Highway 12 Winery

Complimentary wines were all tasty, very nice woman behind the counter. Only place around with free tasting.

Super bad experience. I drove an hour to the shop and walked in saying I was buying 4 cases of wine for my husband’s surprise party but needed to use the restroom first. I was told I’d have to go to the public restroom a block away behind the court house. Fine! When I came back, I was told that if I joined the wine club, I’d get 30% off my purchase today. Now we were talking! I chose my 4 cases and signed up for the club. Then she rang the sale us at the single bottle price to take 30% off of that. I said, whoa there. It should be 30% off the retail case price. She became flustered and called two people and handed the phone to me. I was told that it was 30% off the individual bottle price only. Well, I walked out and they lost an $ 800-​$ 900 sale. I went on their website and club member discounts are «25% discount on all wine purchases», which does not exclude cases. We had a fine party with excellent wine purchased from Bev Mo, thank you very much. Highway 12 Winery is off our list forever.

Complimentary tastings are always great in my book! That said, I personally didn’t care for any of the wines I tasted. I wouldn’t necessarily go out of your way to come here, but if you’re around and you have time, why not! The ladies pouring wine were very friendly.
This place doubles as a cute gift shop.

As a wine tasting newbie, I’m often hesitant to stop in wineries — I struggle a lot trying to figure out what I like (so far my «Do Not Like» list is overwhelming). One of the things that encouraged me to write a review for Highway 12 is the atmosphere and attitude of the employees.
Sometimes I feel belittled and slightly embarrassed when I try to do a wine tasting, but I was completely at ease at Highway 12. The employee that helped us also tried to give me recommendations for what I might like, and even let me try an extra pour just because she thought I might enjoy it!
The store has plenty of interesting knick knacks to look at too. :)

My fav place for wine tasting on the square in Sonoma
Great hosts. Good wines. Great atmosphere. Plenty of customers here.
Books sheets home décor all sorts of stuff you can browse while wine tasting.
I liked the Bordeaux the best.

This is a very accessible, fun, and affordable tasting experience for those who are just getting into wine! We were looking for a place where we wouldn’t be intimidated… and one where tastings were complimentary. The atmosphere is casual and the staff were friendly and knowledgable. Most importantly the wines were really good and reasonably priced. We ended up buying three bottles for $ 50 total. I would definitely come back.

Generous pours, delicious wines, and good conversation. What more could you want? And, Sharon is the best :)

My wife, her sister and mother who are Asian was ignored in this establishment. Beware.

LOVE this winery! They have a corner storefront tasting room in the downtown Sonoma square. The ladies who work here are super fun and friendly. The wine club is a no-​brainer for anyone who frequents Sonoma regularly. You basically get 2-​for-​1, and if you don’t like the selections they let you swap some out. The wines are very good and reasonably priced — from $ 10 to $ 40 for members, a bit more for non-​members. Oh, and tasting is FREE. Non-​members can taste 5, members have a free-​for-​all. Better eat before or after to cushion it! They also have fun events. I am so in love with a new release, the Aleatico. Probably should order a case now that I’ve told you…
PS — the people who claim discrimination or complain because they won’t be hospitable when you show up right before closing are clueless. Clearly the customer is rude, not the other way around.

We came in here on a rainy day and did the free tasting. The wines were fantastic and our pourer, Jimmy, was a great host. He talked with us and offered great suggestions on places in the area to check out. He even gave us a two-​for-​one tasting for a nearby winery! He was knowledgeable about the wines and we learned a lot. Sometimes the hosts are awkward or make you feel rushed, but Jimmy went at a great pace and kept us informed. Definitely a great place to stop in!

Super cute shop located right in the heart of the square. You cannot miss the corner location filled with great gift ideas and home décor. The wine tasting was free and they have a few award winners that are worth checking out or grabbing a bottle for dinner.

I’m from east coast and come into area once per year for past ~12 years. I was a club member at Hwy 12 for 4 – 5 years, and give their wine a solid 4 of 5 stars. However, for the 2^nd year in a row, I’ve stopped by the tasting room at least 15 minutes prior to closing and then SAME woman has already put everything away, and is not willing to provide any tastes. Since I’m no longer in the club, my intention was to stock up on what I (would’ve) liked… but lady «working» on 8÷6÷14 @ Hwy 12 apparently isn’t interested in customer service, let alone sales. To management: You should advertise 5pm or 5:15pm close when this woman «works»

Great! No wine snobby folks here! My wife and I stopped in during our trip to Sonoma. Located right in the center of the square, Highway 12 is great. Rhoda was the extremely pleasant woman who was pouring. She was very sweet, extremely friendly and very informative. I love wine, but I can stand «Wine people» if you are the same way, this is your place. The bottle prices are very reasonable and the tasting is FREE! Hardly anywhere in Sonoma has free tasting. Make this a stop when you are in Sonoma, you won’t be disappointed.

I wandered into the shop on a summer afternoon, and was surprised to see that it was also a tasting room. It is very laid back, but service was great. I loved the reds and was told (as usual) that I could join the wine club, I expressed reservations about joining another wine club. Unlike other wineries, they were very helpful and flexible. I ended up joining the wine club with the 2 bottle per quarter option. I pick up my wine once or twice per year, and I always finish my selections faster than the wine from my other clubs. Reds are fantastic – both the regular table wine and the Italian selections.

Great wine, greater service! Sharon is fantastico!

Always a great visit! Friendly staff and good pours! I visited two weeks ago and left with 6 bottles.
I recommend the Syrah reserve. dark and yes,…full body with a touch of dry yet so good! Oh it’s the 2012 of course!
This year’s 2012 blend has a Syrah reserve grape in it. Tasting good now! I call it your NFL drinking wine. I always have it on hand at home.

Had their wine the night before at «The girl and the fig» and it was good, so decided to go to the tasting room the next day. The place was crowded and full of souvenirs, and the pourers were rude.

This was our last stop out of the three wine tastings my girlfriend and I went to as part of our Sonoma on the Spot tasting tour Groupon. The selections were quite nice, and the combined knowledge of our tour guide and the resident server and I believe owner (Sharon? Shannon? I don’t quite remember her name, sorry!) made this a nice little experience.
The layout of the shop was a bit strange though. I don’t usually see wine tastings done in a sort of «gift shop» style setting, and the scents from the candles or soaps distracted me a bit from the wine itself. I believe the tasting here is complimentary, so stop by here if you’re in the area for a few sips of wine!

Located in downtown Sonoma in a random shop full of eclectic knickknacks. We were surprised that this free wine tasting blew us away! The bartender let us try almost all the wines on their list and they were all so amazing. We ended up liking their chardonnay and 2011 reserve syrah the best. We were so impressed we signed up for their wine club and got to take the 2 wines home for only $ 39!
This place is a good reason to come back to Sonoma!

We came here because of the advertised free tasting and had a blast!
The ladies here got spunk! And they were generous with their pours to boot.
We were here the day before the Super Bowl and ended up talking about what wines pair up with chicken wings and other such silly fancies. Christine was a pro at her «white trash wine pairings». No joke. She was also full of information about the history of Highway 12 and had a back story for each wine we tasted. Their wines are all very affordable (10 – 20 range) and we ended up with a case by the end of it.
The store also sells a bunch of random trinkets like dinner napkins, funny books and scarves so it was pretty interesting to browse through.
I’d definitely recommend this as a stop on your next Sonoma trip!