These Sonoma and Napa Wineries Are Still Doing Free Tastings

These days, tasting wine can seem like a luxury. Fortunately, some local wineries still offer complimentary tastings.


Way back in the day some 10 years ago, wine tasting in Sonoma and Napa counties was a pretty easy affair. You stopped by the winery — generally no appointment needed — and tasted wines to see if there was one (or more) that you loved. You bought a bottle of that wine, or didn’t.

Most of the tastings were free, as part of the winery’s cost of doing business to showcase their work. Of the wineries that did charge a nominal fee, many subtracted that cost from any wine you purchased. In 2012, just 13.4% of Napa wineries and 14.6% of Sonoma County wineries charged tasting fees, according to the Silicon Valley Bank 2012 Direct to Consumer Wine Report.

These days, tasting wine can seem like a luxury. I visit wineries nearly every week, and it never ceases to amaze me how expensive tastings can be. The entry-level price of a Sonoma County wine tasting rose from $36 in 2022 to $43 today, notes the 2024 Direct to Consumer Wine Report. And in Napa, it’s even more pricey, with a standard wine tasting averaging $75.

Calistoga Chamber of Commerce offers a package of complimentary tastings, called Winter in the Wineries Passport, at 19 wineries in and around Calistoga. (Courtesy of Visit Calistoga)
Wine tasting in Calistoga. (Courtesy of Visit Calistoga)

I fondly remember the glory years when one of my favorite destinations, Heitz Cellar in St. Helena (436 St. Helena Highway), offered free tastings of its gorgeous, high-end wines, as it had since opening in 1961. Then, in 2018, Kathleen Heitz Myers, former president and CEO of the winery and daughter of founders Joe and Alice Heitz, sold the business to billionaire investor and business owner Gaylon M. Lawrence, Jr.

After an extensive remodeling and expansion, Heitz reopened in 2022, with fees ranging from $125 to — gulp — $1,000. To be fair, I checked this week and found the $1,000 tasting has been deleted from the winery website. The most expensive tasting now is $350, Napa locals can get a tasting of four wines for $50, and there is a note on the winery website stating that tasting fees “may” be credited with the purchase of wine or a club membership sign-up.

But really, do I want to have to wonder if I need to refinance my house in order to pay for a few precious sips of wine I may not even like?

Fortunately, some local wineries still offer complimentary tastings. Particularly in the slow-season winter months, we can sip without shelling out the big bucks even before we buy a bottle. It makes sense for the wineries: In the current extra-challenging and competitive direct sales market, wineries need to be more flexible to engage with consumers and close the deals. Here are a few to consider for your next tasting experience.

Wine is poured for a wine-blending session at the Meadowcroft Wines tasting room at Cornerstone on Arnold Drive in Sonoma on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Robbi Pengelly / Index-Tribune)
Wine is poured for a wine-blending session at the Meadowcroft Wines tasting room at Cornerstone on Arnold Drive on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Robbi Pengelly / Index-Tribune)

Meadowcroft Wines

It’s not the lovely winery owner Tom Meadowcroft’s fault that his beloved business is in Sonoma’s Cornerstone marketplace, which has lost most of its tenants and customers after the LeFever Mattson real estate investment company purchased the property in 2019 and have since nearly driven it into the ground with their financial shenanigans (currently under federal investigation).

So remember to visit Meadowcroft and try their seated, guided tasting of four wines for free ($25 value, offered through March 31). You can sit in the colorful, chic salon, or on the patio/porch framed by vines, and sample a changing selection from the expansive portfolio of sparklings, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, French Colombard, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and so much more.

23574 Arnold Drive 121, Sonoma, 707-934-4090, meadowcroftwines.com

Gamling & McDuck Wine

Founders Adam McClary and Gabrielle Shaffer want us to “party like it’s 1999” with their boutique, small-production Cabernet Francs and Chenin Blancs. So at their quirky-freaky-fun little tasting saloon in downtown Napa, they welcome us with a Wild Wild West Tasting that delivers three notable wines and costs us nothing. Nada, zippo, zilch.

Gamling & McDuck Wine in Napa. (Gamling & McDuck Wine)
Gamling & McDuck Wine in Napa. (Gamling & McDuck Wine)

“It’s basically time travel to the good ole days,” McClary said, noting that the experience is about sampling wine to see if you like it, “not Ted Talks about winemaking and the history of Napa Valley.”

If you do want more personal guidance — “rambling talk about viticulture and fermentation or comparing pictures of pets” — plus broader wine styles, you can ramp things up to a Big Picture tasting for $35, or a Club Tasting for $70.

1420 Second St., Napa, 707-312-2574, gamlingandmcduck.com

Frick Winery

The artsy oasis in Geyserville is tiny. Really tiny. So owner, grape grower and winemaker Bill Frick admits only four guests at a time at his little roadhouse on a remote country lane, and personally serves you. It’s a magical, down-to-earth experience as he leads you through his cherished Cinsaut, Counoise, Carignane, Mourvedre, Syrah, Viognier and Rhône blends sourced from his 7.77-acre hillside estate.

