(SFGate) - Sonoma's scenic Highway 12, which runs through the heart of the Sonoma Valley and Carneros district, is rich with a seemingly endless bounty of winery tasting rooms. Here are some of our favorites.

Highway 12 Vineyards & Winery

An excellent starting point for our tour of Sonoma Highway tasting rooms, Highway 12 is fairly new by Sonoma standards. Owner-winemaker Michael Sebastiani (of the Sebastiani winemaking family) founded the winery in 2003. Located on the Sonoma Plaza, the tasting room, which opened in 2008, is part tasting bar, part home accessories boutique. Sebastiani works with grower-partners from along the Highway 12 corridor to make his wines. The tasting room offers a free tasting of several house-selected wines, as well as a reserve tasting of five wines for $10.