The wine staff was adequate. The wine was subpar. This place has a lot of "deals" on wine, by the case and by the bottle. To me this usually means the wine doesn't sell that well. By the way most wines here have a rating on the menu. Most wines are rated in the 90's. The owner is the one rating the wine. read more

Blackjack Ranch is a must stop! I immediately felt right at home upon entering the tasting room. Make sure you take the time to slow down and take everything in. Whether it's old bowling lanes turned into a counter for the bar, the showcasing of the original seats from Wrigley Field, stills featuring this Winery from the movie Sideways, or even the cork trees out front, do not blow past Blackjack Ranch. You can tell that there's something a little extra and special about the wine. I'm a Merlot fan, and the Billy Goat is among the best, if not the best I have ever had...trust me. Not to mention both Asta and Allison working in the tasting room were amazing and an absolute hoot! This place was too much fun, and a breath of fresh air from some of the other stuffy wineries around (you know which ones I'm speaking of). Blackjack Ranch absolutely needs to be one of your stops, no doubt about it. read more

Went to a dinner party the other night. We brought a 2006 Blackjack Ranch Harmonie and another couple brought a 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon from The Vineyard House -- a much more expensive wine. We were amazed how similar they were. We all taste tested both and no one could tell they were two different wines -- even the "wine guy" who has a large collection and owns part of a vineyard in France! read more

Man, I'm usually not a basher, but I'm blown away by some of the negative comments about Blackjack (mostly because they are naive or just flat out wrong). I'd never try to tell somebody they are "wrong" and the wines are wonderful and they just don't get it, blah, blah. There is no accounting for taste, and everybody is different. If you don't like their wines, fine! However, I've been going to Blackjack for about 10 years now, just infrequently enough that they don't remember me and give me VIP or "friend" treatment, and despite that, every single time we've been there, they have been kind and sincere, even when quite busy as usual (mostly because of their substantial reputation and the quality of their wine, hmmm...). Everybody has a bad day now and then, and maybe some of the reviews below (especially at the end of July) were on those days, but this is one of the friendliest places in the valley in our opinion. The other thing that annoys me is people saying the wines are overpriced. They simply are not! The extremely high-quality process (low yields, type of farming, types of barrels, etc) used by the owner costs lots of money, and I would guess that his profit margins are actually pretty small. I'm sure they do alright, but this isn't like some of the other wineries out there that charge outrageous prices based on nothing but hype and supply and demand - not because the production costs are actually taken into account and then adjusted for a return on investment. So, the wines aren't your style? Fine. You wouldn't pay $50 for an amazing Bordeaux blend that would probably sell for $200 in Napa? Fine. You don't want to spend $25 on a high-quality Chardonnay because you don't think it tastes good? Fine. But saying they are overpriced just isn't fair. On to their "proprietary rating system" that a couple people mentioned. Robert Parker is arguably the #1 wine reviewer in the entire world. INSTEAD OF making up their own ratings, Blackjack uses Mr. Parker's ratings. People might not like his tastes, or disagree with his ratings or whatever, but you can't really blame Blackjack for quoting him. Most wineries in the world would give almost anything for a 90 point score from him, much less some of the scores that Blackjack has gotten. Finally, as a 20+ year student of marketing, I see nothing wrong with Blackjack promoting themselves and calling attention to Sideways. The owner of Blackjack is independently wealthy, so he isn't selling his soul through Sideways to try to make a fortune through his winery. Is he promoting his winery to get more attention so that he can make more and more wine and continue to do something he is madly passionate about? Absolutely. Is he doing what he can to raise consumer consciousness about Santa Barbara County wines and help get the region more attention and respect? Absolutely. There is nothing wrong with sitting back and hoping that the rest of the world will talk about you and "make you famous." But there is also nothing wrong with promoting yourself - in MY opinion. Opinion is opinion, but I hope that other people reading these reviews in the future don't take all the facts in some of the other reviews as gospel - they'd be missing out on a pretty great place - in MY opinion. read more

Although I am writing this close to 10 years after my visit, this winery has etched a place in my memory as "the worst ever, winery experience". I have been working as a sommelier for over a decade and have had few experiences as bad as the one at this place. I only gave 1 star because there isnt a "Zero star" option. I remember being so excited to check out the wines. It was quite busy, so I patiently waited for around 20 minutes until there was a break in the line that allowed me to walk up to the person working the tasting bar. As I presented my business card they immediately responded with "Were not interested in selling to anyone else and we dont offer complimentary trade tasting ". Then they quickly walked away, without even giving me the opportunity to pay for the tasting! Even if they are doing so well as to "not need to sell to anyone new" , how much sense does it make to the brand to prevent wine professionals from future promotion ? Never had such poor hospitality at any other winery from the area, and I have traveled here just to visit winery's several times. I hope they have improved their customer service since then. With so many other excellent options in the area I would recommend trying someplace else. You will find excellent wine and outstanding hospitality at some of the others, such as : Cargasacchi/Loring, Zaca Mesa, Melville, Samsara, Babcock, Beckman and Daniel Gehrs (great port style). Hope this helps read more

