During our visit to Half Moon Bay my husband and I didn’t expect to run into wineries. In fact, we had planned the weekend trip to San Francisco’s Southern Peninsula as a coastal getaway. What we found to our surprise, was a couple of quaint wineries that were completely opposite in style and atmosphere.
It’s best to start at the beginning. For those folks who are unfamiliar with where Half Moon Bay is, it’s about one and a half hours drive south of the city of San Francisco, California. Since we were coming from the east, we headed over on Highway 92 from San Mateo. As we drove on the highway west towards the ocean, neighborhoods became less dense and we began to see rural landscape, rolling hills, and beautiful vistas. We knew we had escaped the city.
The Traveling Wino at Half Moon Bay
We made our way into the small town of Half Moon Bay and started walking around town. The charming little town is worth a visit all on its own. The downtown is lined with quality, affordable, cafes, shops, and even a couple of inns and bars. This area is approximately six blocks long by four blocks wide and is welcoming to all who visit.
Parking can be a little tough during peak seasons or weekends, but it is nothing like parking in the city. The other perk of visiting Half Moon Bay is the wonderful bay and beach activities from fishing and whale watching to kayaking and golfing (with an ocean view!) Not to mention it offers hiking, biking, and ocean gazing as powerful waves crashing along the shore.
We knew about all of these fantastic things to do, but what we didn’t realize is that wine tasting would be a part of our weekend too. As we strolled along the sidewalks of Half Moon Bay’s Main Street we unexpectedly spotted a wine tasting room. Of course we had to visit! On the southern end of Main Street in the downtown area sits Barterra Winery. It is located in a cute little shopping square with a courtyard area where you can relax and enjoy the wines. The tasting room itself is smaller and looks to be a bit hard to navigate when it’s crowded, but the wines served there tend to be on the higher end…if you like that sort of thing.
Winery Overview
Information current as of January 2018
Tasting Cost: $15 per person tasting fee for three tastes. You may also purchase wine by the glass, bottles of wine, and wine by the case.
Hours: Open Thursday through Monday 12:30 – 5:30 pm; closed Tuesday and Wednesday
In town/Rural/Remote:Â In-town but its the only wine tasting room in town
Location:Â 643 Main Street, Half Moon Bay, California
Quality of Wines (1-5 smiley faces): 🙂 🙂 🙂
Winery Style:Â N/A
Space for Weddings & Events:Â No. Small boutique winery in town,
Website:Â http://barterrawines.com/index.html
Our experience here would probably be perfect for those that enjoy the “Napa Valley experience”. The wines were high quality and at a higher price point with the average bottle price at around $35 to $40 (although three wine selections were about $20). Wine tasting here cost $15 for three tastes. Unfortunately for a wino this is a little pricey and it was only 3 tastes. We normally look for tastings that are $10 or less and offer 5 or more tastings. This was disappointing for us.
Barterra Winery: a convenient wine tasting room located in Half Moon Bay
Another aspect that didn’t fit our style is that the tasting room servers were a bit more “hands off”. Although this might work well for people who are immersed in the swishing of wine in their glass, we like a place to be a bit more friendly and engaging overall. We always take into account that tasting rooms can get busy and often it’s very difficult for servers to provide attention while also serving to a bunch of people. But in this case, there was only us and another couple in the tasting room at the time. On the flip side, the “hands off” approach gave me and my hubby a nice chance to swish our wine together and have a lovely conversation. We always try to look at the wine glass as half full 😉 !
Overall, we enjoyed Barterra’s convenience to the downtown area (a perfect break to take while strolling through town). Plus it had a cute atmosphere, a cozy courtyard area, and tasty wines. But unfortunately the experience did not match what we look for in wineries. We held out hope though to visit another winery the next day to see if maybe it would be a better match.
On our way in to Half Moon Bay we had spotted a small winery off Highway 92, about 5 minutes east of town. La Nebbia Winery was the name of our delightful temptress. A small wooden house with colorful flowers and wine barrel decor at the entrance, La Nebbia offered the quaintness we love. Inside, the tasting room bar was lined with tin panels and had plenty of room for us with only one other couple visiting at that time. Various knickknacks, mustard and oils completed the rustic, cottage-like feel. On the outside back area was a lovely secluded garden, perfect for a picnic and soaking up the sun. We even spotted a place to play Bocce Ball.
Our friendly wine server made the day. She was approachable and helpful and very knowledgeable about the wines. Another added bonus…it was affordable at $10 for 5 tastes (the fee was waived with a wine purchase). Most wines were at or below $20 per bottle with nothing over $35. The tasting list offered an even split of white and reds but we found they specialized more in the whites.
Winery Overview
Information current as of January 2018
Tasting Cost:Â $10 per person tasting fee for five tastes.
Hours: Open 7 days a week; 10:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m.
In town/Rural/Remote:Â Rural with no other wineries nearby
Location:Â 12341 San Mateo Rd, Half Moon Bay, Calfornia
Quality of Wines (1-5 smiley faces): 🙂 🙂 🙂
Winery Style:Â Friendly & Fun; Rustic & Low-Key
Space for Weddings & Events:Â No. Small patio area may be able to accommodate small group visits
Website: N/A
It was here that we ran into a wonderful couple. The woman started chatting with us and about five minutes in the conversation unexpectedly stated, “I’m just going to say this so I’ll stop thinking about it. I’m going though cancer treatment and I just got this new wig. It feels strange and I just want your opinion…does it look okay?” We reassured her it looked fantastic (in fact I had just been admiring her hair style). We learned that the couple had three children and were in their 30s. My thought was…she’s way too young to have cancer.
The woman had been going through chemo for some months and had many more treatments to go. Despite this, she was one of the most positive people I had come across in a long time. She was smiling, laughing, and stated firmly, “I’m not going to let this take over my life. I am going to live as fully as I can while I’m here…and I’m going to beat this!” She was at La Nebbia specifically to have a date with her husband and was enjoying every moment of it.
A Traveling Wino favorite: Nebbia Winery near Half Moon Bay
We walked out uplifted and embracing the day just as fully as this woman. She’s an inspiration to anyone who is lucky enough to cross her path…and that day it just happened to be me and my husband.
We were also reminded of why we love to go wine tasting and why we love the more approachable, friendly, down-home places. It’s at these types of places that you can relax and truly be in the moment…enjoying the experience without an unnecessary feeling of not fitting in. Its at these places you meet interesting and inspiring people and get to connect with them. And that is what life is about!
La Nebbia was a true delight for us and turned out to be the match we were looking for. Because of the warm, friendly, and engaging atmosphere, we were able to connect with a pretty amazing couple that will never be forgotten. And we were reminded to live fully and enjoy our life, our travels, and our wine!
