“The most beautifully designed new winery of 2025 was, indisputedly, Auteur.”
THE BEST NEW WINE TASTING ROOMS OF 2025 WERE ALMOST ALL IN ONE CITY, AND IT’S NOT NAPA.
By Jess Lander, Dec 23, 2025
The most exciting wine tasting room openings of 2025 have two notable themes: location and longevity.
Five of the seven openings on this list are in Healdsburg, which is closing the gap on its yearslong campaign to dethrone Napa as the top destination in Wine Country. The wine industry is desperate to attract millennials and Generation Z, and Healdsburg is poised to become their home base as more traditional brands are replaced by smaller, vanguard wineries beloved by the under-45 set. Six of these seven new tasting rooms were also, arguably, a long time coming: They’re the first-ever homes of brands that have been around for at least a decade — some more than 20 years — and it was worth the wait. (The seventh is an expansion of a winery founded in 2003).
These openings are especially meaningful at a moment when there are likely more tasting room closures than openings in Wine Country. In 2024, for the first time in a generation, the number of U.S. wineries declined, according to Wine Business Analytics, and California wineries spent 2025 treading water through a litany of challenges — including a wine and grape oversupply, increased production costs due to tariffs and anti-alcohol health messaging.
So add these tasting rooms to your 2026 itinerary. Each one promises distinct wines from a respected brand in a contemporary setting — and if you plan right, you could hit nearly all of them in a single weekend.
Auteur Wines
The most beautifully designed new winery of 2025 was, indisputedly, Auteur.This hilltop estate in California’s famed Russian River Valley boasts panoramic vineyard and forest views through a 50-foot-long wall of windows. Winemaker Kenneth Juhasz started Auteur more than 20 years ago as a side project with his wife, Laura. The brand slowly amassed a cult-like following for its elegant coastal Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, eventually opening a tasting room inside a bungalow on the Sonoma Plaza in 2012. That space remains open, but the drive out to the new estate is worth it for the views alone. The modular building blends into the surrounding nature; the interior, featuring natural woods, a charred redwood fireplace and cozy tasting nooks, feels especially warm on one of the Russian River’s signature foggy days. When the sun’s out, the terrace is where to be. Tastings (from $40) include an unconventional blind tasting experience. Guests can also add food pairings, such as an epi bread, caviar, and a cheese board curated by Laura Juhasz, a former Wisconsin cheesemaker.Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir legend Cobb Wines opened its first-ever tasting room in downtown Healdsburg.
Cobb Wines
One of California’s most revered Pinot Noir brands finally has a tasting room. Cobb Wines planted roots in downtown Healdsburg, a much more convenient meeting point than its remote Sonoma Coast vineyard. Owner and winemaker Ross Cobb’s resume includes California Pinot stalwarts Williams Selyem, Hirsch and Flowers, and he refined his distinct winemaking style through more than a dozen intensive research trips to Burgundy. While he’s best known for his balanced, restrained Pinot Noirs, he also makes Chardonnay and a trio of Rieslings. The eccentric winemaker is sharing the cozy, brick-laden space with a winemaking client, Furthermore Wines; Cobb hosts tastings ($50-$75, by appointment) during the day, while Furthermore transforms it into an evening jazz club on weekends.
Marietta Cellars
This modern tasting room is not what you’d expect from a 47-year-old wine brand, but that’s the point. Marietta produces one of the most recognizable red wines in the U.S., Old Vine Red, priced at $19. You won’t find that at its new Healdsburg tasting room, designed to introduce a more sophisticated side of Marietta that’s emerged since the second generation took over. The tasting room offers two flights for $35. One focuses on single-vineyard wines, such as a Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon, while the other highlights more experimental wines, like a pink-ish blend of Grenache Gris and Trousseau Gris. Set within a former police station (the bathrooms were once holding cells), pops of color brighten up the striking concrete walls, while antique furnishings and a massive, floating branch add warmth and character to the polished space.
Martha Stoumen
This beloved natural wine brand is another new addition to the Healdsburg Plaza. Founded in 2014, Martha Stoumen recently joined the nascent Overshine Collective — a group of brands targeted at millennials and Gen Z — alongside fellow Sonoma County stars Idlewild and Reeve. As a result, founder and winemaker Martha Stoumen finally had the capital to realize her long-held dream of opening a tasting room, which pours wines made from esoteric grapes like Nero d’Avola, Colombard and Carignan. The walk-in-friendly space stays open until 9 p.m. on weekends and features natural tones with accents of cork, wood and copper. (Stoumen hired the designer of Bar Gemini, a San Francisco natural wine bar.) Flights of six wines ($40) come with popcorn and a fun novelty: a vintage viewfinder, which tells the story of the wines through a series of photos. Visitors can also come in for a glass of wine or share a bottle.
Wayfarer Vineyard
Hidden within an unassuming Healdsburg warehouse, Wayfarer is the first tasting room for the West Sonoma Coast winery founded in 2012 by Cleo Pahlmeyer (whose father started Napa Valley’s famed Pahlmeyer). Following a tour of the industrial winery, visitors walk up a steep flight of metal stairs to find a charming glass box with chic furnishings, where private tastings ($75-$125, by appointment) of Wayfarer’s light, vibrant Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays take place. Mesmerizing drone footage of Wayfarer’s rugged vineyard, located four miles from the Pacific, projects on the winery wall, transporting guests to the faraway site. No spoilers, but expect a few surprises throughout the visit.
Lewis Cellars
The debut home of Napa’s Lewis Cellars is best described as decadent. The bathroom features checkerboard floors, teal-tiled walls, an intricate floral ceiling and a surrealist painting. There’s no blank space to be found. Lewis, part of the Wonderful Co. empire (which also includes Fiji water, Pom juice and Justin Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles), opened its opulent winery inside the former home of Robert Sinskey Vineyards following a two-year renovation. The brand, which was founded in 1992 by professional racecar driver Randy Lewis, was purchased by Wonderful Co. in 2021. It didn’t have a formal tasting room until now, however. Tastings (from $80) of Lewis’ bold, full-bodied wines come with spectacular views overlooking Napa’s Silverado Trail; they can also be upgraded with food pairings from chef Rachel Haggstrom, who oversees the one-Michelin-starred kitchen at Justin Vineyards. Before you leave, ask to peek inside the Salon Prive if no one is occupying it. This tiny, private room offers an experience unlike any other in Napa Valley for a whopping $950.
Ellman Estate
For decades, anyone pulling over at the intersection of Napa Valley’s Silverado Trail and Soda Canyon Road was likely stopping at the historic Soda Canyon Store, the lone spot on the entire highway to grab coffee or a casual lunch, which recently closed without warning. Now, they’re likely visiting Ellman, a swanky new winery located directly across from the shuttered store. Brothers Neil and Lance Ellman, third-generation mattress manufacturing titans, have been making wine under their eponymous label since 2007. After a 10-year permitting and building process, they’ve finally debuted their winery and tasting room, which resembles a posh living room complete with custom modernist furniture, a fireplace, collectible art and a vast open kitchen. Floor-to-ceiling windows reveal a gorgeous view of the estate vineyard. Take note of the rhino statue, a nod to the Ellmans’ South African roots, on the edge of the irrigation pond. Tastings ($175, by appointment) include a tour of the winery and a flight of Bordeaux-inspired wines made by famed Napa winemaking consultant Andy Erickson.
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