This was a great trip. Paul was very knowledgeable about the area, the topography, and the grapes of the region. He had a lot of recommendations for food, tastings (outside of the tour), and activities. We visited 3 wineries and had a great time at each one. The staff at the wineries were friendly, welcoming, and - most importantly - poured great wines. We got to try everything on the tasting menu, and sometimes a bonus. Paul was a great driver. He brought a great lunch for us, and completely matched our energy and mood for the day. We would highly recommend this tour. It was a great day, we bought a lot of wine from the places we visited because they were so good, and learned a lot about the area. Thank you for the great birthday! read more

Paul is truly exceptional. He gives such attention to detail & customer service. Always making sure we were hydrated & happy you could tell he really cares about what he does & wants to support the local businesses. He blew my friends & an I away when we came out to celebrate a friends bachelorette. We had the best time. He knew all the good spots, was so knowledgeable & made an amazing lunch for us. The quality of the wine was so good we all had such a great time learning about it! Thank you again to Paul for making such a memorable trip for us!! read more

Just went on a day trip with 4 of my girlfriends for a bachelorette party this past weekend. I really can't say enough good things about the entire experience! I personally am not a big wine drinker and never have I done a real wine tasting...i would definitely do this again though. Thanks to Paul I truly enjoyed all parts of it, he was so informative and just made the whole day overall so perfect. Can't wait for the next one :) read more

This review is long overdue but everything about Paul and our winery tour was five-star! Paul was able to specifically customize the tour to our preferences and we loved all of our private tasting experiences! I would highly recommend planning your next winery tour with Paul. Not only does it make it a breeze to have someone handle all of the coordination but he has the right connections and a lot of knowledge about the area so you can rest assured that your experience will be amazing! read more

We have done a lot of wine tours before, but we have never had such an intimate experience with wine makers and growers, this tour with Paul was truly incredible! We visited two beautiful wineries and got to see the grapes growing in the vineyard, being juiced, fermented, and barreled, we learned so much and made some new friends! Highly recommend to anyone visiting Ojai. read more

Appellation Wine Tours - Drinking wine while walking through the vineyards - Wine Tours Near Me

Having worked in the wine biz for several years, I wanted a tailored inside look of Ojai and Santa Barbara wines on my first visit to the region. Paul delivered BIG time. In one day, we did three private tastings with three different winemakers. Of course, all the wines were exceptional. As a Somm and 20+ year industry professional, Paul knows all the movers and shakers within the region and he's very well connected. Book your wine tour with Paul and you will be happy you did--he really does set the bar. read more

Paul is YOUR MAN! He wowed us with his wine knowledge, kindness and Hospitality. From the second he picked us up in Buellton, to the bitter end of our tour. Most accommodating, especially with his provided meals on REAL dish settings. He was patient, engaging and very comfortable to Be with. Like an old friend. I highly encourage anyone and everyone to experience this private wine tour with Paul. Everything is handled. No driving to worry about, no meals to plan, no busy, crowded noisy tasting rooms to battle. RUN, DON'T walk! Book NOW! Thank you Paul for helping us make more great family memories. ~ CHEERS read more

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I was blown away by the incredible experience Paul provided for our group of eight. We were taken to three different wineries and had a great time tasting, touring the beautiful vineyards with owners and wine makers while also learning the history behind it all. Oh, and our private lunch. What a treat!! Paul was so kind, informative and very organized. No detail went unnoticed, from beginning to end. He clearly loves what he does and is GREAT at it. Thank you for taking care of us, Paul! read more

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We had a great tour with Appellation. Paul's knowledge and the private tastings made it an elevated experience. We had such a great day meeting the winemakers and learning about their processes. This is the best way to go wine tasting. Highly recommend! read more

We recently visited Ojai on a girls' weekend to celebrate a friend's upcoming wedding. We had the honor of spending an entire day with Paul of Appellation Wine Tours. Paul took us to 3 amazing wineries; each one better than the other. His knowledge of the area and the wines was amazing. He hand-picked the wine connoisseurs; which made our experience absolutely perfect. He prepared us a beautiful charcuterie platter as well as a delicious lunch. He took us to our dinner and patiently waited outside until we were done to drive us back to Ojai. Paul and the entire experience was a perfect 10. Thanks Paul!!! read more