A variety of wines at Frick Winery near Geyserville. (Christopher Chung / The Press Democrat)
A variety of wines at Frick Winery near Geyserville. (Christopher Chung / The Press Democrat)

Hours are limited to 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and walk-ins are welcome. But I strongly suggest booking a time on the website to make sure Frick isn’t pulled away by one of the endless chores he cheerfully tackles.

And be sure to tell him congratulations — 2025 marks the winery’s 49th year; Bill and his wife, Judith Gannon, started this adventure in 1976 with proceeds from the sale of their 1957 Chevrolet.

23072 Walling Road, Geyserville, 707-484-3950, frickwinestore.com

Locals Tasting Room

Dick Handal and his daughter Doralice Handal (also a cheese expert) are rockstars in the culinary and wine industries, and make their own wine under their Denier-Handal brand. Somehow they find time to also manage this industrial-fashionable space in downtown Geyserville, herding together (like cats, indeed) a changing array of six to eight different wineries.

And somehow, they manage to share splashes of the good stuff with us for free.

Locals Tasting room in Geyserville. (Heather Irwin / The Press Democrat)
Locals Tasting room in Geyserville. (Heather Irwin / The Press Democrat)

It’s a wonderful, unique concept, offering flight tastings that allow you to parallel taste a singular wine variety made by different winemakers. For example, five different aromatic white wines, or five different Pinot Noirs, so you can compare and contrast.

Likely you’ve never heard of the tiny-batch brand names, such as Drive, in homage to the vintage car repair shop where owners John Musto and Tom Young made their first experimental wines.

Check the constantly changing list of limited production wines on the website, or even better, just stop in frequently to chat with Doralice about her beautiful North Coast Denier-Handal Verdelho (she will be delighted to give you expert suggestions for mouthwatering food pairings, too).

21060 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville, 707-814-0713, localstastingroom.com

Korbel California Champagne

1/11/2013: A1: PC: Visitors enjoy a glass of champagne at Korbel Winery, who tied for Best Tasting Room in the the Press Democrat's Best of Sonoma County competition.
Visiting Korbel Champagne Cellars in Guernville is like taking a step back in time; the cellars first opened in 1882. The historic building, is a different sort of tasting room experience with rich history and delicious glass of bubbly. (John Burgess / The Press Democrat)

Yes, they can call it Champagne, because Korbel has been around since 1882, and they are grandfathered in to use the designation that France now so fiercely protects. The brick castle-like structure looks like it belongs in Europe, too, draped in vines and surrounded by forests and lush gardens.

You kick off your visit with a complimentary tasting of Korbel Natural California Champagne, and can also enjoy a complimentary walking tour of the winery’s historic museum and cellar.

13250 River Road, Guerneville, 707-824-7000, korbel.com

Passport Programs

Winter in the Wineries Passport, Napa Valley and beyond

They’re not technically free tastings, but are pretty close. During the low season, some local towns and cities put together limited time deals where you can taste at multiple locations for one all-inclusive price.

Calistoga Chamber of Commerce offers a package of complimentary tastings, called Winter in the Wineries Passport, at 19 wineries in and around Calistoga. (Courtesy of Visit Calistoga)
Calistoga Chamber of Commerce offers a package of complimentary tastings, called Winter in the Wineries Passport, at 19 wineries in and around Calistoga. (Courtesy of Visit Calistoga)

Calistoga Chamber of Commerce, for example, offers a package of complimentary tastings, called Winter in the Wineries Passport, at 19 wineries in and around Calistoga, including Pope Valley and St. Helena, as well as in Lake County, for just $80 (valid to Feb. 9). You can taste at each location once, and get a stamp in your passport at each to mark your progress.

Participating wineries include top-level names like Charles Krug Winery, Château Montelena, Elusa Winery and Sterling Vineyards; the combined value is $800, says the Chamber.

Purchase your passport at visitcalistoga.com, or at Calistoga Welcome Center, 1457 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga.

Passport to Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County

Put Passport to Dry Creek Valley on your calendar for April 26 and 27. The weekend is a great way to explore 25-plus wineries along a 16-by-2-mile stretch of paradise, stopping and tasting along the way. Some wineries offer food and live entertainment, and winemakers are often on hand for meet-and-greets.

This year, for the first time, you can get single-day tickets. Costs range from $95 for single day ($35 for nondrinking designated drivers) to $175 for both days.

Get an early start on Friday, April 25, with 2-for-1 tastings at micro wineries not always open to the public (the discounted bonus is included in your regular Passport ticket). And for a primo party, attend the welcome gala that Friday night at Bacchus Landing in Healdsburg, where you’ll enjoy tastings from 20-plus wineries, food from chefs cooking over live fires, and music from DJ Saint Rose Disco (tickets are $150).

Note that prices will increase March 2, so get your tickets now. Purchase your passport at drycreekvalley.org