So you’re looking to visit Santa Barbara and want to fit in some wine tasting in Santa Barbara wine country? You’ve come to the right place for wine tasting tips! I recently visited Santa Barbara and its surrounding wine country, the Santa Ynez Valley. Santa Ynez Valley has over 120 wineries (with many of them small and family owned!) but seems to fly under the radar of many when people think about booking a wine tasting getaway vacation. Not sure why, as it’s gorgeous, has amazing wineries, is more affordable than Napa and is fairly close to both Los Angeles and San Francisco. But you’re here reading this, so I guess I’m preaching to the choir.
OK. First things first. Let’s get a lay of the land.
Where do you wine taste when in Santa Barbara? You have a couple options. You can either do some wine tasting in Santa Barbara itself – which will be more of an urban type tasting room set ups, or you can visit wine country in the surrounding wine country – just a quick 45 minute drive from Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara County has seven different AVA’s (American Viticulture Areas) but for what you need to know for wine tasting – I am splitting it into downtown Santa Barbara wineries, wineries in the Santa Ynez area (covers Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, Los Alamos, Buellton, Solvang and Ballard) and then wineries in the northern region of Santa Maria Valley to make it easy for you.
Best Downtown Santa Barbara Tasting Rooms
Au Bon Climat
Such a cute little tasting room in downtown Santa Barbara. Originally started by Jim Clendenen, and now carried on by his children, ABC is known for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Fab wines at a great price!
I was only able to stop at ABC, as I spent most of my time out in wine country, but the below are other downtown Santa Barbara tasting rooms that are on my must-visit list and came very highly recommended:
Highly Recommended Downtown Santa Barbara Tasting Rooms:
- Whitcraft
- Melville Winery Tasting Room
- Jamie Slone Wines
- Kunin Wines
- Margerum
- Pali Wine Co
- Riverbench
- Frequency Wines
- Sanford Winery
Best Wineries to Visit in Santa Barbara Wine Country
Best Wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley
Santa Ynez Valley is about 45 minutes from Santa Barbara and is the place to be if you want to truly experience what Santa Barbara wine country has to offer. The towns within the Santa Ynez Valley are Solvang, Los Olivos, Buellton, Ballard and Los Alamos.
Pence Vineyards and Winery
Wow, wow, wow. Some of the most beautiful grounds I saw when I was wine tasting in Santa Ynez. Pence is located in Buellton, which is about 15 minutes from Los Olivos. Pence is a super small producer specializing in Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah. They have a minimal approach to winemaking and take a lot of inspiration from French winemaking.
Demetria Estate Winery
Rhone lovers, add this to your list. First of all, the drive to the winery is quite the adventure – don’t be intimidated by the 2-mile-long back road – you’ll take in amazing vineyard views and rolling hills. Demetria is another small producer (a lot of them are in the Santa Ynez area!) that specializes in Rhone varietals which is a nice change up when sipping Pinot Noir all day. Caution: Beware of tarantulas come September-October as it’s mating season!
Stolpman Vineyards/Fresh
Hello, downtown Los Olivos! Stolpman has two tasting rooms right next to each other, so choose your flavor, or do both! Stolpman features more of their estate wines whereas Fresh showcases their more natural wines and fun/obscure varietals. Very casual and fun setting.
Story of Soil
The wines from Story of Soil are SO. GOOD. They’re done in a minimal intervention style to showcase the purity of the varietal and terroir. Their wines are super juicy fruity vibe and very easy to drink. Plus, they’ve got a female winemaker, Jessica Gasca, who’s kicking butt!
Brewer-Clifton
I’ve always loved Brewer-Clifton so it was great to be able to visit them in person and try their new releases. They’re also located in downtown Los Olivos and specialize in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. If you’re looking for a bit more of an upscale tasting room environment in downtown Los Olivos, this is it!
Other Highly Recommended Santa Ynez Wineries:
Best Wineries in the Santa Maria Valley
A little bit of a further drive from Santa Barbara but worth a stop if you’re already out in the Santa Ynez area! I was only able to make one stop here but I have several others on my list that were recommended.
Pinot lovers, round up! This Santa Maria Pinot Noir focused winery aims to please by delivering several different single vineyard Pinot Noirs from the area. Even those who claim they don’t like Pinot (say, what!?) will find a Pinot they fall in love with here. If you are driving through, make sure to stop here!
Other Highly Recommended Santa Maria Valley Wineries:
Where to Eat in Santa Barbara Wine Country
Where to Eat in Downtown Santa Barbara
Mony’s
Looking for a quick, good bite? Stop by this little hole in the wall for epic tacos and burritos. Easy on the wallet and just good, quick eats! Pro Tip: Try a bunch of the sauces/salsas – they are amazing!
Dart Coffee
Really great coffee but the empanadas took the show. Best. Empanadas. Ever. These are an experience that is not to be missed, trust. Also, cute vibe – get the Instagram photo setup ready!
Other Highly Recommended Downtown Santa Barbara Restaurants:
Where to Eat in the Santa Ynez Valley
I ate dinner here and had the hardest time choosing what to order because everything looked so dang good. Every dish was amazing – and honestly, perhaps some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. It’s done in a way that makes the dough super airy and light. Come here for great California-Italian inspired eats.
Other Highly Recommended Santa Ynez Valley Restaurants:
Where to Stay in Santa Barbara Wine Country
If you are wanting to have quicker access to wineries and wine country happenings then I suggest staying in one of the towns in Santa Ynez vs the actual town of Santa Barbara – although if you have a driver, it’s definitely doable. Just note, wine country is pretty sleepy and there isn’t much night life. If you’re ok with that – grab a hotel or Airbnb in the Solvang or Los Olivos area.
I hope all of this info on Santa Barbara wine tasting was helpful for you as you plan out your next trip. If I missed any of your favorite Santa Barbara wineries or restaurants, drop them below!
LOVE the write up! You definitely captured how special Santa Barbara & Santa Ynez Wine Country are!