Appellation Wine Tours - Beautiful Winery! - Wine Tours Near Me

Amazing tour in Santa Barbara wine county with Paul he provided a personalized experience going to private tastings at wineries we would have never visited or had access to on our own. Such a fun time! Paul is full of wine knowledge, extremely pleasant a truly world class host. (With a fantastic lunch) I cannot recommend him enough if you are interested in a sophisticated yet down to earth tasting experience! We will absolutely go again. read more

Four of us toured with Paul and it was so much fun! My husband and I are from the area and we were hosting visiting friends of ours. By the end of the day, we all had a blast and us locals had fallen in love with the area all over again. The wine was incredible, the lunch delicious, and the drive beautiful including back roads next to vineyards. Paul's day was so well-planned and catered to our group with so much great info along the way. And we fed goats Sauvignon Blanc grape leaves! Such a fun day. read more

If you are looking for the best wine tour experience in the Santa Barbara/Ojai/Santa Ynez area, your search has ended. Paul curates an absolutely spectacular afternoon which includes stops at some of the most interesting winemakers in the market today, as well as some of the most beautiful vineyards in the valley. He is able to perfectly adjust your itinerary to make your experience exactly what you want it to be. Our group consisted of 4 pretty novice wine drinkers, and he was able to make us feel perfectly comfortable at every stop. Having Paul there to help guide us in our journey was invaluable. At one stop we saw another similar group tour; however, it probably consisted of around 20 people, made up of various independent groups, and with just a quick glance you could tell their experience was nothing like ours, even if we were visiting the same vineyard. Trust me, book your trip with Paul, you will not regret it. 10/10 Thank you Paul!!! read more

Paul is absolutely the best tour guide/ expert in his field. We went on an exquisite tour of beautiful wineries in the Santa Ynez valley that were perfect for all of our pallets. Paul knew exactly how to accommodate all of us. We had a lovely lunch and he even helped us get dinner reservations 2 nights in a row at sold out trendy spots. I would book this over and over again and trust Paul to pick the wine and food every time! Thanks Paul!! read more

What an unexpected treat! We had a group in Ojai for the weekend celebrating a bachelorette and this was definitely a standout for the trip. I'm not even a *huge* wine drinker, and I found myself completely engrossed by the passion and knowledge both Paul and all the incredible people we met on our private tour shared with us. And the lunch was spectacular. Absolutely, 100% recommend if you're anywhere near Ojai and looking to spend an excellent day. read more

We had the best wine tour through the Santa Ynez Valley with Paul. He went above and beyond to customize the tour to our preferences and even sent us helpful tips on where to eat and stay in Santa Barbara. Each winery he selected had incredible hospitality. We learned so much and got to try many excellent wines. He was so knowledgeable and able to answer of all our questions. The lunch he served was delicious as well and customized to fit with our dietary restrictions. We were celebrating our honeymoon on this trip and it was our favorite part of our vacation. I cannot recommend Paul and the Appalachian Wine Tours enough!! read more

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Great day! Paul is awesome. Can't wait to go again! We stocked up on great wines & had an amazing lunch ;)

Paul is incredible. We were so lucky that we were able to book Paul's wine tour on short notice as he had a last minute cancellation. He called me and asked what my boyfriend and I's wine preferences were and planned an entire itinerary for us! The wineries he took us to were spectacular and we ended up becoming members at two of them. He also made us an incredible gourmet lunch that we were able to eat at a vineyard. He even went so far as to help us book dinner reservations at a restaurant in town that we were dying to go to but couldn't find a reservation at! I would give Paul 10 stars if I could. In addition to running a great business, he is an incredibly kind person and such a pleasure to be around. read more

We had a big group of 14 out to celebrate a milestone birthday. Paul took the groups' wine preferences into account when planning our tour and curated a great day including lunch at one of our stops. We tasted some great wine and found another reason to love this area. read more

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My husband and I spent a week in Ojai and chose Election Day to go wine tasting with Paul. It was a wonderful day, Paul is very knowledgeable about wine and certainly knows the Santa Ynez valley. He introduced us to some wonderful wine makers, fed us well and kept us entertained. Highly recommend spending a day with him. Karen read more

