Downtown Santa Rosa is in the heart of Sonoma Wine Country, yet until 2012, wine lovers couldn’t find a tasting room there. That’s the year city zoning regulations finally changed, and Ancient Oak Cellars was able to open a small space inside Corrick’s Stationery Store on Fourth Street.
That tasting room is long gone (the winery continues to produce wine), and it can still be a challenge to find wine lounges in the area anchored by Historic Railroad Square and Old Courthouse Square.
But if you know where to go, flights of fanciful wines can be sampled. As an added bonus, these tasting rooms are all within walking distance, so no driving arrangements are needed.
Just double check tasting prices and hours while making arrangements — as those tend to change.
Stonemason Cellars
Seek out the brick building tucked on the corner of Davis and Fifth streets a few blocks from Historic Railroad Square, and you’ll find a new, slate rock trimmed tasting room with a couple of nice surprises awaiting.
First, for a reasonable $30, you get five wines, each paired with an array of nibbles that might include chocolate blueberries with a Hammer Time Red Wine Blend, and Skazka black sturgeon caviar with a sparkling cuvée.
Second, Stonemason is open until 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, which is late by tasting room standards.
Husband-and-wife team Timothy “T.J.” and Francesca Elam launched their label in 2019, then debuted their tasting space late last year. Working with French-born winemaker Maxime Gautier, the Elams focus on small-batch — as few as four barrels — Sonoma County reds. But they also craft a light, tropical “Elevate” blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier, plus an elegant, Provence-style Russian River Valley Rosé.
390 Davis St., Santa Rosa, 707-239-8834, stonemasoncellars.com
4th Street Cellars
This fashionable, two-story party place, mere steps from Railroad Square, beckons with late hours including live music until 8 p.m. on Thursdays, and 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
You can kick back in the restored, century-old salon and navigate an array of wines in front of a gas fireplace, or sip on the patio with a BYOB picnic (tip: Jackson’s Bar and Oven on the corner fires up top-notch wood oven pizzas for takeout).
Lounge owner and third generation grower-winemaker John Bambury features his Bonneau, Egret and Opal Moon labels, ranging from familiar Sonoma County red and white varietals to a plush Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
Make sure to ask about the steely dry 2019 Los Carneros Bonneau Blanc de Blanc done in the méthode champenoise style and aged for four years.
127 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707- 806-2779, 4thstcellars.com
Wilibees Wines & Spirits
Ok, it’s not technically a tasting room, but the retail store, wine bar and gourmet deli checks the boxes with $20 wine flights, each tempting with four pours in themed varietals of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and “others.” Pinkies in the air, too, for the $35 sparkling flight of three French and Northern California bubblies.
You can also savor 30-plus local and global wines by the glass, and if you get there between 4 and 6 p.m. daily, you’ll find a featured red and white happy hour steal at just $5 a glass.
Make a meal of your visit. You can grab a bottle from the amply laden shelves, and for a $5 corkage fee, enjoy it alongside fancy sandwiches (the prosciutto, Brie, fig jam and farmer’s greens is excellent), salads (like a toss of greens, cucumber, tomato, red onion, chickpeas, olives, goat cheese and lemon juice), or flatbreads (go for the mouthwatering warm pastrami, Swiss, pepperoncini and spicy mayo combo).
Partner-owners Vikram Badhan and Gagan Boparai also send out boutique-local cheese boards, and a Journeyman Healdsburg charcuterie board laden with indulgently spiced (and some wine-kissed) salami.
700 Third St., Santa Rosa, 707-978-3779, wilibees.com
Enology Wine Lounge
The lobby wine bar in Hotel E overlooking Old Courthouse Square is kind of loosey-goosey. Much of the menu is from the Wilson Artisan Wines collection, with some other purveyors dappled in. But then, Wilson does operate 11 facilities across Sonoma and Mendocino counties, so you’ll probably find something you like. Just know you can’t see the wine list until you show up, since front desk agents confirm it does not exist online.
But roll the dice, and take a painless peek by going during happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m., featuring complimentary tastings. Happy hour is daily, though that, too, is subject to change — and isn’t the adventure part of the fun of exploring wine?
37 Old Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa, 707-481-3750, hotelesantarosa.com