selections available. It's not very often that one finds a good selection from small producers, some of them from old European stock who embodies the organic and biodynamic method of wine making. The ambiance and selection are all due to the vision of Alex whose taste and préférence is a treasure trove of all things cool! Looking forward to our next visit. read more

Kind of freaked out as I needed to buy a bottle of wine from Portugal for a wine tasting club at the last minute. My friends like this shop, so I gave it a try. What a pleasant surprise!! Easy to park near, very nicely decorated space, and lots of wines with an owner who helped me out without making me feel like an idiot. Super nice owner, really knows his stuff and enjoys imparting a bit of his knowledge to you if you'd like. He just loves what he does. No pressure, no pretense---I will DEFINITELY be back!! A great find in Millbrae! read more

Alex is the best. You're not going to get such expertise and wine commentary in other stores. Period. Moreover, the selection is fantastic, and prices are very fair. Even if places like K&L have more bottles, in total, they don't have quite as many interesting and tasty ones. Everything from Sherry to Jura, with lots of great Burgundies, orange wines, and much more. I completely disagree with Aaron F's comment of "there are no deals to be had here." Alex can pick out the best deals for your price range and desired wine qualities. This is easily one of the best wine stores in the Bay Area, and definitely the best one in a wide radius. read more

I've been going to this place for over five years now; and they have been big contributors toward my acquisition of wine knowledge. Excellent selection of interesting, fantastic old world and new world wines. While most of the wines cannot be found elsewhere, those that can are competitively priced even though this is a mom and pop shop. Tastings every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The weekend tastings, especially, are not to be missed. read more

This is one of the best wine stores I know of in the Bay Area. The owners are very nice and knowledgeable, and honest. The wine tastings are fantastic and usually worth the price (oh, they could be cheaper). The collection spans the globe and is generally of the "fine" variety....so you won't find tremendous bargains here (very fair prices, yes, but not bargain wines, is what I mean). This is for a bit more serious wine drinkers, for sure. You can buy some very expensive and top o the heap wines here. However, from conversations with the proprietors over the years, they have a consumer-friendly understanding of when wines are inflated values, when Napa wine producers are bs-ing people just to make more (and more) money, etc. They are always on the lookout for good and unusual values and bring them into their store (e-newsletter is worth getting, by the way). It feels like a very hand-picked selection, so you get the sense that there simply isn't a bad wine bottle in the store, no matter what you want. This store sells a fair amount of Kermit Lynch imported wines, so it may save you a trip across the Bay to shop here. What's nice, though, is that these fine selections are mixed in with Alex and Amy's choices so it is really based on their vision. Anyway, Vineyard Gate belongs in the same breath as Weimax, K&L and Beltramos as being among the Peninsula's best wine stores that I know of, at least. read more

Alex and Amy Bernardo, the owners of Vineyard Gate, are fantastic. My wife and I discovered this place when we moved to Millbrae in 2000. We moved to SF in 2003, but have never left Vineyard Gate as our favorite wine shop...we still regularly trek down for the Friday/Saturday wine tastings. When I started going to Vineyard Gate, I was a die-hard West Coast wino; California, Oregon, Washington. I really didn't appreciate French or Italian wines much...I simply collected what I knew. And while Vineyard Gate carries a great selection of the best the U.S. has to offer, i really credit Alex with expanding my wine horizons. I still drink the U.S. stuff, but have developed a great passion for French wines, with Italians catching up! Alex arranges the best tastings I've encountered...great mix of varietals, countries, new and old styles, etc. If you want to learn more about the wonderful world of wine, and all its possibilities, become a regular at Vineyard Gate's tastings. I also want to echo that it is truly Alex's and Amy's focus on customer service that sets them apart. It's not really hard finding a good bottle of wine these days. But their personal touch, creative and interesting tastings, commitment to highest quality at best prices, and overall passion for what they do and what they sell are what really set them apart. This is the kind of store you develop a relationship with...I know I have. read more

This is my fiance's 2nd home, he loves the wine recommendations by Alex and Amy (Owners). Alex has weekly wine tastings and occasionally food events & wine pairings, last one I went to was Paella & Spanish wines. If you like your wine, this store is definitely worth checking out. read more

Great selection, Alex has opened my mind to the wine world. He always has great advice on which wines will go for which occasion or meal!

I have been buying wine at Vineyard Gate for about 6 years now. Alex and Amy have really educated me about wine. Their selection is always exceptional and all their wines are delicious!!! I have never bought a wine I didn't like! I trust Alex with his advice and his wines have been become part of my life and celebrations with friends and family. I highly recommend their Bordeaux selection: it is the best I have ever seen in my life! They also have organic wines, which are also fantastic! And did I mention the price? Much cheaper than the wines at Safeway and much much much better in quality!!!! I really don't go anywhere else for wine. Vineyard Gate is a little piece of heaven for wine lovers! read more

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Vinyard gate is fantastic and the wine selection is great. We have lived in Millbrae since 1998 and have gone to The Wine Stop and Weimax, but Alex and Amy are so nice and helpful, that we've pretty much transitioned all of our business to them. We've never done the tastings, but we buy lots of wine there and they have a great selection of Western US and Western European wines. Alex is fantastic at reccomending wines for events and meals and you'll often end-up with an amazing wine from a winery you've never heard of, which is a bonus. read more

Very good boutique selection of wine. The owner is very friendly and they do tastings. However, to be clear, there are no deals to be had here. read more

This is the wine shop you're looking for. Alex knows wine, and if you tell him what you like he can keep you stocked with bottles you will like. If you want to learn, let him know and he will give you an expert introduction to regions you've never heard of. read more