We have a family friend who is a wine snob visiting from New York. Paul at Appellation was referred to us for taking him on a cool wine tour of the Santa Barbara boutique wineries. After speaking to our friend, Paul planned a special itinerary for the day; he picked the four of us up at the Ritz Carlton and took us to some incredible wineries! We tasted barrel samples with a wine maker and toured the vineyards with another, she even showed us how to actually prune the vines! Our friends were super impressed with Paul! He also made us a gourmet lunch and reserved a private room at Melville to dine...amazing! I cannot say enough about the memorable day that we had! Thanks Paul read more

Paul was an amazing host and guide during our tour in early March. His knowledge of the area, the wines, and the wineries we visited was outstanding. He eloquently fielded all of our questions and pointed us in the right direction time and again. My wife Caitlin and I can't thank him enough for showing us a great time during our wedding anniversary weekend! He's also a pretty darn good iPhone photographer! read more

Appellation Wine Tours - Wine Tours Near Me

Thank you Paul for the best day of wine tasting! We had so much fun! We did a day of tasting with Paul and he set up 3 different tastings each of which were phenomenal experiences one on one w the winemakers. It was fascinating to learn their stories, get to know them and taste their wines. Some of the best wines we have ever had and we felt like VIPs all day. It was awesome to not have to plan the day ourselves. Highly highly recommend!! We can't wait to do another! read more

We had such a great day on our wine tour with Paul! He is so knowledgeable about wine and shared so much valuable insight from his diverse experience throughout his career as a sommelier. Paul is so knowledgeable and passionate about the Santa Ynez wine region and he uses his great relationships with winemakers across the region to plan a customized experience for each tour based on his guests' preferences. We will definitely recommend Paul to all of our friends and would love to do another tour in the future when we're back in the area! read more

Touring wineries with Paul was an amazing experience. He was a wealth of information about wine, wineries, and the winemakers themselves. Half the fun of the tour with the time in between wineries hearing him regale us with stories behind how certain wines came to be, what's unique about the Ojai region, and the inside scoop on who really makes good wine and who just has great marketing LOL. But it's clear that Paul has great rapport with the local winemakers in the region as we were greeted warmly at each location and afforded generous amounts of time with the winemakers themselves to talk about their craft and of course to sample their wares. He even prepared a thoughtful lunch for us which we enjoyed during one of the stops and had gone out of his way to find vegan choices for my wife. Come prepared with every question you ever had about wine and viniculture because this is your chance to have them answered in depth! I only hope that I have another chance to join Paul on another wine tour in the future. And soon. read more

Appellation Wine Tours is truly exceptional and one of the best private wine tours I have experienced. Paul is amazing!!! He not only brings a wealth of knowledge from his years in the wine business, but he was able to use our preferences to provide a tailored experience we all really loved. The Santa Ynez Valley vineyards (McKinney Family Vineyards, Peake Ranch, Section Wines) were all very unassuming and surpassed our expectations with each vineyard providing a unique experience catered specifically to our group. This tour was of a very high standard and quality, and I would recommend anyone visiting the Santa Ynez Valley or the Ojai Valley to choose Appellation Wine Tours! You will be more than pleased! read more

Did a wine tour/tasting with a group of girlfriends this past weekend and Paul was the best guide! Not only did he customize our tour and made sure we were having a great time throughout, you could tell that wine was his passion through his knowledge and expertise and he wanted everyone to understand why and enjoy the experience. 10/10! Highly recommend Appellation Wine Tours for anyone looking for an amazing tour in the area. Thanks Paul!!! read more

This was the best wine tasting experience ever! Paul was so knowledgeable on wine... I felt like I learned so much. I mean he is a certified sommelier :) The wineries he took us to were all different, but equally enjoyable. I highly recommend his private tours! read more

Paul is super friendly and dropped wine knowledge for like 7 hours straight, very passionate about his craft. I don't really even like wine (my family dragged me along) but this was a good time & the vineyards/wine people were awesome. Highly recommend read more

We've been wine tasting all over the map, from Napa to Sicily and Paul's tour is truly one of the best experiences to date. His attention to detail and deep knowledge translates seamlessly into a curated tour of fantastic vineyards and the passionate people behind the wine. We will certainly be returning on our next trip to the central coast and I cannot recommend Paul's Appellation Wine Tour enough! read more

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Will start off by saying I'm not much of a wine drinker. Wife is all about it though, and I have on occasion accompanied her to do tastings. This was hands down the most fun I've ever had doing tours/tastings. Paul's knowledge and enthusiasm is infectious. He truly creates an experience that's second to none. Would gladly be dragged to another day of tasting by the Mrs. as long as Paul is involved. read more

One of the best wine tours I have had. Paul was very knowledgeable and made the entire experience personal. I would recommend him to anyone.

