The Vineyard
Early game: learning and movement
Where every team begins. Answer trivia, collect Wine Wisdom and Somm’s Favor cards, and start gathering clues about your opponents’ wines while protecting your own.
The Sommelier’s Secret™
Can you uncover everyone else’s secret wine before they uncover yours?
A social wine board game of trivia, bluffing and deduction. Two decks, fifty-two varietals, and one secret per team.
You don’t need to be a sommelier to play.
The Sommelier’s Secret is a social wine board game built around one simple question: can you uncover everyone else’s secret wine before they uncover yours?
Each team begins with a hidden wine varietal. As you make your way from the vineyard to the Tasting Room, you’ll answer wine trivia, separate truth from bluff, collect clues, earn advantages, and piece together what the other teams are hiding.
The game is designed for wine lovers of every level, blending deduction, strategy, luck, and just enough wine knowledge to keep everyone guessing. You’ll learn along the way, discover surprising stories about wine, and probably start questioning how well your friends really know their Cabernet.
How it’s played
Seven steps from the vineyard to the last team standing.
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Choose your level
Each team receives a secret Varietal card. Pick the deck that matches the wine knowledge of the team who will be guessing: Sipper for newer or casual wine drinkers, Taster for more experienced ones. Mixed groups can play at different levels.
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Keep your secret
Look at your Varietal card, but don’t show the other teams. Every card carries four truths and one bluff. Whenever you’re asked to reveal a clue, your team chooses which one to read aloud.
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Start in the vineyard
Every piece begins on the Start space. On your turn, roll the custom die and move clockwise around the board. Roll the SS? It’s wild: choose any number from one to six and move that many spaces.
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Follow the space
The colour of the space decides your turn.
- Trivia. The team to your left reads a question. Answer correctly and roll again.
- Wine Wisdom. Hear a statement and call it: truth or bluff.
- Somm’s Favor. Draw a card and follow its instructions.
- Icon space. The symbol on the board tells you what happens.
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Use your clues wisely
Cards you answer correctly can carry a Clue Token or a Guess Token. Spend a Clue card instead of your turn to make another team reveal a clue. Record what you learn on your Sommelier’s Notes and cross wines off the Varietal Bank.
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Reach the Tasting Room
Once you arrive, your race around the board is over. You stop rolling, and every turn becomes a chance to deduce. Guess cards can only be played from here, so study your notes and make your guesses carefully.
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Uncover their secrets
Name an opponent’s secret varietal correctly and they reveal their card and are eliminated. Keep deducing until only one team remains. Last team standing wins.
Vineyard, Cellar, Tasting Room
The board unfolds in three phases, each one closer to the final showdown.
The Cellar
Midgame: protection and deduction
The safe zone. Once you’re in, teams still in the Vineyard can’t guess you. The first team through the door earns a one-time bonus: an opposing team of your choice must reveal a clue.
The Tasting Room
Endgame: deduction and elimination
The final destination. Movement ends, and every turn becomes a chance to spend the cards you’ve earned, reveal clues, and name an opponent’s secret varietal.
What’s in the box
Everything you need for a night of wine, wit and deduction.
- Game boardFrom the Vineyard to the Tasting Room
- Varietal cardsSipper and Taster decks, 52 wines
- Trivia cardsSome carry a Guess Token
- Wine Wisdom cardsTruth or bluff
- Somm’s Favor cardsPlay now or save for later
- Custom SS dieRoll the SS and choose your move
- Game piecesOne per team
- Reference sheetsIcon Guide, Varietal Bank, Sommelier’s Notes
Pick your wine level
The rules stay exactly the same at every level. Only the wines change.
Sipper
For casual wine drinkers and players who are newer to wine
The Sipper deck features more familiar varietals, but don’t expect a giveaway. You’ll still need to collect clues, spot the Bluff, and use deduction to uncover your opponents’ secret varietals.
Taster
For players who know their way around a wine list
The Taster deck features less familiar varietals and a tougher deduction challenge. Even if you don’t recognize a wine right away, the clues are designed to narrow the possibilities, and you might learn a new varietal along the way.
Full Cellar
For the biggest challenge
Shuffle the Sipper and Taster decks together and all 52 varietals are in play. With twice as many possibilities to consider, even experienced wine drinkers will have to work for the answer.
Mixed table? Teams can play at different levels. Choose each team’s deck based on the wine knowledge of the players who will be trying to identify it.
The Varietal Bank
Fifty-two varietals. One secret to uncover.
Sipper deck
- Albariño
- Barbera
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Chardonnay
- Chenin Blanc
- Gewürztraminer
- Gamay
- Grenache
- Lambrusco
- Malbec
- Merlot
- Moscato
- Nebbiolo
- Pinot Blanc
- Pinot Grigio
- Pinot Noir
- Riesling
- Sangiovese
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Syrah
- Tempranillo
- Viognier
- Zinfandel
- Petit Sirah
- Viura
- Vinho Verde
Taster deck
- Aglianico
- Blaufränkisch
- Carignan
- Cinsault
- Cortese
- Dolcetto
- Fiano
- Garganega
- Godello
- Grüner Veltliner
- Marsanne
- Mencía
- Montepulciano
- Mourvèdre
- Nero d’Avola
- Negroamaro
- Petit Verdot
- Picpoul
- Pinotage
- Primitivo
- Roussanne
- Sémillon
- Torrontés
- Trebbiano
- Vermentino
- Viura
Questions
Do I need to know a lot about wine?
No. The game is built for wine lovers of every level. You gather clues, decide which one might be the Bluff, eliminate wines that don’t fit, and use your guesses wisely. You might start the game never having heard of a varietal and finish knowing exactly what makes it unique.
How do you win?
Two things have to happen: your team reaches the Tasting Room, and you eliminate every other team by correctly guessing their secret wine. Reaching the Tasting Room alone doesn’t win, and guessing alone doesn’t win. Victory takes movement, deduction, and timing.
What’s the difference between Sipper and Taster?
Only the wines. Sipper uses more familiar varietals; Taster uses less familiar ones and makes deduction harder. Every other rule is identical, and teams at the same table can play at different levels.
Can a team reveal the Bluff on purpose?
Yes. Whenever a team is instructed to reveal a clue, it chooses any unrevealed clue from its Varietal card, and that can be the Bluff. Only your own team knows which clue is the Bluff.
Does revealing a clue give away the wine?
No. Only the chosen clue is read aloud. The card itself is never shown, and the varietal’s name stays hidden until another team guesses it correctly.
What if a card contradicts the rulebook?
The text printed on the card always takes precedence. The same goes for the board icons: the instructions for a specific icon override the general rules.
Where is the full rulebook?
Right here on this site, and behind the QR code on the box. The online rulebook covers setup, every board space, the clue system, guessing, the Tasting Room, and a worked example of play, and you can search it for a rule mid-game.
The whole rulebook, on your phone
Scan the code on the box, or open it here. Setup, turns, every board space, guessing rules and a worked example of play, laid out for reading at the table and searchable mid-game.
Get The Sommelier’s Secret
Bring the vineyard to your table. Gather your teams, pour something worth arguing about, and find out who really knows their wine.
