Mayo Reserve Room, Kenwood

If one is seeking a truly better food and wine experience, what Mayo Winery and their chef (Sam) have done is take the California tasting experience to the next level. At he reserve room, rather than just tasting wines with breadsticks.. chef Sam develops an appetizer size dish paired specifically for each of the generous tasting pours, and he does a great job of this. It is the pairing of food and wine that brings out the best of each, and that is exactly what Sam is doing here. Enough food to make a light meal, the experience far exceeds a conventional tasting. I'd say this a don't miss experience. Sam is also quite collegial and adds considerably to the experience. Highly recommended.

I have been to a lot of wine tours and tastings - this is one of my favorites. The food is always so good that I have trouble picking a favorite course. And it really is paired expertly with the wine, which is of course great too. Then there is Sam. So friendly and knowledgeable...and a great chef to boot! It's an awesome wine country experience.

The pairings were very pleasing.

One of our best experiences in wine country. I went with a group of 7 for the wine pairings. We had a late dinner scheduled that night so it was a good way to hold us over appetite-wise. The commentary on the pairings was interesting and I think it helped me learn how to pay attention to and describe the effects of the flavors. It was also just plain tasty even to my undiscerning tongue. Ambiance is super casual.

Superb food small plates with paired wines. Excellent pairings! We had a wonderful experience here.