Lompoc, CA – As the wine harvest approaches next month, what better time than now to escape to Lompoc, home to some of the industry’s most creative beverage makers. From estate wineries to regional brews, this Central California city in Santa Barbara County is bursting with refreshing wine and beer choices. Below are top picks to experience the destination’s wine bar scene and new and existing craft breweries.
https://explorelompoc.com/lompoc-wine-tasting/
https://explorelompoc.com/wine-bars-breweries-pubs/
Lompoc is located in a valley, which provides a consistent, ideal climate for grapes. As a result, several wineries and vineyards have popped up in and around the region. There are four main must experience wine-tasting areas:
1. Lompoc Wine Ghetto
Lompoc possesses a hip industrial park area that transformed into a wine-lovers paradise, affectionately called the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. Inside, are 11 small, boutique wineries and tasting rooms that locals and visitors adore.
While visiting “the ghetto,” try:
- 2018 Blanc de Noir Sparkling at Ampelos Cellars
- Spear Vineyard Chardonnay at Montemar Wines
- ‘Sweetie’ 2016 Late Harvest Grüner at Fiddlehead Cellars
2. Midtown Wineries
Just a few blocks from Midtown Lompoc, visitors find a handful of wineries that are worth a stop. Brewer-Clifton, Longoria Wines, Turiya Wines and Camins 2 Dreams make up the Midtown Wineries. Here’s a list on these top spots:
- Brewer-Clifton
Owner Greg Brewer was recently named Winemaker of the Year at this well-known winery, and is the man behind the flavorful wines on tap. Tastings are served by appointment only at this location, and when visitors set up a time to visit, they can try the 2015 Acin Pinot Noir. - Longoria Wines
Established in 1982, Longoria is a small family-owned winery producing acclaimed artisanal wines. Travelers cannot miss this location, as it resembles a red barn. During a visit, taste the 2016 Chardonnay Cuvee Diana. The winery is open daily - Turiya Wines
It is at this boutique winery that one can sample entirely hand-crafted red blends and Bordeaux-style wines. The tasting room is open on Friday and Saturday. If you swing by, try the 2016 Chardonnay Cuvee Diana. - Camins 2 Dreams
Camins 2 Dreams makes their wine with grapes sourced from Sta. Rita Hills vineyards. The boutique winery looks forward to sharing their love of wine with each guest.
3. Sta. Rita Hills Wineries
A short drive outside of town takes visitors to the rolling landscape of Sta. Rita Hills. Here one will discover large estate vineyards and wineries, most of which are open daily. Here are a few suggestions for a countryside wine tour:
- Babcock Winery and Vineyards
This winery has a hangar-sized tasting room with a retro rock-and-rock theme. It’s a great spot for a group of friends to visit. The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon “Block 15” is a must-try.
- Dierberg Starlane
With 40+ years of winemaking experience, the owners of Dierberg Starlane know what it takes to make good wine. Wine enthusiasts can stop in and enjoy a flight of five wines - for $25.
- Sanford Winery & Vineyards
The Sanford family was among the first to start vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills regions and specialize in Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. For a truly distinctive experience, consider taking an ATV tour of the vineyard and follow it up with a tasting. - Sta. Rita Hills Wine Center
- At the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Center, grape lovers can experience three award-winning tasting rooms. Book a private tour or enjoy a tasting on the delightful patio area.
Lompoc’s craft brewery and wine bar scene
The region is known for its wines, but a number of bars serve handcrafted beers from the area too. For those in the mood for a draft or wish to relax at a wine bar, try these locations:
· PCH Street Wine Lounge
Stop by the PCH Street Wine Lounge in historic old town Lompoc for a fun time and delicious wine. This Wine Lounge has a great selection of beer and wine on tap or by the bottle. Check their calendar for trivia and karaoke nights.
· Cold Coast Brewing Company
Opened by four Lompoc locals, Cold Coast, which debuted this year, features great beers on tap like their Tropical IPA or the Happy Blonde.
· Solvang Brewing Co. Hoptions Taproom & Eatery
Hoptions offers visitors a wide selection of craft beers at their on-site taproom. Enjoy a cold beer and delicious food.
· Tap & Cork
Located in Old Town, the Tap & Cork is a local pub with a dozen local and regional beers on tap. Pool tables, karaoke, and poker nights add to the fun.
· Jasper’s
The locals love Jasper’s and you will too. It has 20+ beers on tap and a pool table that’s ready for action.
Travelers can spend an entire weekend enjoying the crafted drinks throughout the Lompoc area. Prior to a visit, book a hotel room, and use the recon above to plan their tasting itinerary.
ABOUT LOMPOC Lompoc’s New Cold Coast Brewing Company
Located on scenic Pacific Coast Highway 1, just 155 miles northwest from Los Angeles with close proximity to Santa Barbara and Solvang, Lompoc takes on a world of its own. Its valley setting, surrounded
by spectacular rolling hills and vineyards, creates an invitation for visitors to detour off the main road, and explore what’s around the bend. Lompoc is a destination for wine tasting, golf, cycling, hiking, skydiving, birding, and surfing at nearby Jalama Beach. It is home to La Purisima Mission State Historic Park, the most fully restored and furnished of the 21 California missions, and adjacent to Vandenberg Air Force Base, where rockets are launched throughout the year by such entities as NASA, SpaceX, and ULA, to name a few.Lompoc has 12 hotels to welcome visitors. To discover more about the Lompoc Valley, and the range of things to see and do, visit: www.explorelompoc.com.
