Cerruti Cellars

Been here once for a wine tasting and my Tudal wine club pick-​up. The wine tasting staff is nice, some more knowledgable than others. There was also a plate of crackers, meats, fruit, and cheeses to accompany the tastings– SCORE!
My favorite wine was the Pablo’s Pick Cuvée. Smooth, subtle red.

Stop #2 on my Oakland wine tour.
Damn, I love this place. I actually wished it was an actual wine bar vs wine tasting room, because it would then be open apres work on weekdays and I would live here.: Sigh: Alas, it’s not.
This has to be one of the most homey, best designed, «cutest», spacious place to drink wine in Oakland, hell the East Bay. A patio always overflowing with flowers, nooks filled with comfy leather couches, community wood tables ready for a wine and cheese spread, a wrap around long bar ready for tasting flights and even a flat screen for «football action”*.
There’s one fatal flaw: Sadly, only about 1 of the 4 wines I sampled I actually really enjoyed. The whites and rose were way too sweet for my palate and the reds all a bit heavy. I didn’t try ‘em all, so I mean there’s hope for me yet! The flight tasting was I think $ 12 and waived with a $ 30 purchase.
Regardless of the wine, as long as they keep serving it, this spot will be the venue** of any party that I throw for myself — from birthday to happy hour to whatevs. It’s not only adorbs, but dog friendly!
A definite Oakland gem and I can’t wait to bring everyone I know!
* A direct quote from my husband.
** I’ll be rolling up with all my homies, however you can rent this spot out for private events and would be perfect for a wedding, baby shower, birthday party, etc…

We just had our second event at Cerruti Cellars and it was great! We had about 130 people and they had 5 servers to tend to our guests. You really don’t need to decorate either. The place is a great venue with an open concept, industrial feel. High ceilings, concrete floors, mix of rustic and contemporary.
Planning the party was super easy and non stressful. They give you a list of catered they recommend and they are always quick to respond with any questions.
Also being a wine member at Cerruti, we got a discount on our wine purchases. On a regular weekend, I highly recommend visiting for a tasting. Also, it’s pet friendly!

I really like their wines but the last customer service experience was the worst. The girl pouring, Claudia, was incredibly awkward talking about the wines and really seemed like she was in a lot of pain trying to remember the script. No big deal — just hope she gets it together in the future so it makes the customers feel less uncomfortable.
The real problem was with the pours. She ran out of the bottle on 2 of our 4 pours. Did not open a new bottle to top off — I got a significantly smaller glass than my companion both times. Pretty lame. The real kick was when we wanted to leave the staff was busy preparing for some party in the back room. It took over 20 minutes to flag someone down so we could pay our tab. Despite the bad service we bought a bottle of wine they did not actually give to us after we paid our check, so we wasted more time flagging down people to get that sorted out.
Some of the wines were really good so I might go back if 1.) it’s not close to closing time and 2.) I find a new person pouring.

The wine is great and the tasting room is beautiful. The wine club is reasonable too. Fun spot!

I had been here before and it had a stuffy vibe. This time it felt much more welcoming. I like their small outdoor area. Their reserve cab was delicious. I also really liked their rose. Their others wines were just okay. Ana who assisted me was wonderful. I will certainly be back.

While I am trying to learn to love more and more wines, all five stars really go to the experience we had here last week. The pourer (do they have proper titles? i am so sad that I forgot her name), was awesome! Everyone made fun of me for not necessarily liking reds and she offered to get some other whites that were not a part of the tasting for me to try. Ha! to you so called, friends. Anyway– she took the time to try and figure out what it was exactly that I liked in the whites they had and gave me a taste of one of the reds she thought she could get me to like. She really tried and showed that she cared rather than just pouring the normal stuff and giving the normal spiel that most wine tasting rooms do. We will definitely be back!

#GlamarattiGuide: take a sunny Saturday trip with your best friend x sign up for the wine club x wear converse & cute hats x try their Mer Blanc Rosé it’s one of our favs x sit al fresco with a glass of something amazing and soak up the sun while discussing current life goals & last but certainly not least don’t leave without taking plenty of Instagram images * the staff is amazing and the wine is impeccable do drop by !

