Top25Wineries

The owner of Abbot’s Passage, Katie Bundschu, may be better known for her association with her family’s winery, Gundlach Bundschu, one of the most popular stops for winery tourists in the region. Yet her own space feels close to the platonic ideal of a Wine Country tasting room, with cozy, private-feeling lounge areas and bocce courts sprinkled throughout an 80-year-old vineyard. In 2020, after several years of operating a small tasting room for Abbot’s Passage in the downtown Sonoma square, Bundschu bought this spacious winery property in Glen Ellen, which was formerly occupied by Valley of the Moon Winery, and has added a retail shop with clothing and decorative home wares, focused on women producers. It’s rare at a tasting room to get such an up-close-and-personal view of historic vines like these. Among the highlights of the flight is the Sightline, a zippy white made mostly of Chenin Blanc and Verdejo, which tastes like a fresh, juicy pear. There’s a surprise treat at the end of the flight: a light cocktail made from white wine, soda water and fruit shrub. Served ice-cold in a Nick and Nora glass, it’s an excellent palate cleanser for your next wine tasting.

气息酒窖长期以来一直是领先的刺激ucers of boundary-pushing wine in California — and more than 15 years after launching, winemaker Chris Brockway’s creations remain as intriguing as ever. From neon-pink rosés to translucent, ruby-hued reds, the wines here are unfailingly refreshing. Although the winery occupies a small, warehouse-like space in industrial West Berkeley, it has carved out a charming tasting room with wooden booths indoors and a botanical-inflected patio outdoors. Come for a glass during happy hour on Friday (4-7 p.m.), designed to be friendly to walk-ins, or for a leisurely afternoon wine flight on the weekends. The tasty snacks — creamy dips, olives, tinned fish — come from the excellent Berkeley cafe Standard Fare. If it’s available, don’t miss the Michael Mara Vineyard Chardonnay, a deeply complex rendition of this often-maligned grape variety.