Ram’s Gate Winery

really disappointing!
very nice facility and near perfect location but it went down hill from there.
‘Would you like to be seated for a wine tasting’
sure, but can we sit in the chairs there on the edge of the patio rather then at a table? (Chairs are about 5 feet from the tables and the chairs are located on the patio overlooking the Sonoma landscape)
‘Sure except we don’t provide service there’
Ok, we will sit at a table
’Would you like to start with a tasting?‘
Well, kinda been a long day of tasting, can we just each get a glass of wine instead?
‘I am sorry sir, we concentrate on tastings only here, we do not sell wine by the glass, it does not fit our overall plan’
Ok, then can we just buy a bottle of wine to split?
‘I am sorry sir, we do tastings and do not offer wine by the bottle either’
a winery that does not sell wine… Ok
So we left to go get a glass of wine elsewhere, mind you they were not busy (it was a Monday afternoon) and they were not rude, just a very strange policy to me for a ‘winery’ to choose to follow. We live in Temecula CA where the many many local wineries offer tastings, wine by the glass, wine by the bottle and many offer, God forbid…, beer :)
So this place seemed a bit ‘uppity’ and we will not try them again

Briana our wine coinnesuar is great! Very sociable! Out of all stops today! This is the one! Think we’ll finish here!

Can’t say enough. We have many friends members here, and have had two huge celebrations here the last year.
Sean MADE my birthday what it was. Incredible tour, incredible service for 22 guests and just so accommodating.
The ambiance is gorgeous and service is always perfect. We love being members here!

This was tasting location #1. My buddy suggested this cozy room as I enjoy Pinot Noir… they didn’t disappoint. Our server was knowledgeable, polite, & patient (I ask tons of questions).
This platter in particular was ordered as I was starving not just to pair with taste. Based on the assortment & my situation: the variety was just as varied as my taste buds & as tasty as the wines. Those brownie bits were amazing!
I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

So this place was the end of our wine day trip on a Sat a few weeks ago. It is crazy close to SF being one of the first stops in Sonoma and was about 35 minutes from the city.
My friend was a member of the wine club. It was quite the ambiance. High ceilings, fireplaces galore, large windows. open kitchen area, and interesting seating in various rooms. It is an appointment only type of place. Though it was pretty full that afternoon when we arrived at 4:30, it had an intimate community feel. The small lake outside was nice and a gorgeous sight to enjoy the sunset that day. FYI this place is open until 6pm.
My friends and I just ordered a glass of wine each. We really enjoyed hanging out here. Next time I would love to have lunch here and enjoy a wine flight.

While the property is beautiful, I can not recommend visiting this winery. I enjoyed the wines, but when you pay $ 40 a person to taste 4 wines (2 Chardonnay and 2 Pino Noir) you should get Amazing service. This is where Rams Gate failed. 3 of us cost me $ 120 to receive tiny pours, slow service and limited knowledge and communication from our pourer. Frustrating, as a local from Tiburon, I get great service in Sonoma all the time, but not at Rams Gate.
Sorry, I recommend skipping Rams Gate when you tour the area wineries.

Scheduled a private tasting at Ram’s Gate just after the Christmas holiday. The winery was tastefully decorated for the holiday season, which added to the appeal. This is the first winery on the way up from San Francisco, hence the «Gate». Carneros in Spanish means Rams, so you get Ram’s Gate. This is a picturesque winery, with great views all around of vineyards, San Pablo bay in the distance and Sonoma Raceway (for you race fans).
As we entered Ram’s Gate, we were greeted by a really nice gentlemen, sort of like the Maitre’D. He was very polite, engaging and allowed us to take photos and he took a few for us. He led us into the tasting room and seated us. The tasting room is one of my favorites I have visited. Extremely large with fireplaces all around. It comes across as a modern log cabin.
During our tasting, we had some Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah. We also ‘smoothly’ talked our tasting guide into providing us with some of their Sparkling wines. We were then taken on a tour of the property both inside and out. Oh and we were provided more wine for our tour, always a bonus! I personally enjoyed the wines, in particular the Pinot
Our tasting guide (I cannot remember her name, but she was originally from Alaska) was very friendly and extremely knowledgable about wine. She made the tour very laid back and fun.
This is definitely a great place to schedule an appointment at. I will be back for sure on our next visit!

This was our first time ever wine tasting and this place did not disappoint. We came here without reservations and even though they were busy, we were seated pretty fast. I loved the interior of this place. Very open, high ceilings and had this rustic feel to it. (just gorgeous)
We ordered two of the wine flights and ordered a charcuterie board.
The atmosphere was great, the service was great and Zack even gave us a tour of the winery. We ended up buying some bottles of the wine we tried and we got our wine flights comped.

