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$75 for $99 Certificate
Julie P. said: "A great experience! We visited four excellent wineries during the course of the tour, most of which we would not have discovered otherwise. The…" read more »
47 reviews for Mayo Family Winery
47 reviews in English
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Review from Theresa M.
Fair Oaks, CA
11/29/2011
HOLY SNAP!! A white wine I actually like - and it's the only one not from Grace Patriot! '08 Pinot Gris "Courtney Cuvee" And along with this stellar white, I also enjoyed the '07 Pinot Noir, and '06 Cab Sauv.
Great wines - not good enough for the wine club cut though. BUT has great potential. :) -
Review from Tim P.
Sonoma, CA
1/6/2012
So before we moved to Sonoma everyone said, "You have to try Mayo!" So on my birthday last year we tried Mayo Family wines at the tasting room up the street. Wine is a very personal experience so I will qualify my statements, take them for what they are, my own personal likes of wine and my take on the service.
The good - The tasting room is very nice, even located on a busy corner of 12 and Arnold it still seems like your back in the vineyards. The staff was excellent, (Well they are all family), and the tasting was comprehensive.
The Not so good - I am not a fan of buttery wine, and when you drink Mayo you know the vintner likes his oaky buttery flavors. They run through almost every wine, I can understand them in the Chardonnay but it seemed like these flavors ran through everything. So for me not a great choice.
At the end of the day wine is a personal thing and I know the family is very proud of their wines. -
Review from Linda W.
Napa, CA
12/5/2011
We LOVE Mayo and Courtney!!! She was absolutely wonderful. So fun talking about food, wine and restaurants! Ask her about her French Laundry story!!! We love Rich too but he wasn't there that day.
Thanks again, you guys! We'll be back! -
Review from Liat P.
Healdsburg, CA
1/3/2012
I liked them all. It is rare to find a winery that offers ALL great wines, but this is the place. The staff is helpful, and walked us through all the wines. We bought the late harvest gewurz, it is like sunshine and happiness in a bottle!
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Review from Seong P.
6/21/2011
If I had seen the 2 for 1 tastings for Yelpers, I may have bought less wine when I was here. I like discounts. I did the Adventurous Tasting which would have been $12 if I hadn't purchased at least 3 bottles of wine. Luckily, I liked most of what I tried and came away with 4 bottles, 2 of which I can never pronounce or spell. Gewurtz... and Carignane(?)...
I should have gotten a bottle of the Syrah but after 8 or more tastes, I didn't remember exactly what I liked the most. Still, I know that I, or more likely, my friends, will enjoy the Cab and Meritage I selected.
I thought I had bought a lot, until I looked over at my friend and his sister, with their case of wine +2. -
Review from Gareth L.
7/17/2011
"A great Wednesday night wine." This was in their tasting notes for one of the reds. I'm not sure if that is helpful for you, but it does not make me salivate. The pourer said it would go really great with a fast food burger (I don't remember which chain he mentioned.
The good - tasting was inexpensive for about 8 tastes. I don't think this is a secret, because this seemed like big stop for get drunk wine tours...two cars had people drinking in the parking lot. The wines are relatively inexpensive for Napa/Sonoma, but I think you get what you pay for.
The bad - our pourer was a real know-it-all and I thought over-praised the wines. Almost every red made me pucker, but he called these balanced with nice tannins. One of his comments, was: "this is a really great wine, even if many people don't know it."
It was easy for us to leave without a purchase, and was a poor example of the quality available in Sonoma County. -
Review from Rachael W.
Glen Ellen, CA
8/26/2011
I like this winery for a couple of reasons. First of all, you get to taste ALOT of wine at the tasting. Secondly, a few of the wines were very good. Third, they are open till 6:30. But there were a few things I think could be improved upon. First of all, the tasting room was very busy and there was only one pourer. He seemed very stressed. I found myself worrying about him and not enjoying the wine as much. The atmosphere is lacking a bit, I think it could be dressed up a little. Not a wine snob here, but just a little? Thanks Mayo!
http://www.2travelingd... -
Review from Anna T.
Santa Rosa, CA
6/10/2011
I Love this place.
