First off, the drive around Foxen Canyon is gorgeous! Clear blue skies, green hills and grapevines abound. This was one of my favorites on our weekend getaway. We started out at 7200 and opted for the 3x2 tasting. Were also offered the dessert wine, as well as some Foxen temporary tats. Our pourer recommended we ask for "the watermelon" at the newer tasting center. The new center is pretty impressive. I didn't realize that it's solar-powered. I'm not a fan of chardonnays, but their steel-cut chardonnay was one of the better whites we had on our tour. The watermelon turned out to be my favorite though, very clean and fruity flavor. We apparently picked up our bottle from one of the last cases left. Score! Oh and the glass they give you is a Riedel glass. Double score! read more

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For my 100th review I thought I would review my beloved Foxen Canyon Wine Trail. If I had to venture a guess I would say I have gone wine tasting along this road about 15 times. I generally go 3-4 times a year, its my mini vacation of choice, I can make it there for the day from LA in about 2-3 hours depending on which end I start at. I generally start at the northernmost end outside of Santa Maria. You can check my other reviews for specifics on points along the trail worth visiting but a few of the highlights that keep bringing me back are the down to earth people and their approachable take on wine and wine making. It is a beautiful setting with romantic winding roads and amazing views. The region in general produces excellent Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. At the southern end of the wine trail is the quaint town of Los Olivos, full of wine tasting rooms, antique shops, art galleries, and decent restaurants, all worth checking out. While there are other good wineries in the area not on the trail, the setting and the consistency of the tasting in this area set it apart. read more

This is a fun wine tour and always changing. We are fans of the "Foxen " wineries.One must to go to two locations to have the Foxen experience. We have been tasting at the original shack forever, it seems. The wine is the best you will find. it doesn't get any better. The staff is laid back and knowledgeable. There is usually a dog here. You are welcome to bring your own. The new fancy wine tasting room is down the street. Hip, slick and cool. read more

I love the shack! We usually picnic there and sharing is caring on the wine trail. The scenery and the wine and the great company are beyond expectation. Transport yourself to another world, relax, enjoy yourself and take it all in! You can now go up the trail to the tasting room as well. I like the shack it's more laid back and Moselle is there, very knowledgeable and helpful with any questions about the wines you may have. read more

Foxen Canyon Wine Trail - Perfection - Wineries Near Me

This was our first out of five stops doing a whine tour through Santa Barbara. It was one of the favorite due to it's authentically crude tasting area and it's delicious wine. And they gave us a tasting of their dessert wine which isn't technically on their tasting list. I would highly recommend asking for that one cause it was the best. The staff was very friendly and helpful but the prices were a little high. read more

Foxen Canyon Wine Trail - Don't accidently pass it. - Wineries Near Me

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Love this place and the red wine. It's literally a shack but they have THE best reds, in my humble opinion, in the area.

My review may be biased because I grew up in Northern California wine country. I've been to various wineries in Napa Valley, Sonoma and Amador counties, and of course, my hometown of Lodi. I've lived in Ventura County for 3 years and had yet venture out to the Santa Ynez Valley. So, my friend and I decided to do our own little Sideways tour yesterday. Yeah, we're a few years behind on this trend, but we were determined to recapture all of our favorite parts (especially having a naked guy chase us down a street). We actually started in Oxnard when I picked her up at the Amtrak station- and if you are wondering; don't ever, ever take the Amtrak from Sacramento to Oxnard. She was on the train with crazies and freaks for 13 hours! I digress. Our first stop was Firestone. I was pretty impressed with the grounds and tasting room. For $10 we tasted: 2006 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, 2006 Chardonnay Reserve, 2006 Gewurztraminer, 2004 Syrah Clone 877 vs. Estrella, 2003 Merlot Reserve, and a 2003 Vintage Reserve. I then asked to try the 2005 Syrah Estate and the 2003 The Ambassador. By far, my favorite was The Ambassador ($60). After this, the lady washed my glass out and wrapped it up. I guess 9 is the limit, but I thought the way she did it was very presumptuous. So, I decided not to make the purchases I had planned. There's complimentary pretzel sticks with various dipping sauces and oils. At only $6.50, I recommend buying your favorite because the only other winery that has similar dips is Curtis Winery and it is more expensive there. Firestone's website states that you get a complimentary tasting at Curtis Winery with the purchase of a Firestone tasting. This is not true. I was told that they are now two separate wineries, so that is no longer valid. So, we had to dish out another $10. The staff was not very welcoming and it seemed like they only wanted our money. The guy gave us a 15% discount off our bottle, so I purchased a 2004 Mourvedre ($22). I also bought a bread dipping oil ($18) that was amazing and a caramel brandy sauce ($10). If I could do it again, I would have also bought the Mocha Syrah Chocolate sauce. Zaca Mesa was the third winery on our trip, so we were a little tipsy by the time we reached it. We were also craving some snacks to go with our wine. Unfortunately for us, Zaca Mesa must be a strong believer in not mixing food with drink because there was no complimentary food. The spreads and chutneys looked delicious, but I didn't feel comfortable investing $13 for something that may turn out to be gross. We had to wait in a long line to pay the $10 fee and to get our glasses. So many people did not take their glasses with them b/c it looks like a plain glass, but Zaca Mesa is printed on the base. Then we faced the battle of actually getting to the wine. The popularity of this winery is obvious- it was packed. We got our wine and backed away from the masses. We noticed some people lay out some cheese and nuts that they purchased in the box set ($10). There was no way we were going to pay $10 for the tiny portions. My friend's mouth was salivating for the cheese. She was fixated on the cheese. It was as if her irises were screaming, "Must have cheese." After finishing the tasting, we walked out to play with the "life-size" chess board. Sitting there in all its glory was a huge hunk of salami and some cheese. These were the remnants of an abandoned picnic, left for us to devour? Yes, I know it was desperate and disgusting, but we hadn't eaten all day and needed food. My friend grabbed the salami and tore off a chunk. It literally was the best salami I've ever had. Maybe because it was free and we were hungry, but it hit the spot. What you need to get out of this long story is: stop at the Los Olivos market and stock up on food! I read it from other yelpers, but did not take that advice. Next time, I will! Our next stop was Fess Parker. We arrived there about 45 minutes before closing (at 5pm). There was more staff than customers, so we had plenty of space and time to enjoy our wine ($7 tasting). There's a cozy area to sit near a fireplace and the log cabin dcor provides a nostalgic experience. The guy serving us had little sense of humor and was your typical wine snob. The grounds are vast and beautifully lined with rose bushes. At all of the wineries, I felt rushed. I felt like I was just another cattle in the herd. And unlike in Northern California, the only food offerings were pretzels at Firestone and Curtis; whereas Zaca Mesa and Fess Parker offered nothing. Go to Napa, Amador county or Lodi, you get bread, cheese, olives, etc. for free. On top of that, the $7 to $10 fees were somewhat outrageous for what you got. Nevertheless, I definitely want to go back to visit the wineries we didn't have time for. read more