We had an amazing day with Paul tasting wines at beautiful wineries. He served us a lovely lunch. His knowledge of the area and his relationships with the wineries were unbelievable! We will definitely book him again when we come back. If I could give him more than 5 stars, I would. read more

Our private wine tour with Paul was truly one of the most memorable days of my life. He curated the perfect mix of tasting experiences in Santa Barbara and ojai, we were blown away each step of the way. Paul is so knowledgeable and passionate- and has incredible connections in the wine industry. Can't recommend enough. read more

What an experience! My husband and I have been wine tasting many times before but the upscale tasting trip that Paul provides is unparalleled. We were able to talk with him before the tour about our favorite varietals of wine and he personalized our experience to suit our tastes. He facilitated private tastings with the actual wine makers of wineries which was amazing. The knowledge of the wineries and the wines themselves that Paul has as a sommelier was wonderful and made such a difference in the heightened enjoyment of each tasting. I would highly recommend taking a tour with Appellation Wine Tours when visiting the Santa Barbara or Ojai area, you won't regret it! read more

I recently went on a tour with some girlfriends and to say we were impressed is an understatement! Paul's tour was incredibly thoughtful and informative. We were especially appreciative of the lengths he took to make it a safe and comfortable day. There are so many fabulous wineries in the area, so it was such a treat to have an expert curate and showcase the best wines the Santa Inez Valley has to offer. I would highly recommend Appellation Wine Tours! read more

Had an absolutely amazing experience with Paul on our first wine tasting visit in Santa Barbara. We booked our vacation last minute and the traditional wine tours we found online were sold out. This was a blessing in disguise for us! We came across Paul's website and I noticed he had an opening while we were in town. I texted him at 10pm at night in a panic wanting to book that open spot. He responded quickly and let me know he could take my husband and I out. From there we got an email questionnaire that helped Paul plan our day. Paul showed up on time, was professional, knowledgeable, fun, and took us to wineries we wouldn't have been too on the big tours! We had a table set up for us at every winery, got to meet one of the wine makers, and had beautiful scenery throughout. We had an incredible lunch and drank delicious wines. We joined a wine club, purchased bottles, and had the best day! We are recommending Appellation Wine Tours to anyone visiting the Santa Barbara area and wanting an unforgettable wine tasting experience. We can't wait to visit Paul again. Jason and Lia read more

Paul is fantastic. He created a really special day for my wife and my parents with a number of private tastings where his relationships with the vintners really shine through. He had a great plan for lunch too which was incredibly unique. It was also great spending the whole day with him, and we were sad when it was over. Can't recommend highly enough. Thank you Paul! read more

I've now had the pleasure of taking two separate Appellation Wine Tours, once with family and more recently with a group of girlfriends. Both experiences were completely unique, informative, and most importantly full of delicious wine! I can't wait for another tour with Paul - given his knowledge of the area and relationships with so many fabulous wineries, I can only imagine it will again exceed all expectations. As someone who generally gets stressed out by planning, I love that Paul takes care of it all - much better than I could. Thanks Paul for showing me and my friends such a great time and can't wait for round 3! read more

We were recently in Ojai for a girls weekend and wanted to enjoy some wine tasting. We booked Paul and from beginning to end he exceeded our expectations. And while most people might say that with nary a thought, I truly mean it. This group of ladies can be a bit fussy and Paul pleased everyone. First of all, Paul is very well traveled and his command of the English language is an art. He humbly shared with us his experience in Michelin-star restaurants and his accreditation as a sommelier all with the ease someone may mention, "I went to UC San Diego". My point here being, Paul made us feel extremely comfortable while imparting knowledge of viticulture, cuisine and history of the areas we were visiting. Additionally, the wineries he chose for us were perfect for our tastes and level of sophistication and the hosts that met us at these establishments were equally as pleasing. If you are visiting the Santa Barbara or Ojai area I strongly suggest that you not call anyone but Paul at Appellation Wine Tours! And if you stop by Section Wines say "Hi" to winemaker Marco for us! Ciao! read more