Very good experience overall. We got wine tasting and a nice cheese, charcuterie and accompaniments board for additional $ 28.
This was our first stop on the visit and we (of course) didn’t make any reservations. However, they welcomed us and accommodated us at the bar. I liked that ambience of their tasting room, it’s really stylist, not loud and has a feeling like you are just a guest in someone’s house.
We also noticed that people were more dressed than typical wineries in the area, made it much nicer to look at, but at the same time I felt a bit our of place.
The bottles are pricey, not an every day wine. I am not an expert enough to appreciate all the nuances, but overall the experience was good.

We were in Sonoma Raceway and wanted to check out this winery because I’ve been to Cline, Viansa, Jacuzzi & Gloria Ferrer but not here. I was so excited when I came in with my parents & my friend and we got seated at the bar despite the fact that there’s 4 of us and there’s tons of tables available. We sat there for a few minutes when someone came and poured us water. It took a good 7 minutes before somebody paid attention to us. My cellphone juice was running low and I asked a server named Randy if I could charge my phone for a few minutes while we were tasting and immediately, he said no because of «liability issues» then he told me he will check then he walked away. He came back to the bar a few more times but pretended not to see me. If I’m paying $ 40 to sit at a bar for 1 flight of tasting (and the Reds were terrible), why is it a problem to charge my phone?
The grounds are beautiful but the winery & servers were pretentious. They act like they’re high & mighty.
Here’s a tip for those visiting — bring your own wine and picnic basket and walk towards the vineyard by the water. Bring a blanket, sit on the grass or under a tree and do you own wine tasting. That way, you don’t have to interact with their haughty servers!

When I first signed up for Ram’s Gate, I was quite impressed. Loved the décor, the wines were good (and not overly expensive to taste), and they allowed dogs… All great things in my book. Therefore, I signed up to be a member and they were flexible working with me. However, since July/​Aug 2015, they’ve now changed their dog policy, and therefore will not be continuing my membership here. Wine tasting was always one of those activities, I could bring my pup too — don’t have to feel bad for leaving her at home alone. Also, since I wine taste with my pup, I would have to leave her in a hot car, so that I can go in and taste, and to me, that is just NOT an option.
Thank you Rams Gate for the fun times and yummy wine, but I will be moving my membership to another winery which appreciates all it’s members (two and four-​legged).

Went once, won’t be back. Not because the grounds aren’t really great… because they are. But the wine is overpriced by about $ 20 – 30 per bottle and the staff was pompous and rude.
Their club is ‘free shipping’ but it’s fixed into the cost of their overpriced wines. For this price wines, there are way too many options in the area to spend your time here.
The only reason to go there is that if you live in Marin, it’s close. Don’t take your kids, they’re not welcome. But given the overpriced wine, appt only attitude and rude staff, just drive up the road another 15 minutes and go to Cline. Better wines, better price and great staff.

I wanted our relationship to be amazing Rams Gate, I really did! Unfortunately, this was the letter I sent to their GM and team today… Our server’s name is not included, as I am not interested in personally attacking their staff.
Overall décor, wine, grounds, and ambiance are spot on. Service is «meh» at best.
«Today I had the opportunity to bring 5 of my closest friends to your members only tasting room. These are 5 women I went to hospitality school with that appreciate an incredible bottle of wine, perfectly paired appetizer, and an impeccably decorated tasting room. (All reasons why I joined your club in the first place.) These are 5 women that understand what great service looks and feels like, which is why I was completely horrified at the experience we had with your server _​_​_​_​today.
From the moment we walked into the dining room, there was an immediate attitude emanating from him/​her. Absolutely no care was taken to welcome us to Ram’s Gate and his/​her annoyance with the addition of one person to our party obvious. He/​She mentioned it a few times, I think his/​her words were something about not being able to count correctly. A chair was never supplied for me, the member, and instead I sat very closely to 2 of the other girls on a couch in 92 degree heat. A fact that was ok, but not great considering the temperature.
We were then asked to make our selections and were given no context as to how the menu and tastings worked. Being above average readers, we quickly figured it out and ordered tastings all around. Within seconds our glasses were dropped and it appeared the weirdness we formerly felt was dealt with, however watching every single glass poured, at once, with little to no explanation as to what we were drinking, was truly disappointing. We sat there for 1 hour in a hot room, slowly getting through the tasting with no clue as to what each wine was and certainly not drinking the wine at the 55 degree temp it should be served at. Food was not really offered and the Burrata dish we selected on our own, pretty incredible. Lucky for us.
The experience only got worse when we ordered a celebratory bottle of sparkling wine, that was not poured (i had to walk over and almost pour it myself) and was met with a „are you girls happy now“ once the glasses were poured. A question, I would never ask a guest, a client, or a friend of mine. We repeated this question to one another as a joke throughout the day, to make light of the incredibly disappointing experience we had.
When the check was placed on the table, it was tossed at me, not placed politely in front me. I was never thanked for coming in and certainly walked away understanding the other larger parties were a better opportunity for _​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​to make more money.
I am so embarrassed my friends had to experience _​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​today. While your wines, food, décor, events, and grounds are epic, I would appreciate it if you would cancel my membership immediately. I am not interested in ever giving Ram’s Gate my money again and will whole-​heartedly take my business to any number of wineries in Sonoma and Napa instead.
A true bummer since I really love your wines, but dealing with amature servers that do not understand how to take care of a guest or make a guest feel important a fact I am unwilling to deal with. Please let me know what I need to do to get my membership cancelled and feel free to call me if you would like to discuss my situation further. »

