Sonoma Wineries Featuring Wine and Charcuterie Tastings
Italy knows best: Wine should always be sipped with a side of cured meat. But don’t worry, you don’t need to fly to Europe to pair your sangiovese with salumi or your cabernet with coppa. Here are the best Sonoma wineries offering simple to elaborate wine and charcuterie tasting experiences. Advanced reservations are required unless noted otherwise. And if you’re looking to pair wine with charcuterie at home, check out our charcuterie platter diagram with pairing tips.
Complete List of Sonoma County Wineries Pairing Wine and Charcuterie
ALEXANDER VALLEY
Jordan Vineyard & Winery
Every single one of Jordan’s tasting experiences includes a food pairing, but cabernet and cured meat lovers will especially love the new Chateau Block Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard Tasting. This experience takes places outside, under shady oak trees and amongst the vines of Jordan’s new hilltop vineyard. Guests enjoy amazing views during a tasting of three vintages of cabernet (spanning a decade) paired with local charcuterie from Journeyman Meat Co. Jordan reward members can also book a Wine & Charcuterie Tasting. Set at a private table, the selection of fine meats and cheeses is paired with three vintages of Jordan wines, plus comes with a taste of estate extra virgin olive oil and other accoutrements, followed by a winery tour. Offered on weekends in summer and fall. $75
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
Dutton-Goldfield
Dutton-Goldfield offers a number of food and wine pairings—even a Wine & Sushi flight—but the Beast & Pinot pairing is made for meat lovers. Featuring four single-vineyard pinot noirs from regions throughout Sonoma County, Dutton-Goldfield partners with local butchers and chefs to curate a meaty menu of charcuterie (like rosemary lamb salami or Caccitore pork salumi) and other carnivorous bites, including smoked duck and salmon rillettes. Available April-November. $40
Martin Ray
Martin Ray has a couple of “Nosh Options,” to accompany your wine flight. Whether you’re hanging in the tasting room or book the garden pavilion experience, you can sip wines sourced from top growing regions in Sonoma County, Santa Cruz and even Napa Valley alongside charcuterie from local salumeria Journeyman Meat Co. for just $10 extra. We suggest putting this together with the $20 cheese pairing.
Lynmar Estate
If you don’t have time (or appetite) for the three-course, wine and food pairing experience, Lynmar has a menu of add-on provisions to pair with its other tastings of pinot noir and chardonnay, from warm organic popcorn to grilled garden toast. But the Artisan Cured Charcuterie and Cheese Platter ($49) is the most epic and shareable offering. For $49, the platter comes with Alle-Pia Barolo Salami, Dona Juana Lomo Embuchado, Fabrique Delices Dry Coppa, Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam, Redwood Hill Farm Goat Cheddar and Bellwether Farms St. Andreas.
MacRostie Winery & Vineyard
The Elevated Experience at MacRostie begins with a winery tour of the Russian River hilltop property and then guests are taken through a seated tasting featuring flights of single-vineyard chardonnay and pinot noir (six wines total). Each glass is accompanied by a food pairing, ranging from local cheeses to caviar and creme fraiche to charcuterie, like a Parmesan and Porcini Salami from Journeyman Meat Co. Available on Sundays at 11 a.m. $75
Idlewild Wines
Idlewild’s winemaking philosophy is inspired by Italy’s Piedmont region, so it’s fitting that their Healdsburg Plaza tasting room is touted as a Salumi & Wine Bar. Order up locally-sourced cheese and charcuterie from the provisions menu to pair with The Idlewild Flight ($20) of five wines, or book The Idlewild Table ($35), Idlewild’s elevated tasting experience that focuses on the art of pairing wine with food. The winery works closely with local purveyors to collect their favorite cured meats, artisan cheeses, and other bites to creatively match with their full lineup of wines.
