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    Vara Winery & Distillery

    4.7 (31 reviews)
    Closed 3:00 pm - 9:00 PM

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    Interior
    Lori A.

    A beautiful wine bar with fantastic service. Their wines are amazing and our server made us feel special. I love the atmosphere and the lighting inside.

    Ben L.

    Four of us stopped in to sample the wine and have a bite. What a pleasure it was. The gentleman who served us was informative and pleasant, the wine was enjoyable as was the food and atmosphere. We purchased a couple of bottles of their brut (highly recommended) and we look forward to returning at a later time.

    Gin spin on the margarita. Very tasty.

    Super friendly staff, great cocktails and wine, nice ambiance. The pomme frites also were very tasty with an amazing sauce.

    Su-chun H.

    Checked out Vara Winery & Distillery after day of admiring art work at the Santa Fe Indian market. We were greeted warmly by Alex who took great care of us throughout our visit. Couldn't decide what we would like to try so we were offered several tasters before committing to our final selection. Vara carries wines made in New Mexico as well as Spain. We didn't try the distilled spirit on this try. After trying the NM sparkling brut, albarino, gadello and zingara, we decided to enjoy a bottle of sparkling brut. Once we settled on our taste of the afternoon, the crowd from other Indian market started came into the tasting room. Luckily for us, we already scored great seating location and drink in hand. There's a great tapas menu in case you want to nosh on something with your beverage. We already had something to eat previously so didn't try the food selection. Overall we really enjoyed our afternoon at Vara and would come back again next time we're in the area.

    Marcona almonds, served with honey and a spoon, along with a red wine flight
    Dan D.

    A pelting Saturday evening rain forced me into Vara Vinoteca, where I went to end the night in Santa Fe before scurrying back to my close-by hotel. Vara sells its own wines here, which its website says come from grapes grown in New Mexico and in Spain. So I tried the red wine flight, which goes Grenache, Carignane, Tempranillo, and then a better Grenache to finish. The first Grenache had no fruit and hardly any tannin, for a borderline harsh mouthfeel - I wouldn't even serve it if I were them. There was a bit more to the 2nd and 3rd selections, and fortunately the final Grenache was actually a wine with a bit of complexity. Not everything has to be a California wine. But what I can't understand are the marcona almonds I ordered, which were so sticky with dried honey that they were served with a spoon so as not to get on my hands. On top of that, they were stale. Can I trouble you for some freshness when I eat out? Why not just drizzle on the warm honey right before serving? I'm also concerned by the spirits selection where one name, Taylor Garrett, supplies more than half the menu. Surely you could add some variety here, for someone who knows what they're ordering? The people behind the bar look and talk like they're in their early 20's. Basically, I think Vara is at best a place to pregame at. Try something else first.

    Interior room
    Leah h.

    Great wine tasting room in downtown Santa Fe. Everything closes early on Sunday and this was open until 9pm. Great wine and small bites to select from. This place has great ambiance and is also reasonably priced.

    LaLa G.

    Stopped in while I was in town for business, and so glad I did. It was on a Friday early afternoon around 2:30pm, I was the only one in for a while then some more people trickled in. I was glad to enjoy the place all to myself for a while and get some fun pics. The location is fabulous, walking distance to The Lensic and the plaza. My server was Ashley and she was absolutely personable and vivacious! We hit it off immediately and she made the experience extra special. The interior design and layout of seating is so nice! The food, drinks, and cocktails are delicious and memorable. I had the STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS, they had whipped artisanal goat cheese, arugula, and Spanish sherry dressing. I also had the GAMBAS PICSNTES, which is grilled shrimp, roasted tomato salsa, sweet bell pepper salsa, on grilled bread. I enjoyed a delicious glass of Tempranillo... my fav red wine! Everything was phenomenal! I'll definitely be back!

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    2 months ago

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    5 months ago

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    5 months ago

    Lovely selections of wine with cocktail and mocktail options! Very enjoyable and knowledgeable server. Sweet environment as well.

