Caraccioli Cellars

I had a reservation but they accommodated me and my boyfriend to sit earlier. What a great experience, the wine and sparkling were all delicious. The lovely woman who helped us poured a few extra drinks and we appreciated that hospitality. My boyfriend and I got a good buzz from this place before dinner. I ended up being wowed by the Gambay wine and bought one to go! Thank you!

Best sparkling wines in the state!! They have such a great team too. The tasting room is located right in the heart of downtown and is very cozy.

Walking around town and passing by this beautiful wine tasting place, that is vary inviting. The case is, and we did the wine tasting and what an amazing wine this place offers. Unfortunately for the people that don't live here live here because you can't buy it anywhere else but here and in Michelin Star place restaurant in California. However, if you do come here and become a member, then they will ship it out to your house twice a year. Grapes are fully grown in their farm in Carmel and ot taste amazing.

My mother, my son and i stopped in for a wine tasting. Brock served us. The wines were delicious. Brock expanded our pleasure by teaching us about the company and how the wine is made. Learning about fantastic wine as we sipped in beautiful Carmel with great company was the perfect way to celebrate the afternoon.

My wife and I have been members for several years and have never been disappointed by Caraccioli Cellars. The wines and sparkling are outstanding and the hospitality even better. Dana and her crew make Caraccioli Cellars a most visit location in Carmel any time we are in the area.

This once-loved Winery is losing its luster. As a current member and years-long consumer, I have been disappointed with the wine and experience at Caraccioli. The Pinots, even El Beq lack the finesse of much cooler climate Pinot found in the Willamette and Burgundy. You get the predicable bright notes of red cherry, and strawberry, but not much complexity after that. Salinas is just too hot for Pinot. The sparkling wines also tend to be a bit lazy. An over-reliance on lees is very present. It tends to mask the varietal characteristics and seems desperate to make a correlation to low-quality champagnes like Vueve Cliquot. All of this would be fine at $30, but the ever-increasing pricing makes it a harder and harder sell. Being in downtown Carmel I’m sure helps, as many of the patrons are desensitized to over—priced goods, a deliberate strategy?

Had a great time doing the wine tasting. Owner came in and it was a blast to converse and get to know the area. Everyone that worked there is great and definitely will be back and recommend.

The best wine!!!! Try to come at least once a week to see Dana on Wednesday afternoons. She is the absolute best. She was our first server we ever had and keep coming back because of our first experience ❤️❤️ Now we love everyone who works here. Great crew

Visited Caraccioli Cellars in Carmel-by-the-Sea for my birthday in July, and it was everything we hoped for! We brought our dog, June, and loved how dog-friendly the tasting room was. Without a reservation, they still welcomed us and gave us a cozy spot to settle in (although I'd recommend a reservation if you're visiting on a busy weekend). Our server was so friendly and attentive, checking in just enough to make sure we had everything we needed. The highlight for us was definitely their sparkling wines--absolutely top-notch! It was also cool knowing Caraccioli only uses Santa Lucia Highlands grapes, which we got to see on our way up. Learning that in 2022, three of their sparkling wines won gold at The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships was just the cherry on top of an already fantastic experience. Highly recommend for both wine lovers and those traveling with pets!

What a great way to taste and enjoy good wine amongst good friends! I really enjoyed the Brut Rose, Chardonnay and rose Pinot Noir. Even bought a few bottles to enjoy at home. Our Sommelier, Jasmine, was very nice and shared all the information of the wines that we were tasting. If you're in downtown Carmel, highly recommend stopping at Caraccioli Cellars.

After storms and power outages in town I'm so glad this opened up before we left! High on my list to visit in Carmel as it's my favorite beverage! Champagne ! We were the only people In here as it just opened So we had great service and samples ! Great little set up inside , very contemporary and cool decor and I loved all the glasses they had available and for sale. The champagne itself was really good . I had a great glass full of very effervescent bubbles . Perfect afternoon drink. They have an actual vineyard out in the hills somewhere nearby. Love when they put a tasting room in a town though. They do Rosè bubbly too and have a few different vintages. Some wines too. It's a great place to visit on the wine mile in Carmel, especially as it specializes in the good stuff ! Another check in the Carmel list !

Love the wine and love the people. Always welcoming and their wine is amazing. Heading to our vacation in Solvang and needed to swing by and grab our spring shipment. We had to have a taste since we were here.

