Sounds like the experience here is a little less desirable on a normal visit, per imogen, but I happened to visit Gloria Ferrer as part of a multi-winery tasting event, so I was able to do a standard tasting of a number of their wines.

I was given the opportunity to taste 3 different sparkling wines created using the same brut process but with different grapes side-by-side, which was a unique experience. They also let us try their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The folks who offered the tasting were quite friendly, and they were generous with both their wine and their knowledge.

Similar to vineyards I visited in Tuscany, they also make their own olive oil, which they had out to taste. The flavor was rich, but not bold enough for me.

The grounds are lovely and Gloria Ferrer offers plenty of seating around their porch and a small selection of gourmet food in case you want to have an (expensive) impromptu picnic on a lovely day.

All that said, the wine itself was just good, not outstanding, so while the visit was nice, I can't give them top marks. At the end of the day it's all about the wine when you're in Sonoma.

It is fun to stop at a winery known for sparkling wines on a wine trail, so I wanted to stop here on a brief tour of Sonoma County's Carneros region. It was a bit pretentious compared to the other two Sonoma wineries I visited (Cline Cellars and Gundlach-Bundschu). The spicy almonds that you got for free when you bought wine by the glass were good. You really couldn't "taste" like at the other wineries since they have to pop open the sparkling bottles, so it feels more like a wine bar and less like a winery because you don't really "taste" when you've committed to an entire glass. The winery itself was pretty though and across the road from a very cool landscape architecture attraction with gift shop worth visiting.