5 stars for this pet friendly winery! All the staffs were super friendly, the crowd was great, everyone was just having a good time. My husband and I bought our baby girl with us (80 pound, very friendly pure breed Bluenose Pit Bull), many people came up to us and said hi to our baby girl, didn’t get even one bad comment from the guests or staffs. If you are a «vicious breeds» owner, you would understand… All three of us had so much fun, great food, great wine, and great people! What else can you ask for?
Look forward to their next event!

A surprisingly good winery with quite a few perfectly decent whites and reds to choose from. As someone who lives right nearby, I’m proud to be a member of their wine club. There are quarterly pick-​up parties as well as unlimited tasting privileges for you and a couple of friends, and all of their reasonably priced wines become even more affordable with the wine club discount.
Location right on the noisy Amtrak train tracks aside, the brick warehouse interior is quite cozy and lovely, and combined with friendly service at the tasting bar, makes for a nice stop for a tasting, or glass or two, while in Jack London Square.

We give this review because of imari. A young man who was very personable. He was able to be honest and hold genuine conversation during our first visit. The reason why this place isn’t getting 5 stars is because management/​ownership though it wise to tell him in front of us that he needed to closed us out so they could close. I mean for a place open for 3 years you would think that they would value the first amd last person to enter. We felt rush and if it wasn’t for Imari’s great customer service we would have not bought the bottle of wine. Management needs training on customer service. #sideworkcanwait

Dropped in solo on a Sunday after meeting friends in Jack London square for Brunch and cruising the area.
I was met by nice and knowledgeable staff.
If I lived in Oakland I would definitely come more often. This would be a great space for company or birthday party!

We’re not sure why wine tasting sounded like such a fantastic idea after a 2-​hour session beer tasting festival, but it did. And, as we stumbled our way back from Jack London to where my car was parked, we happened to come across Cerruti. So in we went!
Let me say, first of all, that the customer service was AMAZING. I’m pretty sure the sommelier could tell that a majority of our group was intoxicated, but was still incredibly polite and friendly as he waited for us to decide if we wanted to do a tasting or if we wanted glasses of wine instead.
When it was determined that only ²⁄₄ of us were going to be getting glasses of wine (a full-​on tasting seemed like a bad idea after all the alcohol we had JUST consumed), the sommelier didn’t even bat an eye and even asked if we wanted to share the glasses. He was so friendly! I wish we could’ve gotten his name.
The four of us tried a glass of the Honker Blanc (a VERY delicious Sauvignon Blanc) for $ 8 and a glass of their Pinot Noir (very smooth, went down easy, but started to get a little funky as it warmed up – it was served slightly chilled) for $ 10. I kind of wish we had snagged bottles (they were both cheap, at under $ 30 each) of the wines! They were pretty incredible.
And the layout of the place was very relaxed and dimly lit — so conducive to a relaxing time spent with friends, laughing over glasses of wine. It’s bigger than you expect, with a private room tucked behind the counter itself. Though it was closed off due to a pending private event, we were still allowed to go back there to explore and hang out until the private party arrived.
I was a huge fan of this venue and I really have to say that I totally enjoyed the two wines that I tasted (though I am more partial to whites than reds in general). I’ll definitely be back — and this time without having stuffed myself with beer first, so that I can get the full tasting experience!

Just had a pretty bad customer service experience at Cerruti about ½ hour ago. walked in because my husband and I saw a lot of people drinking wine, their «open» sign was out and because one of our friends was a wine club member and had recommended it. Met a very pleasant wine server — had just put our order in for two tastings, when her supervisor came over, took out his I-​phone, showed everyone the time and said, «do you see the time. It’s 5:30 and we stop serving at 5:30» and then asked us to leave. It was poor management, and poor customer service, and I felt really bad for the server who looked quite embarrassed. It’s unfortunate, because I enjoy supporting Oakland businesses and my husband and I are members of many Napa/​Sonoma wine clubs — we would have gladly spent a significant amount of money here if given the opportunity.

