Santa Barbara Tasting Rooms

Happy Winery Wednesday everyone!

A few weeks ago I traveled to Santa Barbara with some amazing friends to explore the town and go wine tasting. I had an unbelievable time and I really loved every moment of our trip, including the 10 hour car ride! A big “thank you” to Spotify, Taco Bell, and all the Starbucks coffee! The day we left we woke up at 3:00am to leave the house to start driving down the California coast…talk about early!

Our first stop was brunch at the delicious restaurant, Scarlett Begonia, in downtown Santa Barbara. Our friend Elle (@themodernpour go follow her wine adventures!) recommended we add this restaurant to our list for brunch and I must say it was SO GOOD, just look at the quinoa oatmeal…YUM!. They had a lively outdoor courtyard with some great brunch options, and not to mention all of the puppies that people brought there as well!

Our next stop was the Grassini Family Vineyards tasting room in Downtown Santa Barbara. The courtyard where Grassini is located is filled with a lot of tasting rooms! If only we had more time to explore them all (maybe next trip!) The tasting flight we had was the “Estate Flight” that featured their selection of Cabernet Sauvignon, red blend, and Sauvignon Blanc. (Shoutout to Cat from @bythestem for the recommendation!

Grassini Family Vineyards has the downtown tasting room and also a beautiful winery in Happy Canyon (the eastern edge of Santa Ynez Valley). While we were driving around the valley the next day we had the chance to visit their winery estate. The peaceful grounds of the winery were gorgeous and they even had a small pound tucked away on the side of the property amongst the vineyards. Talk about a great place to sip on some great wine.

After our first tasting we headed over to the Sanford Winery tasting room only a few blocks away. (I loved how there were so many tasting rooms all within walking distance, it reminded me so much of Downtown Napa!) The Sanford tasting room was intimate and a great environment to enjoy some wine. The pricing for each tasting selection is very reasonable and includes some incredible wine. Sanford Wineries also as a vineyard property in the Sta. Rits Hills in Santa Barbara County. This winery has been producing wine from these vineyards for over forty years, one of the most historic wineries in the valley! Definitely check them out when you are in the area! (shoutout to @tonyandthetravelingwineglass for the recommendation!)