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    1 year ago

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    9 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Service and ambiance was nice. The staff was very friendly and the wines and tapas were tasty!

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    LOVE this wine bar! Great service, nice selection of tapas, and delicious wines. What more could you ask for!

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    4 years ago

    Great place to gather with friends. Great wine, cocktails and tapas. Wonderful staff.

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    3 years ago

    Wonderful drinks and great tapas! The chef, bartender and waitstaff are extremely helpful and friendly. Love this place.

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    4 years ago

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    Sarah B.

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    Ask the Community - Vara Winery & Distillery

    I know the Albuquerque one is, but is the Santa Fe location pet friendly as well?

    There's a large patio, and I would for sure think it would be pet friendly, but I don't know for sure.

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    Review Highlights - Vara Winery & Distillery

    After trying the NM sparkling brut, albarino, gadello and zingara, we decided to enjoy a bottle of sparkling brut.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    Hervé - Hervé Board

    Hervé

    4.4(457 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $$
    Family-owned & operated
    Casual dining

    WOW. Wine here is AWESOMENESS!…read more Yelp friends ... Armando Rosales is the friendliest bartender I've met in a long while He's from Espanola so he's super down to Earth ! (Future manager I think) He let me sample some great wines 1) Signature Canyon Five ~ fruity. Unique 2) Heritage Cabernet Sauvignon ~ AMAZING ! I ordered number 2 to pair with my (incredible) FRENCH ONION SOUP If you have that on your menu I have to try it but this was truly exceptional ! Following that I had the New York Strip. Medium rare. GREAT but I did ask for a side of Green Chile. And Garlic Aioli for the potatoes Nicely cooked but I added some salt and chile to make it pop my taste buds. YES. I would order it again the same way The Pork Chop looked great as well Desert was also very good. Truffles and Port wine ...I love Port wine (Spicy chocolate truffles with lovely RED CHILE in them) I think I'd give these guys 6 stars of if I could because Armando was so cool toward me !

    During our recent stay in Santa Fe, we had dinner here twice. For me, the main attraction was the…read morewine tasting, but being able to have dinner there was a bonus. Our first visit was on a Monday night, and our server was fantastic. Forgive me for not remembering her name. I should have saved the receipt. As starters we ordered the bacon wrapped dates and the bruschetta. They allow you to choose four different toppings for each piece of bruschetta which is really nice because all the toppings sound so good. To drink, I had the minimal intervention wine flight, and my husband had the hatch green chili margarita. I enjoyed my flight, especially the Chenin Blanc, but can't lie, I was a little envious when my husband's margarita arrived! The bacon wrapped dates were tasty per usual, but the bruschetta was outstanding! We did not finish the bruschetta because we also had an entree coming, the Pasta New Mexico. It was everything you want pasta to be with a good kick from the hatch chili and red pepper flakes. We left fat and happy! Later that same week we came back on a Friday night, and it was hopping. It looked like there were two major big parties happening which initially concerned us that we might not make it out on time for our event that evening. However, we believe our server got our order to the kitchen before putting in the big one! Yay! And our order was the same as Monday night because we enjoyed it so much. The only thing different was my drink. I got that hatch green chili margarita, and it was super refreshing! Our food came out of the kitchen at a decent time, but we did notice that the bread on the bruschetta lacked the toasted/grilled texture that it had on our first visit. Maybe the kitchen pushed it out too fast or there was a different chef that night. It was still edible but not outstanding like it was the first time. Like most places, it is slower at the beginning of the week and very busy come the weekend which likely affects the quality of what you get. But overall, I think it's a solid place to drink/dine. If I get the chance to visit this city again, I will definitely come back.