As with years past, participating Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks restaurants will feature curated, chef-driven three-course prix fixe menus at price points of $30, $40, or $50, plus tax & gratuity. Many area wineries and tasting rooms will also participate at various levels and price points, including offering two-for-one tastings, special tasting flights, and discounts on bottle purchases.
Designed to highlight the agricultural foundation of The Hilt’s dramatic 3600-acre property and the wines grown and made from the unique estate, guests are encouraged to travel to The Barn along the scenic Highway 1, an open and undeveloped coastal stretch that echoes California’s unmatched natural beauty. The Hilt Estate is located just miles from the Pacific Ocean in the far south-west corner of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA winegrowing region and is comprised of three vineyards, Bentrock, Radian and Puerta del Mar. The property consists of a large tree-lined hill and vineyard extending outward. Using the natural geography of the property as a guide, the winemaking and hospitality buildings on The Hilt Estate are intentionally separated to define their uses. The winemaking production follows along the base of the hill and the hospitality barn comes out and sits among the vineyard. The new, state-of-the-art 50,000 square-foot gravity fed winemaking facility is where form and function in winemaking truly connect for long-time winemaker Matt Dees and his team, and where they will now produce the distinct wines of JONATA and The Hilt.
It turns out that I had about 50 wine tastings, if not more, in 2020. These shout-outs are from EveWine101 website articles: the 2020 Gambero Rosso Master Class, 2017 Bordeaux presented by the Union des Grand Crus, Vega Sicilia collectors dinner with Pablo Alvarez, Fontanafredda Barolo, wine from New Zealand’s Waipapa Bay, Folded Hills Winery with winemaker Angela Osborne, California Wine STARS 2020, LA County Wines (Byron Blatty, Acri Wine Company, Angeleno Wine Company and Cavaletti Vineyards), Zoom tasting with Suzanne Phifer Pavitt and their 2012 Date Night Cabernet, Camins 2 Dreams, Gary Farrell single vineyard Pinots with winemaker Theresa Heredia, revisiting Montemar, catching up with winemaker Mark Cargasacchi and Jalama wines, also visiting Ampelos and Zotovich in Lompoc, Switchback Ridge via the Grand Reserves Reward Master Card, tasting from family-owned wineries with Dr. Laura Catena, Anne Trimbach, Laure Colombo and Alessia Collauto Travaglini, great wines that stole my palate but not my wallet from Guarachi Wine Partners, reviewing DAOU’s Soul of a Lion, Tenuta Montemagno sparkling Barbera, Castello di Fonterutoli with Giovanni Mazzei, Paul Kornell Sparkling…
Starting with Ampelos we met with Matt, a “cellar rat” at the winery and tasting room staffer. We went through their current lineup of wines to taste, but only after first noting the unique tasting notes done by their marketing director. Instead of the usual aromas and flavors, these tasting notes also called up more memories, or visions, of where each wine could take you. For example, the 2019 Santa Barbara County Viognier was described as, “The click clack of rails, puffs of jasmine glinted steam, the sneaky smile of a Mandarin orange sun. Teak wood bar, juicy pineapple rings, shaved coconut flesh, the sway of palm trees passing quickly by. A new day swaggers through the lounge car with unlimited possibilities while I ride alongside ‘phi’ the ‘golden girl’ of my dreams.” These kind of tasting notes, albeit not for everyone, makes the writer in me want to strive much harder. It’s boring to read, “jasmine, orange, teak, pineapple” alone. Now, moving on and back to the tasting, and my tasting notes, I found the fruit in the Viognier to be fresh with a lovely mouthfeel. A great start to our tasting.
We began with the 2018 “Zoto” Chardonnay that Jason said had “marginally less oak” than their Estate Chardonnay. I found it slightly acidic, akin to a Sauvignon Blanc, with both tart and buttery notes. Then we tried three more Chards, all very good. We preferred the 2017 Estate Chardonnay for its notes of Meyer lemon, white peach, pear and a hint of strawberry in a delicate balance, for only $28 a bottle. We liked the 2017 Reserve Chardonnay, from the 809 clone, and 50% new French oak, with tropical fruit including pineapple, papaya and a floral nose. The last white we tried was the 2018 Estate Viognier. The wine called up memories of lemon-lime soda, stone fruit, wet stones with a nice low acidity.
When I met up with owner Caryn Arrowood she gave me their wine list, and whew, there was a lot to choose from. (For a writer, who of course has to spit everything, I limited myself to varietals that I normally appreciate.) Caryn commented that they make “too many” of a lot of varietals. They do indeed, lucky us.
“Wife and wife” winemakers Tara Gomez and Mireia Taribo Tena share the Camins 2 Dreams winery. Some of us had already tasted wines made by Gomez, as she is also the winemaker at Kita. The pair make wines, starting with their flagship Gruner Veltliner and Syrah, only in a natural style. Cori hinted that “Tara and Mireia have a good story.”
I’ve come to learn that Pratt’s wines are made from all Santa Barbara County grapes, that he makes the wines at Flying Goat Winery in Lompoc, and besides the event I mentioned you can also find his wines at Marston’s, Buellton Wine and Chili Fest, Santa Monica Fest and Sierra Pelona Wine Fest.
STARS also included VIP winemaker speakers, 80s KROQ DJ Richard Blade taking requests, yummy noshables and a silent auction – with enough wine to deck out a great cellar – that benefitted the T.J Martell Foundation in supporting Leukemia, cancer and AIDS research.