Decide whether you'll drive. Many of Santa Barbara County's estates are in the Santa Ynez Valley, 45 to 51 minutes from the city's Funk Zone over Highway 154. Without a car, the Urban Wine Trail has more than twenty tasting rooms in town, many of them in the Funk Zone. Budget $20–$65 a person and book weekends.
This guide is for planning the tastings yourself. Want a driver, a van or a private day with the fees folded in? Santa Barbara wine tours compares every operator by what two people pay.
This week
- Nov6–8Buellton Fall Festival · Visit Buellton
Avenue of the Flags; Fri 4-10pm, Sat-Sun 12-10pm; carnival rides, live music on two stages; Ales on the Avenue beer and wine tasting Sat (tickets) · Free · by City of Buellton
- FriNov 6NatureTrack Film Festival · Visit NatureTrack Foundation
8th annual; reception 6pm, program 6:45pm at the SYV Grange Hall · $25 · by NatureTrack Foundation
- SatNov 7Alma Rosa Fall Harvest Dinner · Visit Alma Rosa Winery
Winery event; check access on the listing · Not published · by Alma Rosa Winery
- SatNov 7SYV Historical Museum Vaquero Benefit Dinner & Auction · Visit Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum
42nd annual · Tickets (early bird from Aug 1) · by Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum
Where is the best wine tasting in Santa Barbara County?
The county has seven AVAs and nine wine trails, according to the Santa Barbara Vintners [1]. Pick the area first, then the winery. If you'd rather pick by experience, such as views, lunch or kids and dogs, see the best Santa Barbara County wineries.
- Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail: tasting rooms in the city, mostly walkable (see below).
- Solvang: downtown tasting rooms close enough to walk between. See wine tasting in Solvang.
- Santa Ynez, Los Olivos & Foxen Canyon: estates and a tasting-room village (picks below). See also Los Olivos wine tasting, the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail and our one-day valley plan.
- Sta. Rita Hills: cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay between Buellton and Lompoc. See Sta. Rita Hills wineries.
- Further north: the Vintners describe Santa Maria Valley as California's second-oldest AVA, and Alisos Canyon, the newest, is at the doorstep of Los Alamos [2]. See Santa Maria Valley wineries for Presqu'ile, Bien Nacido and the county's wine caves, and where to stay in Los Alamos.
Urban Wine Trail or Santa Ynez Valley?
It comes down to whether anyone wants to drive. The Urban Wine Trail says "over twenty wineries" belong to it, spread across Santa Barbara neighborhoods such as the Funk Zone, the Presidio and Midtown, plus Goleta [3]. The vineyards themselves are about a 45-minute drive over the Santa Ynez Mountains, via Route 154 or Highway 101 [4]. Two city rooms pour wine from valley wineries, so they're a good way to taste the valley without leaving town:
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Editor's pickUrban tasting lounge · Santa Barbara
Melville Santa Barbara Tasting LoungeBook
98 pts JebDunnuck.com on the 2021 Donna's Block Syrah
The downtown outpost of a Sta. Rita Hills estate. The Urban Wine Trail describes it as pouring estate-grown Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah in the Funk Zone, two blocks from the beach. It's the easiest way to taste Sta. Rita Hills wine without driving to Lompoc.
- Open
- Open every day. Sun–Thu 12–7pm, Fri–Sat 12–8pm
More details
Press Jeb Dunnuck gave its 2021 Donna's Block Syrah 98 points. JebDunnuck.com
- Estate winery: 5185 E Hwy 246, Lompoc
120 State St Suite C, Santa Barbara, CA · 805-770-7952
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Courtesy of Longoria Wines, Press kit Urban tasting room · Santa Barbara
Longoria on State
Longoria's State Street room, listed on the Urban Wine Trail under the Presidio neighborhood. It stays open into the evening later in the week. Longoria also runs a tasting room in Lompoc, covered in our Sta. Rita Hills guide.
- Open
- Open every day. Mon–Wed 1–6pm, Thu–Fri 1–8pm, Sat 12–8pm, Sun 12–6pm
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Photo courtesy of Au Bon Climat, Press kit Editor's pickUrban tasting room · Santa Barbara
Au Bon Climat
91 pts JebDunnuck.com on the 2023 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay
Jim Clendenen's label pours in Santa Barbara, not in the valley: the tasting room is in the Presidio neighborhood and covers Au Bon Climat, Clendenen Family Vineyards and his other projects, with current releases and library wines. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the core.
