Which wineries to visit around or near Los Olivos?

P_Intag · July 28, 2011, 8:30pm

My wife and I are heading up to Los Olivos this weekend. We’re staying at the Ballard Inn and will be spending all day Saturday tasting. We plan to do the majority of the tastings in Los Olivos tasting rooms, but we also want to visit 2 or 3 wineries that are close by. I’m pretty much set on Beckmen, as it’s very close by and I do like their wines very much. But where else? Brander maybe? Rusack? Buttonwood? I guess we’re primarily looking for beautiful vineyard views and a good tasting room experience.

And what about the Ballard Inn Restaurant for dinner on Sat night? Is this the best bet for dinner in the area or should I consider someplace else?

Thanks for all suggestions.

(BTW, Larry, if you see this, we are excited to visit your brand new Tercero tasting room! I hope you are there on Saturday).

mikeveilleux · July 28, 2011, 8:33pm

Bridlewood! Loved their Syrahs, especially the Dusty Trail…beautiful grounds, horses and stables…enjoy!!

CM_Hogan · July 28, 2011, 10:32pm

Last fall we did Foxen, Qupe/ Verdad, Melville, D’Alfonso- Curran and Palmina.

all were great. Have fun!

Randy_Smith · July 28, 2011, 10:47pm

We went in March, and visited both Beckmen & Rusack. Both were fun. There was some construction going on at the Rusack tasting room at the time. That’s probably done now. Great QPRs at both places.

Mike_Stoneking · July 29, 2011, 2:17am

+1 on these. Rusak is a great place to get off the beaten path and enjoy some food and the quiet of the countryside.
Enjoy.

Kenny_H · July 29, 2011, 2:39am

Tensley.

larry_schaffer · July 29, 2011, 8:45am

Email sent . . .

Gary_Schulte · July 29, 2011, 12:32pm

Consider Richard Sanford’s Alma Rosa Winery for pinot noir… http://www.almarosawinery.com/index.html …Gary

Brian_Gilp · July 29, 2011, 4:11pm

I have not eaten at the Ballard Inn so not a reflection on it but I really liked Root 246 http://www.root-246.com/. The Los Olivos Cafe was also good if not at the same level.

Patrick_Friel · July 29, 2011, 4:15pm

+1 I don’t know they do winery visits but definitely hit their tasting room in Los Olivos.

Ted_Erfer · July 29, 2011, 5:29pm

If you can get reservations — go to Ballard Inn. Very, very fine food.
246 is also good.

Also - if Joe Davis is around try to get a tasting at Arcadian.

Brett_Johnson · July 29, 2011, 5:41pm

Haven’t eaten at 246, but I’ve eaten at Ballard Inn a number of times and it’s excellent. Get the pork belly appetizer…

Joe_Dulworth · July 29, 2011, 6:48pm

I’ve eaten at the Ballard Inn and Root 246. I’d give the Ballard Inn the advantage myself although you’d likely enjoy both. I posted reviews of both on my blog if you’d like to take a peek.

P_Intag · July 29, 2011, 7:33pm

Thanks for tips everyone!

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · July 29, 2011, 9:31pm

Arcadian.

Call now, before everybody goes home, to see if you can set something up.

P_Intag · August 1, 2011, 7:54pm

Thanks everyone - my wife and I had a wonderful time. Unfortunately, was only able to do three wineries (Beckmen, Bridlewood, Rusack) and four tasting rooms (Tercero, Dragonette, Tensley, Artiste). I was hoping to hit more tasting rooms in Los Olivos, but, with the 5pm closing times, it would be impossible to do more than we did without rushing. I highly recommend Ballard Inn for both the Inn and the Restaurant – service was excellent and the food fantastic. I enjoyed almost all of the wines we tasted which is quite remarkable, since I am very sensitive to woody oak flavors – we did not try any that would fit this description, thankfully. Thanks to Larry for spending a bunch of time with us even as his kids were nagging him to leave (I think he was scheduled to leave one hour earlier than we stayed - Sorry ).