Everywhere else we went wine tasting on Thursday was pretentious and most of the people very rude for how awful their wines were. Mayo was lovely, Courtney a doll and the wines were fabulous! the berthoud syrah was my mom and my own favourite and being someone who doesn't usually like viognier, i took a bottle home with me! thoroughly enjoyed myself. Keepin it real small family business style.I will be back down often to restock my supply. -
Review from Kate M.
Windsor, CA
4/7/2011
When my best friend got married, we did a bachelorette party in wine country, and went to Mayo as that was her soon to be maiden name. I called and made a reservation for the 10 of us, and the staff at Mayo was incredibly accomodating.
We arrived, and were escorted through the cute courtyard into the cellar where we had our tasting. They created a personalized tasting menu, complete with a Congratulations note, which I thought was very sweet! Our group had a great time - loved the bubbles and the Pinot.
The tasting fee (I think it would have been $10/person) was waived due to the amount of wine we purchased. Will definately be back! -
Review from Matt H.
1/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Enjoyed their wines. Quite a selection. Friendly staff.
My favorites were the bubbly, pinot noir, and the malbec. I also had one of their dry creek zins that I thought was decent. This was the first stop on a wine tour of dry creek, meant to wet our whistle and boy did it ever. I think there were 3 or 4 tastings to choose from, and I don't mean 3-4 wines, I mean full-on 5-8 pours per tasting. They had an extensive list of wines they make, each with its own pluses and minus.
I'd definitely come back. -
Review from Jamie W.
6/14/2010
Stopped into Mayo mostly because we had just gotten into wine country and everything was closing. Mayo is open till 6:30pm which is an hour and a half (on average) longer than the other wineries in the area.
Hubby and I did the adventure tasting ($12) per person. The reason why they call it the adventure tasting is because some of the wines are from different varietals that most people have never heard of. The quality of the wine was okay but there were only a couple that I could honestly say I enjoyed. We ended up buying a few bottles: the Ursus, a petite Syrah, and a Barbera. They comped the price of the tasting with purchase of three. Hubby and I weren't exactly eye to eye on the wines, he liked them more than I did but by no means would I say that they were unpalatable.
The ladies who work here are part of the Mayo family. They are friendly and informative. Their Wheaton Terrier is a sweetheart!Listed in: Sonoma/Glen Ellen
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Review from Cashman N.
San Francisco, CA
5/9/2010
Avoid this winery at all costs!!!
The Mayo Family Winery in Glen Ellen offers over priced wines that are hardly drinkable. We decided on the Adventure Tasting: 12 wines for $12. One would think that with an extensive list offering 12 tastes, there would be several wines to choose from. Only one, the Syrah was even remotely palatable. All the wines were sour and one was even corked. I was also shocked to learn that in order to recover the tasting cost, one would have to buy three bottles of this swill at premium prices.
Don't waste your time or your money at Mayo.
We are in the Sonoma area often and we would discourage anyone from wasting time or money . -
Review from Juan Carlos T.
Milpitas, CA
7/4/2007
They have the $6 tasting and $12 adventure tasting. I went for the adventure, and it's really not much of an adventure... I mean other than being less common varietals, they are quite mediocre. If you have previously tasted a good Petite Syrah or Malbec or Gerwurtzraminer (sp) you probably wouldn't care much about the adventure, just go with the normal. If a whole day of wine tasting hadn't given you a good buzz, this will be the place that you finish youself off. The pours are generous. If you go for the $12 tasting, you get to try over 10 wines.
Good thing about this place is they open late, till 6 or 6:30 which is way pass the cutoff times of the others. -
Review from Ben P.
San Francisco, CA
9/26/2007
One of my favorite Sonoma wineries. In fact, one of my favorite wineries. In fact, I'm a member of their wine club.
If you go, get the adventure tasting. Wine country is ordinarily a non-stop repetition of chardonnary, merlot, cab, and zine, with some sauv blanc and syrrah thrown in here and there just to make things interesting. Mayo does a number of interesting varieties, and will lead you through them in the adventure tasting. Try the several varieties of zin, some blended and some single appellation. If you're intellectually curious, compare them side by side and see what makes a Napa zin different from a Sonoma zin, or an old vine zin different from younger vines.