This place is absolutely amazing. You can find here everything that you would like for a place: amazing service, good info about the wines, excellent and unique wines. read more

I'm already a huge fan of this wine trail, and I've only been one time! And one time down this trail can never be enough, since there are so many amazing wineries on this trail. So we picked three wineries for our sideways adventure, we started off at Firestone. We were pretty impressed with the vineyard grounds and tasting room here. It was nice and cool inside which is exactly what we needed for some relaxing wine tasting with the 100+ degree temperature outside! The wines were nothing I can remember being amazingly great. We then checked into Fess Parker, we probably were really enjoying ourselves by the time we got here judging from our pictures -- not to mention this winery was the most gorgeous estate surrounded by green hills and grapevines. The parking lot was out in the dirt, unpaved road. And we were feeling even hotter now. The tasting room/shop is kinda combined here, but we got the tasting here for 8 different wines. One of my friends, skipped all 4 reds and went straight to the whites because she wanted to cool off with a chilled glass of white wine. And to compensate for skipping the reds -- the server gave her a full, generous pour of the white wine she liked! How awesome was that :D We definitely had to keep our glasses here as souveniers! Zaca Mesa was the third winery we stopped at, and we were a little tipsy by the time we reached it. And super toasted from the heat outside! So my friend and I walked into the tasting room here past the picnic area, which was very nice all with a huge chess playing floor. And we told the server lady, we wanted something super chilled and a little sweet, but not too sweet. Long story short, we managed to practically get a free tasting of all the sweet rose wines on their list. I want to add the staff here was so helpful and generous, we were really pleased with the inviting service. We finally decided on the Z Gris a Dry Rose Wine. And it perfectly hit the spot! We were also craving some snacks to go with our wine. So we pulled out some cheese and crackers we had picked up from Safeway on the drive down -- which came in totally handy. My friends bought a box of amazing chocolate truffles they were sampling in the tasting room.....and it was the perfect finish to an amazing wine tasting trip! Can't wait to be back to cover the rest of the Foxen Trail! read more

Good wines. We liked the outdoor tasting room best. There are two different rooms, about 100 yards from each other. The pajarito red was delicious. read more

I have traveled this trail twice and cannot wait to get back to it later this year. I have visited the area for several days now, and have enjoyed the experience immensely. Each time I went on a weekday and I had nothing but exceptional and cordial treatment at every place along the way. The terrain is glorious; the misted hills beautiful to look at; and the wine delicious. Among the highlights: tasting sangiovese with some delicious food at Tres Hermanas; Kenneth Volk, where we had the pleasure of being the only ones there; staff person offered three additional wines that were not on the usual tasting list. At Fess Parker, a simply beautiful place, we not only liked the wine, but the server suggested we call Demetria and make an appointment to sample their wines. This was a special treat, imagine an Italian villa dropped among the vineyards and the wines were pretty amazing. If you happen to get there when Au Bon Climant and Qupe are open, the place is a "must stop"; the wines are spectacular! My local wine bar serves the ABC chardonnay, which I have enjoyed many times now. We stayed in Solvang, which is cute and near by; the Los Olivos spas look elegant yet are out of our price range. Dining in Los Olivos was terrific; each place we went was nothing short of a treat! Go, go, go!!! read more