    Photos
    Hervé - Bruschetta

    Bruschetta

    Hervé - Bacon-Wrapped Dates

    Bacon-Wrapped Dates

    Hervé - Hervé Board

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    Santa Fe Olive Oil & Balsamic - Tasting Room

    Santa Fe Olive Oil & Balsamic

    4.1(39 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $$

    I was in Santa Fe for a field trip day of work. Once u parked, I was heading to my destination…read more But..since I had time and my eyes happened to catch their signs re: olive oil and home made ice cream..I figured I'd delay my work a bit and check this place out...and I was so glad I did! I ended up spending time browsing their high quality merchandises including some spices, balsamic vinegar and..olive oils. Man...there were so many things to sample and flavors...and I only tried a few of each that intrigued me. I got so into it that u even left my cell phone there (until someone announced out loud whose cell phone was this?!?!..oops). Anyways, I got their brochure home so I could plan on ordering and getting some items delivered for some of my friends and myself for sure...just need to decide what I wanted because there were so many things go choose from! Furthermore, what was so refreshing was their ice cream! The ice cresms were Henry's homemade ice cream (from El Paso i think) and there were so many interesting toppings ti choose from. My gluttony eyes and stomach ..after trying some samples, opted for a double scoops (because..just a single scoop wouldn't do justice to yummy treats!) of pistachio and coconut ice cream, with toppings of pomegranate dark balsamic and red chile honey. After finishing ice cream, which I totally devoured..I realized..sang u forgot to even ask for an evoo topping! Well, maybe next time I'm there! Check this place out! There are so many things check out and sample. The staff were nice and helpful. I think you can easily spend 30-45 min there browsing at the store. For me, I ended up being 45 min later than my original thought of meeting time..because I go so caught up spending time at this store checking out and trying their products!

    Fantastic store with a great selection of oils and balsamics among other fun foods, and even ice…read morecream. All of the oils and balsamics were lined up and ready to be sampled. I tried a few of each, and ended up getting a small bottle of the grilled lemon and rosé balsamics. They had some very New Mexico flavors with different chilies, and some other unique ones that I haven't seen at other oil shops. Aside from the balsamics and oils they had dried beans, olives, jams, seasonings, and spices. Customer service was very friendly and helpful, and they offer to ship out of state for visitors.

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    Santa Fe Olive Oil & Balsamic
    Santa Fe Olive Oil & Balsamic
    Santa Fe Olive Oil & Balsamic - Sign out front

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    Sign out front

    Santa Fe School of Cooking - Mary taste testing our tortilla soup.

    Santa Fe School of Cooking

    4.5(109 reviews)
    0.1 mi

    We had a blast! We signed up for this class knowing we would be in town for a couple of days. It…read morewas hands on and is definitely something we will always remember! The class size was just right, enough people to make it fun and social, but still small enough that everyone got involved. Chef Mica kicked things off by giving us an overview of the history of the area, its chile traditions, and the differences between the peppers we'd be working with and seeing around the city. That context added so much depth to the cooking, it wasn't just a class, it was a cultural experience. Each of us prepared a different type of relleno, and then at the end we all sat down and shared the full spread together buffet style. It was such a fun way to learn, connect, and taste a variety of chiles without spending hours cooking everything on your own. It was well organized, engaging, and easy to follow. My anxiety did kick in once I realized other people would also be eating what I made, but we made it through and I loved what I got, the jalapeno poppers. You can feel the passion in what the chef does and everything ran very smoothly even though we were the last done lol Come hungry and ready to learn! We walked away with some new skills, a deeper knowledge of peppers, and some great recipes we can't wait to try at home. This truly will be memorable for us!

    We took a cooking class here and it was good. Not great but good…read more They have a very well put together kitchen for classes and the instructor has a long list of credentials. Our class was on salsa sauces with different peppers and home made tacos. The class started with the chef walking us through the printed recipes and what was wrong with them. (Maybe redo these with correct recipes? And then go right to cooking and teaching?) Then we all chopped and cooked. At the end we got to taste everybody's products.

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    Santa Fe School of Cooking
    Santa Fe School of Cooking - Introductions

    Introductions

    Santa Fe School of Cooking

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    Vara Winery & Distillery - winetastingroom - Updated September 2026

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