If you see something you're interested in, ask for it, and they will pour it for you. The pours are generous, and the adventure tasting encompasses at least 10 different wines, so be prepared to either take it slowly or man up and stumble out.
There are two guys who usually work the tasting counter, and both are very friendly and knowledgeable (makes me wish I remembered their names). If you need suggestions about other places to tour or to eat, ask and ye shall receive good ideas.
A can't miss if you're in the Valley of the Moon. -
Review from dave y.
San Diego, CA
10/18/2006
On my first expedition into Nor Cal Wine Country- Cheers, yo, to many more!- we stopped by the Schugg, Ravenswood, Valley of the Moon, and Mayo Family wineries. Each make drinkable wines. However, despite Schugg's Pinot Noir, and Ravenswood's Zins, I was most satisfied with the Mayo visit.
Within moments of setting foot in the Mayo tasting area, we were greeted by Rebecca, and she made us feel right at home with her enthusiasm. Two of my cohorts shared the "adventure" tasting which is now $12 (rather than $10), and I paid $6 for the regular tasting (increased by a buck). I was getting over a cold and my other friend is a self-proclaimed lightweight, but Rebecca kindly split my tasting into two glasses. And even then the pours were extremely generous. She also poured several wines that weren't on the tasting list, and while some of the wines didn't quite suit my palate, my tongue was taken for a ride.
As a whole, I'd say the wines were quite strong. I was particularly impressed with their Zinfandels, "Ricci Old Vine," and the surprisingly soft but deliciously fruity "Barnstormer." Many of the wines we tasted had solid structure... and legs: the tastes continuing to evolve long after I'd set my glass down.
Sure we paid $ to partake of their wines, but the volume of wines served and our taste guide made the price worthwhile. Ravenwood's tastings required moolah too, and it wasn't nearly as rewarding a tasting experience. If you are touring Sonoma, plan to visit Mayo last, as it closes later than most others. While Valley of the Moon was closing up shop at 4:30, and most other tasting rooms were closing at 5, Mayo was still bustling up until 6:30. We left with 6 bottles. Next time I'll try the "Adventure" wines, and try and get a taste of the Reserve Zin. -
Review from Tony P.
San Jose, CA
7/11/2006
I find it hard to believe that I'm the first one to rate this winery. It has so many good things going for it. First of all, their wines were almost all very good to excellent across the board. Secondly they are open until 6:30 so it's easy to catch them on the way back to the bay area no mater where you've been tasting in the Sonoma County area.
This was the third and last place I visited on Saturday July 1st and it left me very satisfied. I don't know about you, but sometimes you can leave a winery disappointed about the last flavors to cross your palate. Leaving Mayo Family I thought I'd have a hard time finding a better place the rest of the weekend.
The biggest negative about Mayo Family is the tasting fee. They lose one star for this, but any place with a tasting fee loses a star in my book. Anyway Mayo does offer two wines for complementary tasting. When we were there it was a Sauvignon Blanc and a red table wine. We didn't taste them, so I can't comment on them. After that you can choose the Premium tasting for $5 of the Adventure tasting for $10.
We chose the Adventure tasting and went through two Gewurztraminers (one dry and one semi dry), Barbera, Carignane, Syrah, Alicante-Bouchet, Petite Sirah and a late harvest Gewurztraminer. During the tasting our pourer also offered us tastes of their Cabernet Franc and three different Zins.
The high point was the 2004 Stone Ranch Vineyard Carignane. This is the best Carignane I have every tasted. It was a very smooth wine with cinnamon spice and nutmeg and a wonderfully dusty component. My next favorite was the 2004 Reserve Ricci Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel. It had a huge jammy start, huge spice with cinnamon and a touch of clove, bramble and coffee. Next on my list was the non-reserve 2004 Ricci Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel. The 2004 Sonoma County Barnstormer Zin, 2004 Sales Ranch Vineyard Alicante-Bouchet and the 2004 Cabernet Franc were all very good as well.
The tasting room was packed and it was sometimes a little difficult to get our next tastes, but the pourers were doing their best to keep up with the crowd. I highly recommend a visit if you're in the Glen Ellen area. For me this is the must stop location in the area.