If you are looking for a cozy and relaxing wine-tasting experience, this is the place for you. A group of us went here on a late afternoon during our girls trip to do a flight tasting and what could have potentially been a disappointing experience ended up being a great experience. Long story short, there was a mixup with our reservation confirmation and when we arrived, we were told that we were scheduled for a different day! But, what made this a five-star experience was how the staff was able to turn it around. I want to particularly thank Dana (the manager) who saved the day. Though it was a busy afternoon, she found a way to honor our original reservation and accommodate our group. Even more, when we were concerned that we may have taken someone else's spot, Dana and her team were reassuring and told us to just enjoy the experience. Everyone on the team handled the situation with patience and professionalism. There was no rush and we were able to have ample time to learn about and sample the wines. I don't have alot of experience with wine due to my low alcohol tolerance, but I will say that the champagne and wines we tasted were very nice - most of them were smooth and refreshing. I was especially surprised with the red because I usually do not like red wine, but it was aromatic and soft, without the harshness I usually associate with reds. Also, for candle lovers out there, they sell the really cool wine-scented candles that are dotted around the space. I took home a brut candle that smells amazing! Overall, it was a great experience that I highly recommend.

What a wonderful tasting experience! My friend and o were spending the day in Carmel by the sea and stumbled upon this intimate and cozy tasting room. We had a chance to meet the owner as well as several of the the kind and knowledgeable staff. The hospitality and the delicious quality of the wines made this a memorable and enjoyable experience. My friend and I came in on a Friday afternoon and did the flight tasting. We were given plenty of time to savor each wine and we learned a lot of history and facts about the vineyard. I loved the sparkling wine and their Chardonnay was maybe the best I've ever had (I'm not usually too fond of Chardonnay). I absolutely recommend this tasting room to anyone visiting Carmel! Thank you for the lovely time.

The staff was super friendly and accepted us without a reservation. The tasting room was small so the parties coming to taste should make a reservation for larger parties but smaller parties could still walk in if there are no other parties scheduled. The wines were delicious and highly recommend the rose which is fermented in stainless-steel barrels. The bubbles were exceptionally delicious and I would highly recommend a bottle! Please stop by for a good time!

Managed to snag two seats at the bar as it's recommended to have reservations on the weekend. So glad we did. The staff is friendly and welcoming. The tasting room is intimate, dark wood, low lighting, and tasteful. They start you with some sparkling wine and you can either get a glass or have a tasting (5 wines, starting with a sparkling rose). This was our third wine tasting of the day, so opted for the glass of bubbles, which was delicious. We left with two bottles of the sparkling ones - one white and one rose. Will be making reservations and coming back soon!

I adore this place. A must stop every time I'm in town. The wine is second to none. While bubbly is their specialty don't ignore their other options. The reds are stellar. It's such a beautiful, intimate space and everyone there is so welcoming and knowledgeable.

We tried this tasting room today for the first time, and it was just ok! The wines were fine and sparkling esp was wonderful. The tasting fee is steep ($40/person) for relatively small pours for 5 wines. For that price, I would expect larger pours than a sip. I'd go with a bottle over the tasting. For very small pours, my husband and I ended up paying a hundred dollars.

I've tried a lot of wine in Napa, Sonoma, and Calistoga, Santa Cruz, and Livermore and this place is hands down my favorite. I like all of the wines I tasted and my friend, who usually has a very different taste preference than mine, also loved it. I used to live in the Bay Area and had memberships to different wineries. I live in Hawaii now and stopped due to shipping but now that I found this place, I'm joining. Wines are top tier and not expensive at all compared to other wines that are this amazing. The tasting room is small so reserve a spot or stand and drink.

Was excellent! We took a glass of brut and a glass of pinot noir and love it. We will be back.

If you love sparkling wines, say no more...you found your next spot! Caraccioli has incredible wines. There's not much to say except they're super cool, friendly and gracious in every aspect here. One time we forgot our credit cards while walking the dog and they let us type in the number without having to have it. Candles smell so good - I burned mine out in two weeks. Don't miss trying it when you're around ocean avenue. Thanks Caraccioli!

Went for the first time on Tues, Dec 26, 2023, at about 6. The employees are GREAT--nice and very informed about wine. Unfortunately the wines were just meh for me.