We had a Livingsocial deal for this place and from the moment I called them I received absolutely stellar customer service! They were very accommodating and allowed us to come in for a tasting even after our voucher expired, no reservations necessary. The location is perfect and we definitely could have and should have biked here from Alameda.
Once there it was just this super cool laid back wonderful environment. The guy who poured for us and assisted with the tasting stayed with us the entire time and really made us feel comfortable and like were were special. I’ve been to so many wineries where they don’t spend that much time with you and scurry off after a brief explanation. Not here! I’m mostly a red wine drinker and not a fan of whites, but their Honker Blanc and Rose totally changed my mind. After such a fabulous experience we had to join the wine club so we could have an excuse to come back more often.
To recap, great service, great wine, great location and overall fabulous-​ness!

Love, love, love this place. We are members and live right around the block from it, but this wine cellar/​bar knows how to do it right!
There are always some type of snacks right when we walk in… Cheese, dates, charcuterie, nuts. Plus members get one flight, plus one 8 oz pour for themself and a guest complimentary every visit. They typically have happy hours every Thursday for members, and the pick up parties are awesome! The last one that we went to had fresh wood oven pizzas, salad, the typical snacks and bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Cakes in Emeryville. We met a ton of friendly members, saw cute dogs, and enjoyed some wine before leaving with our quarterly shipment. We definitely picked the best winery to be members of. Oh, last but certainly not least, the staff are very knowledgable, friendly, and outgoing. We love conversing with them all!

The service was spectacular, the venue is great… I’m just not that sold on the wine :(
I will go back for another try, maybe it was just a bad day???

«Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up» — Thomas A. Edison
«Beauty comes as much from the mind as from the eye.» — Grey Livingston
Part V of Sidney’s Urban Wine Adventure/​East Bay Winery thingy
After the Dashe/​JC Cellars tag team, I moseyed a few blocks over to Cerruti Cellars. They are located in Jack London Square and opened this cool looking tasting room in 2011. Hopefully this winery is just that close to success because on the afternoon I visited, it was almost total failure.

Well, except for my server. She was such a beautiful young woman in a kind of bohemian-​lite kind of way. Brunette with beautiful eyes and a gentle soul that you hope she has good taste in men so life doesn’t beat that kindness out of her. So be nice to her young men! (And winery visitors)
Unfortunately, at $ 12 for 4 pre-​chosen pours, is chintzyness defined. The $ 12 is refunded with a two bottle purchase but the wine here was so bad, with only the Sauvignon Blanc close to drinkable, that I doubt you will find two wines to purchase. The price points are great, most wines under $ 20, but they are clearly going after the private event and large group crowd. It doesn’t really appear as if experienced wine drinkers are their target market so in future visits to the Oakland Wine Trail, I would skip them.
Your mileage may vary and I know a lot of locals support them because they are fiercely proud of their local businesses… even when the product is not very good.
So until they improve the tasting room policies, and more importantly, and improve the winemaking; I would have to say that Cerruti Cellars is not recommended but I do hope they improve their operation as it is great to see such an interesting wine and food culture take root i Oakland.

Leaves are falling all around, It’s time I was on my way.
Thanks to you, I’m much obliged for such a pleasant stay.
But now it’s time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way.
For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it’s headed my way.
Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I’ve got one thing I got to do…
I’ve got to go to Cerruti Cellars.
Thanks to the new Councilmember I visited first last month. All the handshakes and smiles, hugs and promises. But such a cool venue! I had rambled on by before, steaming the windows with my breath, all the cool kids inside and me on the outside selling matchsticks.
If you are an adventurous spirit you’ll take them up on their offer to become a member, thereby gaining access to their coziness on a weekly basis, on Thursdays, when members and their guests can visit for the poured therapy and fellowship. I’m borderline misanthropic, but all that seems to stay at the door. Interesting that.
The wine is good and I shouldn’t even be talking about wine I know so little but it makes my mouth happy so in that context accept my appraisal. Staff is consistently friendly and welcoming. The space works. Great for the Thursdays, for meetings, for celebrations.
Wanted: borderline misanthrope with Thursday evenings free.

What a fabulous staff, event space and tasting experience. An asset to Oakland. I visited today (1÷20÷13) and I was thoroughly enchanted with the whole visit. And I bought a bottle of the rose! The ambiance is really nice, but the friendly staff made the real difference. I’ll be back! Their wine club sounds great, too.