Mayo Family also has a tasting room in Kenwood, but I didn't visit it. I don't know how it compares with the Glen Ellen tasting room, but the sign in front of the Kenwood location indicates they have wine and food pairings. -
Review from Love Muffin ..
Kensington, CA
5/21/2007
This past weekend, I made my second trip to Mayo. When we first arrive, one of those wine tasting buses is there, along with all 20 of its loud, drunk yuppies (hey, I never denied being a hypocrite). It's loud. So loud that we waited outside, in the heat, for our second car to arrive after having had taken a 'detour'.
Although there were only two folks working, they ably served all 30+ of us who now occupied their tasting room. Our pourer even recognized me from my previous trip to Mayo more than a year before (but she didn't recognize others in our group who had been there with more frequency than I... I like to think that it's my stunning beauty that cannot be forgotten, but it probably has something more to do with the small number of black folks who make it out there).
Since we were there with a member of their wine club, we were all able to taste (and taste and taste) for free. Which brings me to their wines. While I wasn't in love with any of their whites (all that we tasted were steel barreled, not sure if this is true of all their whites), their reds were amazing. We ended up taking home their Zinfandel and Merlot. They also had a port that those in my group really seemed to enjoy, but I'm not a huge port fan.
They also have some picnic tables around the back for those who have it together enough to pack sandwiches.
Oh! I almost forgot. The poster of the movie the Libertine with Johnny Depp was on the wall. We could not figure out why. And then we saw they have a bottle of wine called the Libertine. Turns out there's no relationship between the two, but, as our pourer explained, 'any excuse to put a poster of Johnny Depp on the wall'. Nice. Even if it was a bad photo of him. -
Review from Stephen W.
San Francisco, CA
11/29/2006
If I had to drink from only winery for the rest of my life, it would be Mayo wines. All of their wines are delicious and unlike many other wineries they don't specialize in any one particular wine. To make things even better, the people that work at this tasting room are friendly, helpful and just plain nice.
It's the type of place that I bring all my friends but usually don't tell strangers about it so I can keep it all to myself. -
Review from Amanda G.
9/18/2007
This place was open later than most, (especially for a Sun.)
It was our last stop, therefore, we were in pretty good spirits!
The guy pouring was really friendly, and let us taste a few more than we paid for. I liked their wines, but didn't end up buying any. They were a little more expensive than I prefer to spend on wine. (Which isn't saying much.)
We had a great time here, chatted with the man doing the pouring (don't remember his name), and the other straggling tasters. It was an enjoyable experience for all! -
Review from Shal J.
San Francisco, CA
12/30/2007
I am honestly shocked by the reviews of this place. Yes, the tastings are cheap - $6 will allow you to try 6 - 8 wines, but there is a reason it's $6.
Don't get me wrong - I'm all for bottles under $20 that end in .99, but this wine just wasn't good.
I definitely won't be back. The grounds are boring and nothing special, so there is really no reason for me to return. -
Review from Nikki M.
4/19/2008
They've got a lotta spunk here at Mayo Family! They kept us entertained while we slowly migrated through their extensive tasting list.
The wine was less napa like and more italian in expression.
My husband kept saying how impressed he was that almost everything he tried was good. We enjoyed mostly reds, but the server gave us a good education letting us try the same kind of wine in different years to see if we could notice the difference.
The dessert wine was very tasty! :) -
Review from William A.
Healdsburg, CA
12/26/2009
Note: this review is an excerpt from my blog article:
http://tinyurl.com/ylg...
After a quick lunch at CaffeCitti (and a bad choice of sangiovese) moved on to Mayo. I was fortunate enough at the first tasting station to meet one of the owners, pouring a Pinot Gris and 2007 Sonoma Valley Chardonnay. Neutral oak, and partial malolactic, this was a nice Burgundian style chardonnay that didn't hide the fruit. Wine geeking, I also found out they sold a 'unwooded' Chardonnay, no oak, all stainless.
Additional stations tasted a 2007 Pinot, a 2006 RRV Zin, 2006 RRV Old Vine Petit Sirah, 2005 Merlot, 2006 Libertine red blend, and a few others. I thought all were well made, the Zin catching my eye at only 14% alcohol, soft, nice fruit that wasn't in your face, and a good finish. I also really enjoyed their 2005 Napa Cabernet, $40.
