Santa Ynez trip - scenic wineries

I am planning a weekend trip to Santa Ynez valley (booked a hotel in Solvang this Saturday). I know there are plenty of threads about which wineries produce great wine in the area, but I was wondering:

1. What are some of the more scenic/picturesque estates? I want to stop by a romantic spot for a picnic or just to take pictures of beautiful vineyards.
2. Is Uber/Lyft popular in the area, so we don’t have to worry about driving between Solvang-Los Olivos-Lompoc?
3. Finally, any restaurant recommendations in Solvang or nearby towns?

Thank you,
Jimmy

Demetria is a nice spot.
Bridlewood sometimes does carriage rides which might be a nice romantic activity. I’d recommend calling the morning of to check (the last time I tried it had rained the night before and they weren’t doing them).

We really enjoyed our dinner at SY Kitchen in Santa Ynez, as have everyone we know that’s eaten there. It was recommended by an area local here on the boards and did not disappoint.

I highly recommend Industrial Eats in Buellton.

Gainey is a beautiful spot. Not a huge fan of the wines but love the place. A good friend had a beautiful wedding there.

Planning a trip there in October. Lodging recs would be appreciated.

I saw something pretty cool this month when I was up in the area for Uber. Uber wine. It’s basically a private driver that’ll drive you around. They say the average is $35-40/hr. Which is a hell of a deal imho. In regards to Uber, it didn’t look like there were many when we were in the wine area, when I look at my app right now, looks like just one car servicing the area.

What about winery tours? Anybody been to Andrew Murray’s tour?

Bump

Any lodging or dinning recs in the SY area would be much appreciated. Will be splitting time between Lompoc and Los Olivos.

As Poppy said Industrial Eats should be a food stop. I would also recommend A-RU Japanese in Buellton … Redirecting... . Santa Ynez Marriott in Buellton is a decent location and facility to stay. Ballard Inn located just outside of Los Olivos is decent but over priced as is Fess Parker’s place in Los Olivos.

Bridlewood fits the bill.

Extremely photogenic place. Wine so so.

Restaurant wise I would go with Industrial Eats, Sides Hardware, The Santa Ynez Kitchen, and the Los Olivos Cafe. If you haven’t been, the Hitching Post is still one of my favorites. Mon Tue Wed nights are hamburger night at the bar, crazy good burger, be sure to add the slab of bacon!

Winery wise, one that is scenic and a cool experience, I would look at Hilliard Bruce if you like Pinots. It is by appointment only and is a stunning property. Also, Pence Ranch is very nice, when you make an appointment ahead of time it is usually a better experience. In the Syrah realm I like bringing folks to Harrison Clarke. Again, by appointment only. It is a small owner operator winery. Hillary makes the wine and Jim farms the vineyard. They will do a vineyard tour and then pour from the barrel in their small ranch winery. Gainey, Bridalwood, Fess Parker, are all very nice wineries and each has very solid offerings for wine, but they can be crowded on weekends as they are the most well known.

I would say you should not discount Los Olivos for wine tasting. Tercero Wines, Blair Fox, J Ludlow, and Tensley wines are great producers. At Tercero you will likely find Larry the owner and winemaker behind the counter pairing his wines with fresh baked breads from his kitchen. It is seldom in Santa Barbara that the winemaker is so accessible to the customer, definitely worth a visit. Enjoy your trips, let me know if you have any other questions!

Thanks for the recs

These two.

http://www.rusack.com

And for breakfast, you can’t do better than Paula’s in Solvang. But get there early or make a reservation.

+1 on Paula`s

Thought I would post some notes on our trip last weekend. We were in the Santa Ynez area on Saturday and Sunday with another couple.
We decided to stay at the Embassy Suites in Lompoc. Seems there are some high-end options and quite a few cheap places to stay. Decided to save a few dollars and keep my Hilton account active. Lompoc didn’t seem to be the most exciting and glamorous place in the world to hang out, but it worked. Same is true for the Embassy Suites. However, the staff was very nice, the place was clean and quiet, and while a little old, was in good shape. Understanding it is where it is, and what it is, if that type of accommodation is what you’re looking for, I would give it a thumbs-up. Actually, we were quite pleased with the Embassy Suites, except it is away from “the action.”

For dining, we ate at two places we enjoyed. For dinner Saturday night, we ate at Scratch Kitchen. That day, a couple of wineries recommended the place, and then finally at Palmina, they also recommended the place and the owner/chief (?) was sitting at the end of the bar and introduced himself. I had a delicious bowl of stew along with a Hoppy Poppy from Figueroa Mountain Brewing. Forgot what the others had, but everyone enjoyed their meal. He even remembered us and came over to speak. Then he brought us some cider from a local brewery. Scratch Kitchen is also just down the street from the Embassy Suites. I would recommend this place in Lompoc.

For Sunday lunch, a couple of places in Los Olivos recommended Sides Hardware & Shoes. It too was very nice. I had the fish tacos with a Firestone-Walker 805. Everyone seemed to enjoy this meal as well. I would also recommend this place.

Now for wineries. We started with Liquid Farm in Buellton early Saturday morning. Met Jeff Nelson – great guy, very nice and friendly, full of energy. Tasted several of their Chards and also the Rose’. Been recently ordering from them, so it was nice to put faces to names. Doesn’t have a tasting room, so we met in their warehouse, which is in an area they share with some other wineries. Very enjoyable visit. Left with another bottle of the Bien Bien.

We then zipped over to Loring. Tasted both the LWCs and Point Concepcion. Enjoyed the Pinot Grigio (which was an “Orange” wine) from PC, and the Mourvedre from LWC. Nice tasting room, and good wines.

From Buellton we drove to Lompoc and wandered the Ghetto. We stopped in Stolpman, Palmina, and Arcadian. Really recommend a stop in Stolpman, really nice wines. Ended up with a bottle of their Sangiovese, and of course my wife had to get the Late Harvest Viognier.

Sunday, we got up early and met Larry Schaffer at Tercero. Been swapping messages with him for a long time, so it was great to finally meet him in person. Nicest person you’ll ever meet. Also, one of the most passionate people for wine you’ll ever meet. The man is full of energy and walked us through a lot of wines and winemaking concepts. Got to also taste some samples. He had some “juice” that we all would have loved to have taken home and made cocktails out of. If you’re ever in Los Olivos, you have to stop at Tercero and visit with Larry. And the 2010 Petite Sirah that is about to be released is great. We also got to taste the 2015 Mourvedre Rose’, lots of tropical flavors right now.

We then wandered Los Olivos. Basically spent the day wandering the tasting rooms and the shops. Made stops at Qupe, Longoria, Alta Maria/Native 9, Larner, and Dragonette. Couple of others I wanted to hit, but by that point, you can only taste so much. Next trip. Really enjoyed Longoria and Larner.

Thanks to everyone who provided suggestions on wineries, lodging, and food. Hope my notes help someone else out. And again, big thanks to Larry and Jeff for meeting us at Tercero and Liquid Farm.

The haul