About Carmel Wine Walk
The Carmel Wine Walk by-the-Sea is wine tasting at its best. The Wine Walk is an on-going self paced, self guided, dog and child friendly, tour to the 13 tasting rooms within coastal Carmel-by-the-Sea tucked between Big Sur and Monterey on the Central Coast of California. Now with a fully interactive map that provides precise walking directions, visitors can amble to each tasting room to sample local estate-grown wines and sparkling wines and can pick and choose as many or as few tasting rooms to visit.
Established in 2011, the Carmel Wine Walk by-the-Sea™ was formed by an exclusive group of tasting rooms in the quaint village of Carmel-by-the-Sea in order to provide a wine tasting passport for participating tasting rooms, and an easy to use map to guide visitors through the courtyards and pathways of Carmel. Our goal is for our guests to learn about the wines of Monterey County and meet the winemakers and tasting room managers along the way. The Wine Walk has since evolved from the original 7 tasting rooms to encompass a total of 13 tasting rooms in the 1x1 square mile of downtown Carmel, with the same purpose, for visitors to be able to explore all the distinct flavors of wine that Monterey County has to offer, without ever having to leave our village!
The Carmel Wine Walk offers $100 Passport, which provides guests a choice of 10 full flights at their choice of any of the 13 tasting rooms.
The Faces of Carmel Wine Walk
Jeffrey Blair
Blair Estate
Beginning in 2007 Jeffrey Blair began planting Pinot Noir on the family’s old ranch, Delfina’s Vineyard. Jeffrey knew the potential for winegrowing in the area, given the success of vineyard estates in the Arroyo Seco and neighboring Santa Lucia Highlands’ appellations.
Dawn Galante
Dawn's Dream Winery
With a passion for life and a head for business, Dawn had a dream of producing approachable wines of exceptional quality and elegance. With the loving support of her husband, Jack Galante, her dream has come true. Born and raised in Michigan, Dawn traveled to California in 1985 where she built a life with Jack and their five children: Nicole, John, Alyssa, Evan, and Rachael.
Approachable and easy to talk to, Dawn cherishes her family and friends above all else. Dawn has a mischievous, adventurous side, and is always eager to take part in her favorite outdoor sports, snow-skiing, scuba diving, and hiking.
Gordon Armsby
Holman Ranch
Holman Ranch is Established. In 1928 Gordon Armsby, a businessman from San Francisco, purchased 600 acres of land in Carmel Valley and kicked off the modern story of Holman Ranch. In 2006 the Lowders took the reigns.
Sabrina Manzoni
Manzoni Cellars
Fine winemaking is both an art and a passion, but also requires an understanding of the science of alchemy. The Manzoni family relies on the idea of terroir. This is the time-honored method of combining soil, slope, sun exposure, with a nod to the gods of weather that let the grape varieties show their unique characteristics.
Sabrine Rodems
Scratch Wines
Sabrine received her Bachelor's degree from UCLA in Theatre, Film and Television and worked in the film and theatre industry for many years before deciding to go back to school to earn her Master's of Science in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis. For many years Sabrine has been making highly acclaimed wines from some of the best vineyards in California. Working in the Central Coast and Monterey area has given her access to some of the best cool climate grapes in the world.
Alan Silvestri
Silvestri Vineyards
Finding his voice in music, Alan Silvestri traveled to Los Angeles in search of his dream through the pursuit of his art. Music was his vehicle for expression but food and wine, the staples of life at home, were never far from his heart. After meeting his wife Sandra in 1978, they would often travel back east where family events and occasions were always marked by wonderful food served with Jenny and Joe's homemade wine.
In 1989 they moved north to Carmel and bought an old house that inspired them to once again take a chance and commit to a new part of the world. With the planting of these vines, rooted in the rich and fertile land of Carmel Valley, the Silvestri's once again have roots...they once again have that elusive sense of being "home."
Michael Thomas
Wrath Winery
The Thomas family bought San Saba Vineyards in late 2007 and has set out to dramatically change the estate’s wine and viticulture. Wrath is the brainchild of co-owner and wine director Michael Thomas.
Michael works closely with his mother Barbara, Wrath’s other owner. Combining this passion for wine with his years of working with soil as an archaeologist, the wine business seemed like an appropriate direction. Thomas saw many similarities between the rural and fertile Salinas Valley and the dramatic countryside of Italy.