As I was leaving, I decided to purchase the un-oaked Chardonnay without tasting it, and the Cabernet. I should have paid better attention to their specials - the tasting sheet offered 20% off 2 bottles of most varietals, but the chardonnay wasn't listed, and I hate public haggling, and didn't want to mar a good experience over a few dollar -
Review from David F.
Santa Rosa, CA
9/5/2010
Having enjoyed Mayo's flagship Zinfandels for years, I decided it was time to drop by their tasting room. They charge a bit more than others ($12 for one selection, $6 for another), and don't waive the fee unless you buy three bottles (which will likely cost you over $100). Unfortunately (fortunately for the winery) they sell out of their award winning Zins, so none are available for tasting. They do offer over a dozen wines for tasting, and although I had never heard of a couple of the varietals, I thought I was in for a treat. However, the whites are generally over-oaked and go thru malolactic fermentation (even their Viognier!!!), and their reds are extremely overripe. I always buy at least a couple of bottles when I visit a winery (to thank them for taking the time to open their doors to visitors), but this time we simply paid the tasting fee and left.
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Review from Tom S.
Placer County, CA
11/4/2007
Small tasting room. Not a big flashy gift shop.
Okay wines. Most are unfiltered. That means sediment at the bottom of the bottle & your glass.
Only 3 stars because the wines do NOT warrant the high prices. Cheapest bottles are $25. Most are $40 to $60.
I live 2 miles from this winery. We have 31 wineries within a 15 minute drive from Glen Ellen / Kenwood. Mayo is barely in the middle of the pack for flavor & enjoyment. -
Review from Thao T.
8/26/2010
Not really sure how a place like this stays open, since they only sell their wines at the tasting room. We had a free tasting courtesy of our bed and breakfast, so we though we'd give it a try after taking a nap since they open the latest of any other place we've seen (6:30p). The guy running the place was an interesting character, he definitely didn't pay us as much attention as the couple from chicago, but we didn't like the wine either, so the feeling was mutual. The other couple had this really loud chick who was asking a lot of questions. She's one of those really friendly but annoying people who talk about everything, and she described the guy as "the most awesome ever". I guess they haven't been to many places other than this one, or all the other places were crappy.
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Review from Jennifer K.
San Jose, CA
1/15/2008 3 photos
Took my mom here on our Sonoma wine tasting trip. We were doing the last tasting of the day, so the gals were pretty busy but they did their best at squeezing us in.
This is another dog friendly winery. They have a little shitzu as their bar dog. He was sooo cute! They welcomed my Border Collie and there was another huge pooch hanging out as well. It was so great to have the dogs running around playing while we tasted wine.
I wasn't too keen on the fact that they still will charge you the tasting fee if you purchase wine. They tried to charge my mom for her tasting even after she purchased a bottle of pricey Gewurztraminer. But they decided not to after I mentioned most places in Napa negate the tasting fee if you buy wine. -
Review from Rebecca D.
Los Gatos, CA
2/17/2008
I like Mayo. This tasting room had a cute little doggie; making slightly tipsy females an easy target for buying at least one bottle. Not to mention they close a little bit later than the rest of the places (Last time I went they close at 6 or 6:30; everywhere else is 5ish or before). This has always been our last stop of the day; so our palette is understandably comprimised and saturated by the time we come. Next time we'll have to go here first to give them a fair shot.
The late-harvest Gewurztraminer is delicious, although very very expensive (30 bucks for a half-bottle size!). The Libertine is really great. Merlot is ok. Mertiage is decent.
Not so crazy about the whites; but I'm not that crazy about whites in general, so can't blame them for that.
We did end up joining their wine club- but ended up dropping it because they sent us things that we aren't that crazy about (::cough:: Chardonnay::hack::); not to mention they don't include the late harvest
Gewurztraminer (my personal favorite!). Rather drive up here and spend the same amount of money on wines we'll actually drink. -
Review from Rob H.
