Santa Ynez Valley Tour: Wine and Cupcake Tasting
4.4
25 Ratings
Santa Barbara
Indulge in a Santa Ynez Valley wine tour with a twist - cupcake tasting! Explore three top wineries, enjoy a deli-style lunch, and learn about the region's history and wine production.
Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Santa Ynez Valley - Explore the stunning vineyards and quaint towns of the Santa Ynez Valley while our guide shares some of the history and wine production secrets of the valley. We will visit three full production wineries and lunch will be enjoyed amidst the vineyards.

We spend about an hour at each winery and allow approximately an hour for lunch at one of those stops.

We have a few “local favorites” that we may visit on this tour, with great reviews from our clients and guides. You can read more about our partner wineries on our website.
~Andrew Murray Vineyards
~Beckmen Vineyard
~Brander Vineyard
~Dragonette (Tasting Room)
~Epiphany Cellars (Tasting Room)
~Firestone Vineyard
~Four Brother Wine Co (Tasting Room)
~Gainey Winery
~Kalyra Winery
~Koehler Winery
~Lincourt Vineyards
~Rideau Vineyard
~Roblar Winery
~Saarloos and Sons (Tasting Room)
~Story of Soil
~Sunstone Winery
~Vincent Vineyards

What's Included
  • Inclusive of all taxes
  • Complimentary snacks
  • Bottled water provided
  • Wine tasting fees covered at 3 wineries
  • Lunch included
What's Not Included
  • Gratuity
Additional Information

This wine excursion entails a pleasurable array of cupcakes from a neighborhood patisserie.

The air-conditioned shuttle will collect your group in the morning. We will outline the day’s itinerary and then drive towards the Santa Ynez Valley. Upon reaching, you will partake in wine tasting sessions at three of the region’s leading wineries. The specific wineries visited are dependent on their availability. Your group will take a tour of the picturesque Los Olivos and indulge in a remarkable cupcake and wine tasting session. During the journey, your guides will share interesting facts about the local history and provide an understanding of the wine territory.

What’s included:

  • Hotel Pick Up
  • Cupcake tasting session
  • Fees for wine tasting at 3 wineries as mentioned
  • A Deli-style lunch (Excluded on Saturdays or Sundays due to restrictions at the wineries during weekends. However, there will be a variety of lunch options to purchase at the wineries.)
Location
1 Garden St
Garden Street
Our guide will meet you in the lobby of your hotel. If meeting at the Visitor's Center, your guide will meet you just outside the Visitor's Center.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.4
(25 Ratings)
5 stars
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1 star
Jennfer
Aug 20, 2023
Great tour - Yanez(?) was an amazing guide. When the food truck was cancelled for our location, he went and got us food. He got a small barrel tour and took pictures for everyone.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
W3303nhsabrinat
Jul 16, 2023
Amazing wine, amazing tour guide! - The wine was amazing--the food was great at each location as well. Our tour guide, Sunny, was so friendly and knowledgeable. It was the perfect day, worth the price!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rosyl585
Jun 23, 2023
Had a wonderful and relaxing day of wine, cupcakes and scenery. - My mom and I had a great time at the wineries! Our tour guide, Sunny, was very knowledgeable about the wineries and the area. We also had time to visit the olive tasting at Rancho Olivos and drive through Solvang. The cupcakes were sooooo delicious 🤤. The tour bus was very comfortable and the views of the Santa Inez valley were amazing!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Calebmj4470wa
May 19, 2023
Wonderful experience - We loved our tour with Sunny! She was energetic and entertaining the entire trip. We learned about the area as well as interesting today-bits about wine. The valley is beautiful and all the stops were very intimate and enjoyable. The cupcakes were also delicious! I do wish that they gave you the option to sub wines out, like opt for all red if you don’t enjoy whites. However I believe that the wine lists are determined by the wineries, so this may be out of their control. Overall it was a great day and well worth it, thank you Sunny!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
G1073vrlarryf
Oct 8, 2022
Wine and Lunch with Emu's - Johannson was our tour guide and did an excellent job. We tasted wine at three different wineries and also stopped and did some olive oil tasting. Lunch was very good with the Emu's at the Koehler winery. We even had some time to walk around the tiny town of Los Olivos. We were on the tour with three other couples from Wales, Nashville, Pasadena and we are from Ventura. We enjoyed listening to each others experiences and thoughts on the different wines we tasted.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gary_k
Mar 7, 2022
Very informational and thought out well - Great host and experienced driver. We will do the trip again just for the open communication about the reigons history and functions.
Review provided by Viator
Shelleymd367
Jan 15, 2022
Very pleasant tour - Very enjoyable day. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly. My favorite winery was Roblar but had a great time the entire day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Geri
May 29, 2023
Disappointing - We signed up for the Cupcakes & Wine Tour. They ended up giving us cupcakes from a place downtown Santa Barbara as an afterthought and not as a pairing with wine experience. Apparently it was baking day and no one available for this particular tour. Paid for experience that wasn’t given.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rsmercader
Jun 24, 2023
Great tour spoiled by Sunny's behavior - I went on the Santa Ynez Valley Cupcake and Wine Tour. The tour was great, and we stopped at some great vineyards/wineries. The tour guide, Sunny, was very knowledgeable but rude on multiple occasions to people on our tour. At one of our stops, she reprimanded two elderly people on the tour for speaking to the owner of a vineyard/winery. She mentioned she didn't want to serve us at another stop because "it was not her job." At the end of the tour, my group was tipping her individually (even though the tip was included in the tour price). The first person handed her a tip, and she counted it and responded, "That's it?". We responded, "Isn't a tip included in the tour price." She quickly tried to walk back her comments but didn't apologize.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mercadc00
Jun 21, 2023
Tour Guide Sunny's Poor Attitude - The tour itself was fine and even fun. But our tour guide Sunny left a bad taste in our mouths. During one of our stops at one of the wineries, a couple from our party struck up a conversation with the winery owner and the owner ended up taking them around. Sunny got upset that this happened and was a bit rude but the people in our party did not ask for that to happen. It was just something that happened because the winery owner was enjoying the conversations he was having with them and was being nice. There was also confusion on whether gratuity was included with our ticket prices which I admit was a misunderstanding on our part. Between when we were initially looking at prices and when we actually booked, the company decided to no longer include gratuity in ticket prices. Adding to the confusion, another party in our group approached us to make sure that we knew that gratuity was already included (which it was when that party booked) and the FAQs that are currently on the website included a FAQ on why gratuity was included. We honestly thought then that gratuity was already paid but we still decided to tip a little extra at the end. Well Sunny verbally expressed her displeasure to us with the tip amount. I totally get being upset, and I do feel bad about the confusion, but she could have been a bit more gracious about the situation as it was never our intent to under-tip her.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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