This winery is absolutely stunning. I passed it so many times before finally stopping in. We were surprised to find that reservations were newly required but they allowed us in as it was still early. There are several different intimate seating areas with fireplaces, funky chairs, and a patio with beautiful views. The décor is very modern wine country chic. The winery is right off of the main road into Sonoma and easy to spot at the top of the hill.
The wines impressed me far less than the décor and location did. The wine tasting was quite pricey and I didn’t love the wines. I’d come back for the ambiance and to give the wines another try.

The wines are really good, our favorites here were the Chardonays. The ambiance is perfect on a nice day, it’s an indoor/​outdoor space with a nice breeze and amazing views. The décor is modern and lux but not intimidating. From a cost perspective this is one of the more expensive tastings I’ve been to ($ 40 or $ 65 depending on which wines you want to taste) but one tasting fee is waived when you purchase two bottles. So all in all it’s $ 80-​$ 150 for a tasting and two bottles.

Seasonal Menu’s! Amazing Wines!!! Great Service!!!
I would give it 4 stars for being Members Only Dinning. But I am a member so I cant hate on that!!!
I would give them 3 Stars for changing there pet policy and Kid Policy.
So I settled on 4 stars. Well because I still love there wind food and location being so convenient.
If they change there pet policy I will happily change my stars back to 5!!!

Amazing wines, people, service and views. Not for the feint of heart, the prices are higher than most — but commensurate with the quality.
Food choices and quality are also excellent. The pairings were delicious.

We had a very pleasant tasting of wines here. We decided to have a taste of the 9 wines and a cheeseboard between three of us. The fourth was the driver. We had each wine explained and there was no rush so we could enjoy the scenery. The weather was excellent so sitting outside was the perfect option.
The disappointing part was that the wines were not made with the grapes from the local vineyards as they had dug up the vineyards around the building and replanted. The wines were not quite to my taste but they were also very expensive. The tasting was also expensive for 9 wines (about $ 100)
The place had more a feel of an exclusive club than a cellar door. It would suit some people but not me.

Rams Gate is far more than your average Napa/​Sonoma winery. It actually feels much more like a 5 star hotel perched above the vineyards with unfortunately no rooms in which to stay the night.
Sweeping views, insanely beautiful design, and DOGS. Wine-​tasting does not get better than this. As other reviewers have noted, yes, you must have a reservation and will otherwise be turned away. Yes, this is annoying if you’re spontaneously swinging by, but on the other hand, it makes for a much more intimate, private environment. Unlike many of the other wineries where bus loads of drunks and tourists stumble in every minute, Rams Gate is much more civilized and sophisticated. To me, this level of quality is worth the perceived snootiness and extra planning required.
Another thing to mention is that as a non-​member you are limited to two tasting flights and a cheese board (which is actually way more than just cheese). Just make sure to keep this in mind and head somewhere else for lunch afterwards! Tastings are either $ 20 or $ 25 fyi with an extra $ 25 for a cheese board.

Did you know this is the first winery you see once you turn onto Hwy 121 from 37 after the Sonoma Raceway? That was the Sears Point Raceway back in the day. Anyhow, it’s quite a nice setting up on a hill with a view that overlooks the wetlands that roll into San Pablo Bay. The building itself was completely renovated in 2012 now looking very much like the lobby of a high-​end resort hotel in Aspen or Telluride. The first thing you see as you walk from the parking lot is a vintage red Audi MG roadster in the main courtyard, which gives you in a nutshell the type of upscale vibe they’re going for here (photo:
). There are at least three separate areas for tasting starting with a grand hall with a big white marble bar (photo:
). We landed our derrieres in the expansive lounge area lit by a large fireplace (photo:
).
There is more of a bistro dining area that engulfs the verandas which face the views (photo:
). Once again I was depending on the kindness of friends who already secured a membership here which allowed me entry into this more exclusive area. We were quite relaxed on the couches and ordered the $ 40 Pinot Noir flight which provided full-​bodied, fruity tastes from their Glass House and Silver Eagle vineyards (photo:
). Food pairings turned out to be satisfying bar bites nicely executed, for example, the $ 9 Wagon Wheel Arancini with Black Truffle and Mushroom Purée (photo:
) and the $ 14 Prawn with Coconut Foam, Madras Curry, Hazelnut and Curry Vinaigrette (photo:
). We ended our sojourn here with an effervescent $ 15 flute of the 2010 Sparkling Brut Rosé (photo:
). Service was attentive without being overly intrusive. My oh my, I’m gettin’ high-​falutin’.