Rodney Strong Vineyards
One of the pioneers of Sonoma County, Rodney Strong was just the 13th winery bonded in the region when it was founded 55 years ago. On weekends from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., choose a wine flight to enjoy either in the tasting room or on the terrace alongside a cheese and charcuterie plate with housemade accompaniments from winery chef Alejandro Garcia. You can also book your spot on a complimentary guided tour at either 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. $25-$35
Twomey Cellars
Pinot lovers will feel right at home at Twomey’s Healdsburg winery, which boasts floor-to-ceiling views of Mount St. Helena and Geyser Peak and specializes in single-vineyard pinot noir that spans the West Coast from Santa Barbara to Oregon. The views are even better from the back patio, host to the Wine and Charcuterie tasting. Sip current releases alongside an array of charcuterie and local cheeses. $30
DRY CREEK VALLEY
Ferrari-Carano
People often come to Ferrari-Carano for the spectacular, five acres of gardens, but they stay for the vino. As its name suggests, the Cabernet Terroir Private Wine Tasting focuses on four cabernet sauvignons, all sourced from different Alexander Valley vineyards and paired expertly with a local artisan charcuterie plate. $40 for wine club members; $50 general public
Trattore Farms
The Tuscan-inspired Wine & Food Terrace Tasting ($50) comes with a flight of four current release wines, three Trattore Farms extra virgin olive oils and a Sonoma cheese and charcuterie board. You can also order up the meat and cheese charcuterie board separately for $30. Featuring salumi, cheese, fruit preserves, house-made crostini, spiced nuts and dried fruit, ingredients are locally sourced from purveyors like Journeyman Meat Co. and Sonoma County Meat Co. Enjoy while looking out at the 40-acre Dry Creek Valley ranch, dotted with vineyards and olive trees. Special pricing for wine club members. $30-$50
Sbragia Family Vineyards
Boasting arguably one of the best views of Dry Creek Valley from their expansive, sunny terrace, Sbragia offers bar bites, plus charcuterie boards designed by Estate Chef Heidi Finney for $30. Grab a seat outside and nosh alongside a tasting flight of zinfandel, cabernet and chardonnay, or wine of your choice by the glass or bottle of wines made by Ed Sbragia and his son.
Seghesio
It would be wrong for an Italian-owned winery to skimp on the charcuterie and the 120-year-old Seghesio does not disappoint. For an extra cost, add an antipasto board—executive chef Peter Janiak cures his salumi in house and pairs it with local cheeses—to a Classic Tasting of old vine zinfandel and Italian varietals. A sampling of Janiak’s housemade charcuterie is also included in the Old Vine Cellar Flight experience, an in-depth exploration of Seghesio wines, which takes place in the historic winery among the original redwood tanks.
SONOMA VALLEY
Chateau St. Jean
Chateau St. Jean offers a variety of tasting experiences—they even created the first winery escape room—but you don’t need a reservation to taste their wines by the flight, glass or bottle in their main tasting room inside an elegant, 1920s chateau, accompanied by a selection of cheese and charcuterie. Take some time to peruse the gorgeous Mediterranean-inspired gardens before you leave.
Gundlach Bundschu
There are several opportunities to enjoy wine and charcuterie at Gundlach Bundschu, the oldest family-run winery in California. The Gun Bun Underground experience takes place in the winery’s underground wine cave dining room. With the guidance of a wine educator, guests sit at a large, communal table and taste through five wines, paired with local cheeses and charcuterie. On the Pinzgauer Excursion, you’ll work up an appetite aboard a Pinzgauer (six-wheeled, Austrian military vehicle) ride through the vineyards. At the halfway point, you’ll enjoy a private tasting with a cheese and charcuterie plate. Casual tastings in the Vista Courtyard and Donkey Bar also have the option of adding snacks like charcuterie with no reservations required. $45-$65
VJB Vineyards & Cellars
Get an authentic taste of Italy at VJB Cellars. Pair Italian varietals, like Brunello, Montepulciano and Nebbiolo with a Butcher’s Board from La Cucinan (the on-site marketplace and deli) filled with an assortment of imported Italian charcuterie, like Coppa, Mortadella, or Prosciutto Di Parma, served alongside olives and crostini. Available daily between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. $22
Hawkes
Visit Hawkes’ Sonoma Plaza tasting room, housed in a beautiful 1920s bungalow, for a unique-to-Sonoma, cabernet-intensive experience. Taste through six cabs from Alexander Valley (were Hawkes has been growing grapes since 1972), including library selections paired with a cheese and charcuterie board highlighting local purveyors. Offered Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. $45
Ram’s Gate Winery
Known as the gateway winery to Carneros, this stunning Howard Backen-designed winery crafts premium, single-vineyard pinot noir and chardonnay. For an extra $34, add “The Board”—a diverse selection of cheese, charcuterie and accompaniments, like pickles, nuts and olives—to one of Ram’s Gate Winery’s tasting experiences, either The Gateway Tasting or the Vineyard Designate Tasting & Tour.
Pangloss Cellars
Pangloss hosts casual tasting experiences in their bar and lounge of their gorgeously-restored, 117-year-old building on the Sonoma Plaza, but The Cellar tasting is a much more private and educational experience. The 90-minute tasting includes a cheese and charcuterie plate for each guest. Available daily at 11:30 a.m., 12 and 2 p.m. $50
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