- Open
- Open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday; closed Tuesday. Wed–Mon 12–6pm, last tasting 5:15pm; closed Tue
- Booking
- Walk-ins welcome, based on availability
Go for A drop-in visit
More details
Connections Jim Clendenen's first winemaking job was assistant at Zaca Mesa, alongside future Qupé founder Bob Lindquist and Ojai's Adam Tolmach. It is still called Zaca U. Source
Press Jeb Dunnuck gave its 2023 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 91 points. JebDunnuck.com
813 Anacapa Street, Suite B, Santa Barbara, CA · 805-963-7999
Heading to the valley? Start with these tasting rooms. Each name opens its full listing with the address, and Website goes to the winery's own site. If you'd rather not drive, compare Santa Barbara wine tours.
Santa Ynez & Solvang
- Sunstone Winery: 125 N Refugio Road, Santa Ynez, CA 93460 · Website
- Gainey Vineyard: 3950 East Highway 246, Santa Ynez, CA 93460 · Website
- Brander Vineyard: 2401 North Refugio Road, Santa Ynez, CA 93460 · Website
- Buttonwood Farm Winery & Vineyard: 1500 Alamo Pintado Road, Solvang, CA 93463 · Website
Los Olivos
- Carhartt Vineyard Tasting Room: 2939 Grand Avenue, Los Olivos, CA 93441 · Website
- Stolpman Vineyards Tasting Room: 2434 Alamo Pintado Avenue, Los Olivos, CA 93441 · Website
- Beckmen Vineyards: 2670 Ontiveros Road, Los Olivos, CA 93441 · Website
Foxen Canyon
- Firestone Vineyard: 5017 Zaca Station Road, Los Olivos, CA 93441 · Website
- Fess Parker Winery: 6200 Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos, CA 93441 · Website
- Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards: 6905 Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos, CA 93441 · Website
- Andrew Murray Vineyards: 5249 Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos, CA 93441 · Website
Tasting the Funk Zone on foot
Start where the trail is densest, the Funk Zone. Visit Santa Barbara describes it as former warehouses turned tasting rooms, cafés and galleries, between downtown and the waterfront and walkable from the Amtrak station [7]. Three rooms tie straight back to the valley: Melville's lounge pours its Sta. Rita Hills estate wines two blocks from the beach, Fess Parker Funk Zone pours the Los Olivos family's wines on Yanonali Street, and The Valley Project pours small-batch wines from across the county's AVAs [3] [7]. For an ocean view, Deep Sea pours on Stearns Wharf, and the Urban Wine Trail calls Santa Barbara Winery, also in the Funk Zone, the county's oldest winery [3].
The Presidio rooms are downtown, a 19-minute walk (0.9 mile) from Melville's lounge to Au Bon Climat on Anacapa Street, where Jim Clendenen's wines pour Wednesday to Monday. Longoria on State stays open until 8pm Thursday to Saturday. Goleta's rooms, in the next city west, need a ride. When you're ready for the vineyards, our best Santa Barbara wineries guide has drive times from the Funk Zone to every estate, with fees and hours, and Santa Ynez Valley wineries plans the tasting day.
Santa Barbara wine pioneers
Most of the big names trace back to two places. Richard Sanford and Michael Benedict planted Sanford & Benedict in 1971, the first vineyard in what became the Sta. Rita Hills; Sanford later founded Alma Rosa with Thekla Sanford after the Terlato family took control of Sanford Winery [p1]. Up north, Zaca Mesa planted the county's first Syrah in 1978 under founding winemaker Ken Brown, who later started Byron and now pours Ken Brown Wines in Buellton [p2].
Brown's early hires became "Zaca U": Jim Clendenen went on to Au Bon Climat, Bob Lindquist to Qupé and Adam Tolmach to The Ojai Vineyard [p3]. In 1998 Sanford, Bryan Babcock and Clos Pepe's Wes Hagen put their names on the petition that created the Sta. Rita Hills AVA [p4]. Taste the lineage at Au Bon Climat's Santa Barbara room, Zaca Mesa on the Foxen Canyon trail and Sanford, Alma Rosa and Babcock in the Sta. Rita Hills.
How much does wine tasting cost in Santa Barbara?
Stagecoach Wine Tours tells its guests that wineries "typically charge $20-$65 per person" [5]. Most of the fees we've checked on wineries' own sites fall within that range. At the Solvang rooms we checked, flights cost $20–35 (details). In the Sta. Rita Hills, Melville charges $35, Sanford $40 and Peake Ranch $50, while Lompoc flights start at $15 (details). Some rooms waive the fee when you buy bottles.