We loved this place. Stumbled across it while in Carmel for vacation and came back every day. One of us joined the wine club. The service was top notch.

We had such a wonderful experience here. We did a tasting with Yazmin (I think that's how you spell her name) and she was so gracious and knowledgeable and so engaging. The wines are fabulous and the experience was so lovely. We would definitely visit again. The best winery experience we've had in the Monterey area.

We're not usually fans of bubbly, but we were drawn in by the appearance of the tasting room. This is probably one of the nicest tasting rooms in downtown Carmel - modern, dark and romantic. We were on the fence about the tasting as it was three champagnes, a chardonnay and a pinot, but we. were offered a taste of the first to aid in our decision even though we planned to have a glass of wine. I have to admit we were intrigued by their champagne. It was delicious. We both decided to continue with the tasting. Each of the pours was quite good. It takes a lot for someone who is not a fan of bubbly to admit to loving each one poured. The chardonnay and pinot were quite good as well. We truly enjoyed the tasting and still decided to stay for a glass because the staff was quite knowledgeable and friendly plus the tasting room was really comfortable. We did not purchase bottles that day as we frankly just have too much wine with not enough storage space. I would visit Caraccioli again though as it has been one of the best tasting experiences I have had in downtown Carmel!

Love Caraccioli! Just had a great experience with Dana, Ashley , and Leslie. The Pinot and sparkling wines there are top notch and the staff there are great. They are knowledgeable on their wines and make it a relaxing time! Dana has been there for awhile but we enjoyed meeting Leslie and Ashley. It's a special stop for us each time we are in Carmel.

Beautiful wines. The rose is like drinking liquid gold. Just Superb! Always a good gift idea for your wino friends who want to try something new.

Nice wine tasting tucked on a side street of the main plaza of Carmel. This place is dog friendly and we came when it wasn't too busy so managed to snag the two armchairs on the side. Our lab loved the employees and they were super nice about having him in there especially when he's so energetic and happy. We did the standard tasting and liked all the wines. We decided to go with a bottle of the Chardonnay to take home. Good spot to stop by for some casual wine tasting

Second time coming here and always appreciate a good sparkling wine. They also had red wine so the husband could enjoy. Easy to make reservations. Fun people watching on the outdoor parklet/patio. Service was friendly and attentive.

I am not a big fan of California wine, it's usually too muscular, robust and just too far from the way wine is supposed to be made. Caraccioli Cellars is one of the few California wines that I am highly impressed with. When I visited their tasting room in Carmel the only wine I tasted was their Pinot Noir, and wow I was thoroughly impressed. This Pinot has Burgundian-style elegance and finesse - just the way I like a wine. I was seriously considering signing up for their wine club, but then I remembered that we just have too much wine in our cellar already. For our dinner tonight, I prepared coq au vin (it takes 3 days to prepare), knowing full well this wine was what I would be pairing with the dinner. I couldn't believe I chose to pair a California Pinot instead of a Burgundy with the coq au vin I prepare. The pairing was outstanding. Our next visit to Carmel will include another visit to Caracciolli, and this time for a full wine tasting flight. While I took time to give a rare high praise for a California wine, I also want to give high praise to the staff - great staff!!! Their tasting room has a warm and fun ambience as well! My only suggestion to Caraccioli Cellars is this - keep doing what you're doing, keep your wines in old-world, elegant, finesse and low alcohol. I could care less what wine critics think, you are doing a great job.

You can never go wrong with bubbles. Great champagne!! The facility is very elegant, but not pretentious, the staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and welcoming. Reservations are recommended but they fit us in between the reservations.... Lucky for us, because we definitely found a gem. We will definitely be back at least 2-3 times a year to pick up our champagne club shipments. I'd have to say the best tasting experience we've had all week! Dana was a great host knows everything about the champagnes and wines. Come by and enjoy!

This was a great experience, to do on a whim and also for the accommodating us at the last minute. We were celebrating my birthday and we didn't realize how busy Carmel was, with Covid, we learned our lesson, we did make reservations for dinner, but didn't think about it when it came to wine tasting. We figured we would ask anyways, and there was one table finishing up, and the new group had about 20 minutes to show, so they made a deal with us, if we wanted a tasting, they could accommodate us while the next table was to show, and if they showed, then we would have to finish up. Hey 4 of us can take down some wine in that time! Sure! So we sat, we enjoyed, it would up being perfect, we didn't feel rushed and they made a buck, all was happy! Thanks again! And they were all soo smooth we will totally come back, or maybe to the actual winery!