Walnut Creek, CA
6/14/2009
We have passed this winery more than a dozen times and keep telling ourselves that we ought to stop in. Well, yesterday was our shot. They happen to be open until 6:30 and we were passing by at quarter to 5 as a number of other wineries that we thought of going to were closing. They have a $6 and a $12 tasting. The $6 tasting has some common favorites (Pinot, Zin, Merlot, Cab) while the $12 is called their "Adventure" tasting because they have some less common wines as well as some that you've probably seen before. We are big Pinot and Zin fans so we stuck with the basic tasting and he was nice enough to allow us to do a reds-only tasting and threw a couple extra reds in to replace the whites on the list that we weren't exactly thrilled about.
The Good - The Pinots and Zins were pretty darn good even for the $30 - $40 price. They have what they label as "barnstormer" pinot and zins which simply means that they aren't single-vineyard wines. They do a great job of blending these to get a great flavor.
The Bad - The cab and merlot both tasted like I was chewing on a grape leaf. This seems to be a style that new-world (particularly Napa snobs) wine fans enjoy in their Bordeaux varietals. So if that's what you like, maybe this isn't necessarily "bad".
The Atmosphere - The tasting room was plenty spacious (probably accommodates 12 - 16 without much crowding). The place was well kept and clean and not overly cluttered with the normal trinkets for drunk women. -
Review from Jeff P.
Columbus, OH
1/31/2011
Average wines. Not much ambiance. They are open until 6!
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Review from Carol B.
Pittsburgh, PA
11/4/2007
I am giving this establishment ONE star and that ONE star is for the Gewurztraminer wine which deserves 5 stars by itself. I love sweet wine, but the price ($30 for a tiny bottle) is absurd. I can find comparable wine for half the price and twice the amount. But, this particular wine was great, and for that it deserves recognition.
I visited this winery about a year ago and was highly annoyed at the fruit flies. I don't like to drink my wine dodging fruit flies
Yesterday, I was beyond disgusted. Waving the fruit flies away from in front of your face is one thing, but if you dare to glance up above your head, it was frightening. I tried not to complain to my companions so as not to ruin a beautiful day in Wine Country. At one point, I tried to move to the corner of the room near the fireplace, only to glance over at the window and see the fruit flies swarmed against the glass. My gag reflex began and I had to run out. That will be the last time I visit this winery. -
Review from Tom Y.
Carlsbad, CA
6/16/2009
We were on our way home and just as we turned to the highway we saw this place and it was still open so we popped on in for one more tasting for the road. We opted for the standard tasting but they let us choose the wines we wanted to taste instead of the standard list. Maybe it was from the 4 or 5 other tastings from earlier that day but I got to taste over 10 wines between us and none of them tasted great. Pretty good wines but the cost of the wines for the taste did not warrant me to buy a bottle. They did have a wider wine selection than most places that I have been to in Sonoma so its a plus if you want variety.
The tasting room is a pretty big space but the amount of counter space to the size of the room is not proportional. If they had some round tables for tastings on busy days than it would make sense. They have some tables in the back for people to relax out back. -
Review from Cor Q.
Oakland, CA
12/11/2007 1 photo
You have to go to the Reserve Room for the complete ensemble of wine and food pairing! Chef Billy Oliver is a master of his craft and I'm making a point of going up every quarter, as they change up the menu every few months.
Usually Jim-- and sometimes even the Chef himself-- guides you through the three-serving presentation. I always leave completely full, but most men have voracious appetites and will want to stop to eat somewhere else afterward. Go figure. What's not completely satiating about a series of bite-size food plates???
Put it this way, during my last visit I actually became a member. -
Review from Patricia L.
Santa Rosa, CA
2/13/2011
Stopped here on a whim late one afternoon since no bars or restaurants were open. Are we glad we did! Never having tried Mayo wines before (very scare in the retail arena), we tried the Adventure tasting and each wine we tried was a revelation. We really enjoyed the opportunity to taste varietals we'd never heard of before (Alicante-Bouchet, the noir of noirs) and do some side by side tasting of Zins from different vineyards. The Gewurztraminer had the spice and slight sweetness for which it's noted, the Alicante nicely fruited and smooth and the Barbera and La Chamizale Zin were luscious. We like our reds fruit forward so we ducked the final 3 reds which was heavily oaked.
