5 Wineries to Visit in Santa Ynez Valley

Locals always know best. On a recent work trip, I added a few vacation days to visit our friends who moved back to LA. They recommended we check out Santa Ynez Valley which is roughly 100 miles outside of LA. How could we say no to wine?

Staying in Los Olivos

We rented an Airbnb in Los Olivos which is the cutest little town. We were walking distance to the main street filled with restaurants, tasting rooms and shops. Be to sure to check out Figueroa Mountain Brewery and Los Olivos Wine Merchant Cafe. Most importantly, Los Olivos is a great base to check out the nearby wineries

Wineries in Santa Ynez Valley

We know how to drink wine. We hit up a lot of places over the course of two days. I’ve listed them in order of my favorite. At the bottom of the post, I have a google map so you can check out where everything is located.

Demetria

Call ahead and make reservations for this beautiful winery. Jon and I may have made the worst and/or best decision here. We joined the wine club. We’ve literally never done that before. I think the scenery and the six tastings had a lot to do with it. Jon may have said, “This is the best day of my life.” If that’s not a strong recommendation, I don’t know what is. They focus on Rhone and Burgundy style wines.

Side note: Do not let your driver drop you off. The tasting room is tucked way back into their land. It is unlikely you’ll get a driver to come in and pick you up. Luckily, our group was smart enough to convince our driver to stay with us all day. Also, we would never have found this place on our own.

Gainey Vineyard

Do the tasting in the barn. It’s $10 more, but totally worth it. A wine expert there taught me to taste by covering the top of the glass with my hand and swirling the wine. Then, you sniff it and discuss the smells. Of course, I did this the rest of the trip and still do it now. It’s fun.

Presqu’lle Winery

My check in here says “Bougeeeee” So clearly wine drunk me is hilarious. Jokes asides this winery was gorgeous. It was the last stop of our day, so I can’t comment on the wine. We had a delicious cheese board and sandwich. By the way, you pronounce it press-KEEL. Their website says they are a small, family-run winery dedicated to crafting exceptional cool-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

Sunstone Vineyards & Winery

We caught this winery on our way out of town. It was nice. It had a large outdoor lawn where I beat Jon at mega Connect 4. They are known for their Rhone and Bordeaux style wines.

I enjoy Rhone style wines and hope to visit Cote du Rhone someday. In the meantime, it was fun to explore Santa Ynez Valley and taste their take on Rhone wines.

Foxen – The Shack

Foxen has two locations: the tasting room and the shack. We were told to visit the shack. Do not visit the shack if you are afraid of bees/flying stinging things. I think this place could’ve been great, but I was too distracted.

Pro tip: See if you can get an Uber Wine. You can only request day of and unfortunately for us they were all booked. Luckily, we convinced our Uber driver to stay with us all day.

Wine. Wine. Wine.

I’d like to revisit it. 

What wine regions have you visited? Leave a comment with your favorites.

Check out the other wine regions we’ve visited here. We really like wine.