YUM! My husband and I did the wine walk last week and by far my favorite tasting room was Caraccioli Cellars! All 4 of the wines we tasted were amazing and i wanted more! We tried the sparkling, Chardonnay & Pinot noir. The lady also let us try the rose. I loved it here and highly recommend

Started our trip here with a wine tasting flight, and I was amazing at the quality! The tasting was $30 per person with the option to share between two (would recommend getting your own unless you plan on driving). We had a brut cuvée to start, and it ended up stealing the show from the rest of the tasting for me. By far my favorite "champagne" I've ever had!! They had two bubbly wines, 2 types of rosés, a Chardonnay, and a Pinot noir to finish up. If you like red wines or non-bubbly wines, this may not be the tasting for you. BUT, I absolutely enjoyed it and the wines were all delicious. The staff were friendly and informative when explaining the history of the winery, how the wines were made, etc. Will definitely be going back for more of the Brut Cuvée!

We came to Carmel as our first stop. I was looking for a celebratory place to taste some wines. After doing research I found Caraccioli cellars was known for their sparkling, making it a must for our trip! COVID regulations and mask requirements meant outside tasting only which was quite lovely and very European in style on the street. They set up a whole little area for tasting. Their menu was easy and clear. We tasted through the entire flight. Loving each wine. Our host was gratuitous and gave us some incredible recommendations for dinner that evening. Can't wait to go back! Ps- their glassware was so pretty!

We were able to get a reservation on a Saturday afternoon at one of their two (that's right... two) patio seats. To even have any seating at all is a great thing in Carmel, so we were pretty happy. Known for their sparkling wines, we started off with their first two, which were light, crisp, and perfect on a warm day. Our hostess was very friendly the entire time, offering useful information about the wines as well as great conversation. We ended up purchasing a few bottles of their Chardonnay, which paid for one of the tastings and made our taste buds happy.

This is ALWAYS a must !! Every time we go visit Carmel We start off here It's perfect Crisp Fun Enjoyable Great staff

Danielle was phenomenal and courteous with my wife and I. We fully enjoyed the service & wine. Our trip to Carmen's by the sea was completely changed by our visit tot Caraccioli Cellars, I would 10/10 recommend this wine tasting experience, you have to ask for Danielle!

Small but beautiful tasting room that seats maybe 12 people plus some comfortable room for standing. I tried an absolutely delicious sparkling wine and an excellent Chardonnay as well. I didn't try the rose or reds but was told by friends that they were fantastic. The staff is really friendly and will take good care of you. They have some fun tshirts and other little gifts as well... plus the charcuterie plate looked awesome. Definitely a must do if you're in the area.

We were walking around the area and saw there were many wineries in the area. We tried to walk out to a couple but were rejected due to reservation only. Caraccioli was the only one that took us in at walk in! Although the had a table open for about 1 hour, they were super nice and told us they had a reservation coming in about an hour and if we can clear it by then. Happily we took the table and did a tasting. Pretty solid wine! I love the family business aspect of it, the one that really won me over was the rose of Pinot noir. If I wasn't going to a bike tour after this, we definitely would've bought some of those rose bottles.

$20 wine tasting for 6 wines and $15 glass of wine seemed a bit expensive, but given all the reviews I had to give it a shot. Space itself reminded me of a small bar, yes, a really really small bar. Service was pretty good, but gets a bit slow as more people come in. Wine is really good, I liked pretty much everything I tasted, starting from a Chardonnay to a Pinot Noir. Overall, I visited once and might visit again.

Very friendly employees! We brought our dog with us and they were super friendly with him too! I wish there were more comfortable seating options, but the overall vibe is still relaxing. We sat at the bar with our dog and did a standard tasting. Not the cheapest but pretty comparable to other tasting rooms in the area. We weren't super impressed by the wines, but we still enjoyed them! Overall, a nice relaxing place to stop by for some wine with your dog.

The best bubbles around!! Thanks for the recommendation Brian - it made the perfect start to our anniversary dinner at The Bench!! Can't wait to try the Sparkling Rose!

Very nice California champagne and light wine selection! Cute little tasting room in downtown carmel.

