santa ynez wine trail

This is the penultimate winery you should visit while travelling through Santa Ynez: Great ambiance, easy to find, best hosts ever! Oh, and did I mention the wine? Amazing! Been members for almost as long as the winery existed. Love it!

Uncrowded and unrushed, we wandered up the 101 to Alisos Canyon Road then south on Foxen Canyon Road. The day was beautiful, the oak covered hills green and bucolic. We first stopped at 'the new' Foxen Winery Tasting Room for an enjoyable flight, and then ventured further to Foxen 7200 the original winery and Tasting Shack. Scenes from 'Sideways' were shot there. Your tasting includes your glass, which is typically no big deal - but Foxen uses Riedel as their supplier. We continued on to Zaca Mesa, which was a little to large are corporate for our tastes. Unfortunately their flights are huge, consisting of 10 glasses of 1 oz. tastes; that don't quite live up to their neighbors. Luckily we still had time for a favorite; Beckmen Vineyards, famous for their Rhone Varietels. These guys take organic farming to a new level, they call it "Biodynamic".

It is wonderful time of year to visit Santa Ynez - the leaves on the vines are changing, the weather is perfect and the community is excited to share the news of the harvest. You will not be disappointed with the intimate setting of the many smaller and family owned winearies.

Just a quick review..Buttonwood...meh wines but friendly atmosphere..Lincourt...Decent wine, nothing that blew me away, but decent and a charming winery...friendly serversRusack...wasnt overly impressed with the wines, but a fantastic setting...bring a lunch here and get a bottle and relax....Blackjack...almost didnt stop here given the reviews Id read, but glad we stopped here. Some very drinkable and friendly reds...disappointed that I feel they push "Sideways" too much, but very good and worth a stop. Server was also VERY friendly and knowledgeable. Really enjoyed stopping here...Tensley- a tasting room in Los Olivos...a MUST STOP...seriously, best wines of the entire trip! This place is amazing...Side note...didnt have a chance to stop this trip, but had several recommendation sor SunStone...so you may want to plan that in as I feel like we missed out on something...

Highway 154 has an excellent selection of wineries within a 15 mile stretch. Something for everybody.

Would we go back? Again and again! We take most of our visitors wine tasting in "the Valley" and usually picnic at one of our stops. The scenery is lovely, the traffic non existent, and usually the company is pretty good. Most of the wineries charge now and we've decided to join several "wine clubs" so that we can take our guests free of charge. We have to buy wine, but whole bottles are better than just a taste! Each place has it's own character, with some home-y and others more "slick" with the marketing. I hope this kind of mix lasts. Meeting visitors, as most places are friendly, is almost as much fun as tasting the wines.