Do I need reservations?
Book ahead for appointment-only estates, weekends and groups. The Santa Barbara Vintners say most wineries "require reservations for groups of 6/8 or more." They also say wineries are generally closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Easter Sunday, and they recommend booking several months ahead for festival weekends: the Vintners Festival is typically in October [4].
What wines is Santa Barbara County known for?
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. According to the Santa Barbara Vintners, the most-planted grapes are Chardonnay (3,200 acres), Pinot Noir (2,898), Sauvignon Blanc (878) and Syrah (835), from more than 75 varieties grown. The county has 7 AVAs and more than 265 wineries [6].
Plan your day
- MorningBreakfast first: Best coffee in the Santa Ynez ValleyBy town, plus where to work
- MiddayGo tasting: Top-rated Santa Ynez winesWho scored 98 and 99, by area
- EveningBook dinner: Find a tableTables you can book online, by occasion
- LateNight out: Solvang happy hoursSpritzes, Industry Night, 8pm deals
- OvernightFind a bed: Stay at a winery in the Santa Ynez ValleyVillas, vineyard houses, cottages
Good to know
Urban Wine Trail or Santa Ynez Valley? Choose the Urban Wine Trail if you're staying in Santa Barbara and want to walk between tasting rooms. Choose the valley if you want vineyards and estates. The Santa Barbara Vintners put the valley vineyards about 45 minutes from the city over the Santa Ynez Mountains, via Route 154 or Highway 101.
Do I need reservations for wine tasting in Santa Barbara County? For small groups, often not, but book estates and weekends ahead. The Santa Barbara Vintners say most wineries require reservations for groups of 6–8 or more. Wineries are generally closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Easter Sunday.
Quick answers
Where is the best wine tasting in Santa Barbara County?
For vineyards and estate tastings, go to the Santa Ynez Valley: Solvang, Santa Ynez, Los Olivos, Foxen Canyon and the Sta. Rita Hills. To taste without driving, try the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail, where more than twenty wineries pour in the city.
How much does wine tasting cost in Santa Barbara?
Stagecoach Wine Tours says wineries typically charge $20–$65 per person. Our own checks mostly match: $20–35 at the Solvang rooms we checked, $35–50 for seated Sta. Rita Hills estate flights, and as little as $15 in Lompoc. Some rooms waive the fee when you buy bottles.
What is the Funk Zone in Santa Barbara?
The Funk Zone is the walkable district of former warehouses between downtown Santa Barbara and the waterfront, between the ocean and Highway 101, near the Amtrak station. Visit Santa Barbara calls it one of the easiest places to taste the Urban Wine Trail: Fess Parker, The Valley Project, Santa Barbara Winery and Melville's lounge all pour there, among galleries, shops and murals.
Can you walk the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail?
Most of it. The Funk Zone rooms sit a few blocks apart near the beach, and the Presidio rooms are downtown: from Melville's Funk Zone lounge at 120 State Street to Au Bon Climat at 813 Anacapa Street is 0.9 mile, about 19 minutes on foot. Goleta's rooms, in the next city west, need a ride.
Is Santa Barbara good for wine tasting?
Yes, two ways. Without a car, the Urban Wine Trail has more than twenty wineries in the city, open into the evening; Melville's lounge pours until 7pm, 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays. With a driver, the county's 265-plus wineries and seven AVAs start 45 minutes away, over Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley.
What wines is Santa Barbara County known for?
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir lead, then Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. The Santa Barbara Vintners count about 3,200 acres of Chardonnay and 2,898 of Pinot Noir, out of 75+ varieties grown across 7 AVAs and 265+ wineries.
Sources
tap to open
- Santa Barbara Vintners
- Santa Barbara Vintners, Areas & AVAs
- Sanford Winery: history; Decanter on Alma Rosa
- Zaca Mesa: our history; Santa Barbara Independent: Ken Brown
- Edible Santa Barbara: Zaca University
- Federal Register, Sept 11, 1998: Santa Rita Hills proposal
- Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail
- Santa Barbara Vintners, FAQs
- Stagecoach Wine Tours, Wine Lovers Tour
- Santa Barbara Vintners, Facts & Figures
- Visit Santa Barbara, The Funk Zone
- Walk and drive times: OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data, Oct 18, 2026, from 120 State Street in the Funk Zone. City tasting-room hours: each room's own site, Oct 18, 2026.
- Each winery's own website, linked from its listing.
Last updated Oct 26, 2026. We list what each winery publishes and never copy reviews. Fees and hours change, so confirm before you go.