If you love champagne look no further come here. We were greeted by the owner who was very nice. As a member you get 4 free flights a year. I came here with a member and enjoyed tasting the variety. The place was packed and very fun. Great service

We made a reservation at another tasting room in Carmel and no one showed to seat us so we found Caracciola. The wine was fantastic, possibly the best Pinot Noir I've ever had and the owner and manager were beyond kind. The owner talked wine with us for a solid 15 minutes and gave many recommendations. Sadly we couldn't buy and bottles because we are traveling but I will more than likely order because we had such a great experience.

Dana is absolutely amazing! Her presence and knowledge on wine are on point! Undoubtedly one of the most amazing wine sommelier.

Cute and small wine tasting room in Downtown Carmel. We ordered the tasting flight - white wine is their specialty and highly recommend sticking to those only. Our wine servers were very knowledgeable and nice.

Visited this while in Carmel - the staff was nice, the decor was very industrial/rustic and the wine was very bubbly. Everything produced is bubbly so if you're not a fan of more champagne style drinking, this is not the place for you. Both my husband and I were not big fans on any of the wines sampled on the shared flight we did however, the rose is their speciality and worth a taste. The flight pricing is extremely reasonable and they will let you share so if you're on the fence, just go and enjoy! They do offer some small plate items for purchase and can occasionally close early due to lack of customers.

WOW! One of the best tasting experiences I've had in a long time. The wines were amazing - especially the sparkling wines. The team working there was fantastic. It's clear they are knowledgeable and passionate about what they were pouring. The pours were generous, and the value was great. Highly recommend. Go see Samantha!

The staff here was amazing but the tasting were way over priced compared to other places in the area. It's very nice inside and if you like bubbles then this is your place.

Unfortunately if you aren't a regular, you aren't welcome at this establishment. I've been twice, both times with reservations and was clearly an inconvenience to the employees. You don't create regulars or gain club members when you treat people visiting you for the first time poorly.

Probably one of the prettiest wine rooms we have in Carmel. Wonderful brut and great reds. Everything in Carmel is definitely smaller on scale and this family really knows how to bring in elegance in a great space. Highly recommend to all true wine fans.

Great spot to get some drinks! Cozy and casual ambiance. I recommend the wine flight (heavy pours!)

Caraccioli Cellars has a cute little storefront on Dolores that you can stop by to sample wines from. It's $20 for a flight of 6 wines. On the menu for us was a brut cuve, a brut rose, a chardonnay, a rose of pinot noir, a nouveau pinot noir, and a pinot noir. I think for me, my favorites were the nouveau and the pinot. The 2017 nouveau had this really gorgeous garnet color and smelled like fruit punch, which was really interesting. I think Caraccioli Cellars specializes in bruts, so if you don't like bubblies, this may not be the stop for you. The person pouring for us was very nice and happy to answer any questions we had. My favorite thing about this tasting was that the tasting menu listed what you should expect in terms of sight, smell, and taste. I am definitely not a wine connoisseur, so the extra guidance from the descriptions was much appreciated. We decided to take a picture after we were done tasting, but we had no wine left in our glasses, so our tasting room associate gave us another small pour for the picture. A nice way to get a little extra wine, I suppose. tl;dr: I enjoyed the trip to Caraccioli Cellars. You'll have to see for yourself if you enjoy the wines, but the space was clean and modern and the tasting room associate was kind and helpful. Also, they have a restroom inside, in case you don't want to use the public one across the street.

We were recommended by some locals to come here for the champagne. Though there is only one champagne to try on the tasting menu. We enjoy other wines but that's not what we were expecting, oh well. For a place known for champagne, I guess I figured there would be a few more to taste. The young man helping us was very friendly and knowledgeable. He was professional and sweet. There was however a man who I believe was someone higher up in the business, he was on his cell phone the entire time pacing outside of the door. He then came in, made some rude comment/correction of how many wineries there are in Napa and then said he had to leave and threw his keys from the doorway to the young man behind the bar, literally right in front of us tasting wine. So rude, definitely not a good look! Won't be rushing back to support someone with that attitude.

I HATE rose and Chardonnay wine BUT I absolutely love every single wine served to us at this winery! Every single wine we tried was delicious and interesting, including the rose and Chardonnay. The service was exemplary, if you are looking for a place in Carmel to find a new favorite wine, this is the place to go!