What better place to drink pink than in The American Riviera®?! It’s a match made in wine pairing heaven. Santa Barbara is here to satisfy your rosé cravings and cultivate your pink palate. Area winemakers have been producing rosés for decades and now that it’s risen to star status, more producers have added it to their line-up of annual releases … with playful gusto! This is just a sampling of hot pink spots to taste the many shades of Santa Barbara County rosé available at our local tasting rooms.
In Town
Rosé is prolific along the Urban Wine Trail in downtown Santa Barbara. Begin your rosé tour with a stop at El Presidio in the Presidio Neighborhood, where you’ll have the chance to savor wines from Au Bon Climat, Grassini Family Vineyards, Jamie Slone Wines, and Happy Canyon Vineyard, all who have refined rosés waiting to be shared with you. Melville Winery’s 2024 Estate Grenache Rosé is crisp and vibrant, with notes of strawberry, watermelon, citrus peel and a touch of minerality. Sip it downtown at its State Street tasting room.
You’ll find rosé at every turn in The Funk Zone. Start with Municipal Winemakers’ popular Pale Pink, a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Carignane, Counoise, Grenache Blanc, Mourvèdre and Syrah. Riverbench Winery pours an elegant 2018 Sparkling Brut Rosé from the Santa Maria Valley AVA. At Margerum Wine Company, sip on one of their signature wines, aptly named Riviera Rosé. For a one-stop-shop, Santa Barbara Wine Collective has a specialty rosé tasting flight that includes pours of the 2019 Cebada Brut Rosé , 2022 Notary Public Rose of Grenache, 2023 Koeler Rosé of Grenache and 2023 Stolpman “Love You Bunches” Rosé of Grenache.
At Kunin Wines, sit back and sip on two different, but equally delicious, rosés: the 2023 Phoebe and 2024 Phoebe 2.0.
Adjacent to The Funk Zone, you can take advantage of Carr Winery’s glorious patio while sipping on its Sangiovese Rosé. In Montecito, you can find pours of the award-winning 2024 Lilly Rosé and 2021 Sparkling Lilly Rosé at Folded Hills Tasting Room.
Worth the Drive
Day tripping to taste in the Lompoc and Santa Ynez Valleys offers an abundance of fabulous wineries to choose from. Longoria’s 2023 Matinee Rosé is a 100% grenache rosé with notes of peach and fresh cantaloupe.
Heading out of town towards the Santa Ynez Valley on Highway 246, stop at the Star Lane tasting room to try their Star Lane Rosé of Malbec. Or, book an appointment to taste and tour at Pence Ranch, pouring an Estate Brut Rosé made with 100% Gamay.
In Buellton, pop into Alma Rosa to taste its Vin Gris Pinot Noir or 2022 Grenache Rosé from the Sta. Rita Hills appellation. Make a beeline to Hitching Post II to try the sparkling rosé by the glass paired with a grilled artichoke or, better yet, book a table to have the full sit-down barbecue dinner experience.
Sunstone Winery is a picture-perfect spot to go for the pink stuff — the 2024 Grenache Rosé at this Santa Ynez winery that will transport you to Provence. Clementine Carter Wines in quaint Los Alamos also offers rosé lovers a taste of the Clementine Carter Grenache Rosé. And Saarloos & Sons in Los Olivos has a collection of several high-end, limited edition rosés for the avid collector and a premium pink sipper.
Last but most certainly not least, if you’re up for a bit of a road trip, Presqu’ile Winery and Cambria Estate Winery offer patio-perfect pinks and scenic vineyard views as far as the eye can see in the Santa Maria Valley. At Presqu’ile, savor the flavors of a mild-summer day with the 2023 Rosé of Pinot Noir, while Cambria Estate Winery serves up the easy-drinking Julia’s Vineyard Rosé of Pinot Noir.
Cheers to an endless summer!