We were the only ones in the tasting room so had a real personal experience with the lovely and very knowledgeable Courtney. She quickly cottoned on to what types of wines we liked and pulled out some not on the list and poured them for us, including a stunning late harvest Reisling and a Zinfandel port.
Unlike many tasting rooms we visited, the descriptions of their wines were straightforward and not full of the pretentious hot air many of the wineries indulge in (I mean, really, who wants to taste menthol lozenges in their wine?! Hanna?!) and they were accurate descriptions of what you'd be tasting.
We ended up buying a case and will definitely be back. -
Review from Gary M.
Saratoga, CA
1/8/2008
4 stars due to the excellent wines and the consistency of quality across all 10 wines tasted. There wasn't a bad wine in them. For $12/person we did the adventure tasting. The tasting was waived when we purchased a bottle, which by the way is a good technique to use at almost all the wineries if you like a wine. We favor reds and they had an excellent selection including some more unusual varietals such as Sangiovese (which isn't that unusual, but is for the typical tasting).
More points because they are open to 630. As we were staying in Glen Ellen, this gave us the opportunity to take a pause from the tastings of the day and visit them later.
Their showroom is nothing special, so only go there for the wines. There are other wineries to visit for visual stimulation, walks, art and so on.
Good wines and fairly valued in my opinion, with great consistency make this 4 stars. Also, cannot get these wines from anywherebut the winery. -
Review from That G.
Chicago, IL
5/6/2009
Since I'm not a wine connoisseur, I'll keep my comments limited to the service and atmosphere; albeit the wine was tasty.
So, this would be THE first winery I went to in wine country and I was pleasantly pleased. "Pleasantly pleased," I like that. Anyway, the building was a cute little gem with an old school Model-T Ford sitting outside in the parking lot. The inside was nice and cute making for a romantic atmosphere. The pours were generous (I did the basic $6 tasting) and the service was solid. My only complaint was the fact that there wasn't much of a explanation by the staff for each new varietal we consumed. Other than that, 4 stars. -
Review from Jeni K.
San Francisco, CA
10/27/2010
Mayo is so far my favorite winery in Sonoma. The wines are great and the winery has a very laid back atmosphere so you can enjoy your tasting in a casual setting. They also have a very long tasting menu and very knowledgeable staff, so it's a great value for your tasting fee. My favorite by far was the Pinot Noir - nice hint of cherry which I particularly love in pinots.
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Review from Holly T.
9/24/2006
I enjoyed the tastings here. As the other reviews have stated, they have a regular tasting for $5 and the "adventure" tasting for $10. I went with the adventure tasting and was not disappointed. A lot of very interesting wines from varietals not commonly found elsewhere, especially in this area. All the wines were quite nice and very pleasurable to drink. My pourer was a member of the Mayo family and had one of the wines named after her, and she was nice to talk to and very knowledgable. This is a good place to stop for tasting; for a totally different experience and different wines, further up the road there is another Mayo tasting room that does food pairings with the wines.
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Review from Beth T.
Updated - 2/28/2009
My return trip to Mayo was as good as the first - if not better. The employees are super friendly, and my girlfriend and I were treated to a couple of extra pours that left us more than a little tipsy and giggly. I purchased another bottle of their excellent Syrah and still stand by my claim that it's one of the best wines I've ever tasted. Be sure to visit this gem when you're in Sonoma.
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2/17/2008
The 2005 syrah we purchased here just might be one of the best wines I've tasted. Smooth and fruity… Read more »
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Review from Bea F.
El Dorado Hills, CA
9/21/2010
If you like Malbec and Petit Verdot this is the place to be. The taste of these wines was beyond delicious. We met with Rich, the winemaker, he was full of knowledge and conversation. Awesome time with a very personable staff.
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Review from Tamir M.
Oakland, CA
9/3/2006
This was my first wine tasting ever. I didnt know what to expect. The facility is open and there are seating areas outside. The wine tasting is $5 for regular and $10 for "adventurous". I took the adveturous route my wife was regular. I'm not a wine drinker and being my first time I reserve my review of the wines. But I enjoyed my wife's wines more than mine. We decided on a bottle of the estate Chardonnay. The server was really nice and informative. Overall I enjoyed my first wine tasting experience with Mayo.
