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Tasting rooms, fees and walk-in rules. All Good for lists
24 guides
Wine tasting in Solvang
Nebbiolo and sparkling rosato at Toccata (half off after a tasting at Lucas & Lewellen across the street), then Rhône flights in Rideau's historic adobe on Alamo Pintado Road. Fees and walk-in rules for all twelve rooms.
Taste · Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara County wine tasting
Jim Clendenen's Au Bon Climat in Santa Barbara's Presidio, or a day in the Santa Ynez Valley vineyards? How to choose between the Urban Wine Trail and the valley, with typical fees.
Taste · Santa Ynez Valley
Top-rated Santa Ynez wines
Alma Rosa's 99-point Attente, Jonata's 98-point La Sangre Syrah and Melville's 98-point Donna's Block: the valley's top critic scores on current releases, each linked to its source.
Sta. Rita Hills wineries
Where the Sta. Rita Hills began: the Sanford & Benedict vines of 1971, Melville's cold-climate Pinot and Camins 2 Dreams, from a Chumash and Catalan winemaking duo. Seventeen stops from Highway 246 to the Lompoc Wine Ghetto.
Drum Canyon Road wine route
Pinot from the hillside outside Dierberg's Drum Canyon tasting room, Spear's barn on a 1920s dairy's footprint and Pence's 200-acre ranch, then lunch on Bell Street in Los Alamos.
Santa Rosa Road wineries
The slow road where the Sta. Rita Hills began: Sanford Winery's 1971 vineyard, Alma Rosa's 628-acre ranch and a farm lunch at Vega, with The Hilt's windswept Pinot at the Lompoc end.
Taste · Santa Barbara
Santa Ynez Valley wine tours
What two people really pay: shuttles from $139 a seat, private days from $700, party buses for the bachelorette, plus bikes, horses, a Jeep and the $45 Solvang Trolley loop.
Los Olivos wine tasting
The valley's tasting-room capital: Sta. Rita Hills Pinot at Dragonette (97 points) and Brewer-Clifton, and Stolpman's Ballard Canyon estate wines, a short walk apart. Fees and walk-in rules for nine rooms.
Foxen Canyon Wine Trail
Old ranch country from Los Olivos to Santa Maria: taste in Foxen Winery's Shack, an 1860s blacksmith shop, picnic at Zaca Mesa and stop at the 1875 San Ramon Chapel, where Benjamin Foxen, the sea captain Foxen Canyon is named for, is buried.
Sideways filming locations
Miles and Jack's 'Windmill Inn' (now Sideways Inn), the Hitching Post 2 bar and Fess Parker Winery as 'Frass Canyon', 20 years on. What moved, what closed, and a half-day and full-day route.
Taste · Santa Ynez Valley
Santa Ynez wineries
Sunstone's stone caves, Sanford Winery's 1971 vines, where the Sta. Rita Hills began, and Melville's cold-climate Pinot: eight wineries across the valley and a one-day plan that works.
Family-friendly wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley
Kunekune pigs, llamas and minis at Folded Hills, a playground at Vega's 1853 ranch and free bubbles for kids at Brick Barn. Five wineries where kids are welcome, with the house rules at each.
Wineries with restaurants in the Santa Ynez Valley
Chef Terri Buzzard cooks from Roblar Farm next door, Refugio Ranch fries a weekend smashburger and Petros runs a full Greek kitchen. Where to eat a full meal at a winery, and how to book.
Unique wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley
Shop vintage at Babcock, ride a horse through Buttonwood's vines, or feed the animals at Folded Hills' weekend Farmstead. Seven wineries where the flight is the second reason to go.
Taste · Santa Barbara
Best Santa Barbara County wineries
Picnic in gazebos at Beckmen, the county's first biodynamic vineyard, eat lunch from Roblar's own farm or book a private seated Cabernet tasting at Brave & Maiden. Nine wineries, picked by the day you want.
Cult wineries: scores and how to get in
Stolpman's 98 from Vinous, Dragonette's 100 from Dunnuck, and which famous names pour by appointment or list only.
Winemakers' side labels and cult wines
Ad Ripa, Lieu Dit, Mail Road, Piedrasassi and the small projects behind the big names.
Dog-friendly wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley
Sanger pours by the fire pits until 9:30pm with the dog at your feet, and Zaca Mesa lets you picnic with yours on Foxen Canyon Road.
Lompoc Wine Ghetto & Sta. Rita Hills route map
Sandhi, whose Pinot Noir made No. 57 on Wine Enthusiast's best wines of 2025, Camins 2 Dreams and Ampelos, all within a 7-minute walk of Chestnut Court in Lompoc. Who takes walk-ins, and four loops that fit the closing times.
Happy Canyon wineries: who pours & prices
Cabernet country east of Santa Ynez: Crown Point's 98-point Cabernet, Star Lane's wine caves and Grimm's Bluff, every visit by appointment.
Los Alamos wine tasting
Grenache nerds, start at A Tribute to Grace (nine bottlings). Six tasting rooms on a quarter mile of Bell Street, and Casa Dumetz is now Clementine Carter.
Taste · Santa Ynez Valley
Wine tasting experiences in the Santa Ynez Valley
Ride a horse through the vines for $150, meet a camel and a zebra on a private ranch tour, or blend your own bottle. Prices, lengths and booking for each.
Taste · Santa Maria
Santa Maria Valley wineries & wine caves
Presqu'ile's chef, cave and horses, Bien Nacido's Gatehouse, Foxen Canyon Road, four wineries with caves and tri-tip after.
Taste · Santa Ynez Valley
Walk-in wine tasting
Who pours without a booking, how big a group they take, and the estates where you must book.
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