The women that worked there were great! However after the wine tasting I was offered a taste of last years Chardonnay. Tasted good. I bought a case of it at discount of course. When I got home... every single bottle from case was bad! Obviously not the same thing I had tried there. Each bottle smelled of vinegar horribly :( read more

the wines are FANTASTIC.... AND so it the service .... love the girls pouring.... I always come by when I'm in town... there wines are absolutely delicious... they always pour older wines with the new ones so I can compare... the staff is very knowledgable about the entire wine making process read more

i have been a wine club member for approx. 15 years.the wine is outstanding. allison and asta are the best winery hosts i have encountered.they are very knowledgeable and very friendly. read more

High quality wines every one. Generous tasting. Recomend to everyone visiting the area

Came here spontaneously, had my ID scanned and then investigated further along with asking when my birthday was. The staff was alright, one older lady was a bit standoff-ish and treated me a bit condescending. The wine did not excite me nor did the atmosphere. Will not be back. read more

My friend and I recently visited Blackjack on a rainy Sunday morning at 11am. We were the first to arrive and were immediately greeted by Asta, who could not have been sweeter! She started us off on our tasting (which is affordable, good pours, and 10 different wines!). We discussed the different wines, history of the ranch, and of course Sideways. In the end, we left with bottles of the Double-Down Syrah, Harmonie, and a Chardonnay. We will definitely be back. read more

We wanted to stop at this tasting room because the vineyards were so beautiful, and we'd seen them in the movie Sideways. We got there and the tasting room was quite large, but there were plenty of people to help with all the tastings. As soon as we got there we were offered only a 10 tasting flight (more than we'd wanted). We later overheard another woman offer a couple a smaller tasting that we weren't aware of. Our group of 3 didn't find more a few wines that were decent. I disliked all of the wines tasted, and thought they were all extremely overpriced. The customer service might have been worse than the wines. The lady helping us, wrote us off as people who weren't important enough to talk to other than when introducing the wines by name. She paid attention to other groups in engaging in conversations and left us in the corner. It was a dissatisfying wine tasting experience that we couldn't wait to leave. We asked about the wine boxes that were displayed and were helped by another woman who was very abrupt and rude in her response. We will definitely not be visiting this tasting room again or be recommending it to anyone who asks. read more

Enjoyed our tasting, as usual, at this boutique winery. The "A" Team of Asta and Allison were terrific and know their wines and great customer service. Don't skip this tasting rom to go to a bigger name - the wines here are spectacular! read more

Staff was very friendly. We are lightweights and were already buzzed from earlier wine tasting and told them we just wanted to pick up a few bottles of Rose and Chardonnay. They provided us the bottles that we wanted and were not snooty about it. As a non expert who doesn't need all the pretentious wine schmoozing, we really appreciated the service and advice. read more

Had a bottle of the 2002 Harmonie in NYC a few weeks ago before vacationing in California. I sought out the vineyard while spending an afternoon diversion in Solvang with wife and kids on our drive north to SF. We received a warm gracious welcome during the tasting. When I told them I had just had my first bottle last week in NYC, they were shocked as apparently the case production for that vintage was minimal. The tastings were generous with many second pours. I left with two bottles in hand and a case ordered for delivery. I understand the owner wants the publicity, but I could have done without all the reminders of the movies and FOX NEWS stories his vineyard has been in. The wine is quality and worth seeking out in a very easy to find location, you will not be disappointed. read more

AWFUL!! The WORST customer service in the valley! We are locals & industry who were interested in their winery because we wanted to try something new, but we couldn't have been treated worse! Aren't we the crowd you should most impress? Extremely rude right off the bat and made us feel very unwelcome. Do not let Sideways pitch fool you!! We should've known. Stick to the yummy wines, personable, knowledgeable, welcoming & friendly staff and all things good about our wine country! Pass on Blackjack. read more

Beautiful grounds and atmosphere! Tasting was okay, small glasses which when tasting Merlots and bigger wines always tastes better out of the bigger glass but they do pride themselves on the their glasses cause of the movie "Sideways" where their glasses got a little TV time. Overall a peaceful stop with the grounds, wine okay and left with a good feeling. read more

I wanted you to know how much we enjoyed our visit to your tasting room. My friend Nicole and I stopped by during our California wine trip and found your winery to be the highlight of the new wineries we visited. I don't remember the name of the woman who did our tasting, she was tall, informed and loaded with personality. We left with a case and some loose bottles. After I figure which wine clubs I will move on from, i will be in touch to add your. Thanks to all your employees who made our visit very enjoyable. read more

The loveliest detour you'll ever take! Cheesecake wine (literally smells like cheesecake), the hostess and regulars are the most lively, genuine and charismatic people you'll ever want to meet, a featured winery in the movie Sideways - very cool, and the Maximus Merlot is the perfect ending to the perfect wine tasting experience. We came in feeling like strangers and left feeling like family. Some of the best wine, conversation and people you'll find off the 101 fwy. Highly recommend this place. read more

Although the wine was very good, the experience was pretty bad. They must have a big buyer in because I was the only other person in their and they couldn't afford the time to spend any with me. I really did enjoy the wines but I didn't want to buy anything before I left, I was just happy to free them of me as a burden, and buy a bottle of overpriced wine elsewhere. read more

I have to say that I felt the wines were OK..but the atmosphere of the place was a bit cold. The staff basically poured that was it. No real interaction with those in the tasting room..It is all about a connection when it comes to wines..and the experience of tasting. This one is now on the list to pass by. read more