Spring 2023 update!

It has been awhile since we have posted any updates, sorry.

Things are finally starting to normalized after 3 years of COVID and a brutal winter of rain. We are excited about the coming season of wine tours and look forward to hosting many wonderful experiences. This year looks like it will be very special special due to the extensive rainfall. Wine Country has never been so beautiful.

It is mid-April and we are having a super bloom with roadside wildflowers everywhere. Come out and experience this beauty before it is gone. We have a great selection of wineries on our current roster and would love to show you some of our favorites.

Here are a few updates: We have reduced group sizes to a max. of 8 guests for our group tours and we have been busy all winter fine tuning excellent itineraries.

Our beloved wine country received Wine Region of the Year accolades by Wine Enthusiast magazine in 2021 further cementing our regions reputation and ability to continually produce world class wines.

If you aren’t familiar with our company and what we do, let me give you a little run down. We started in 2001 and at the time there was no another wine tour based in wine country. We quickly expanded to include Santa Barbara area pick-ups but we have always stayed true to our vision of only offering unique and authentic winery/vineyard experiences. Many tour companies followed our lead but none have be able to replicate our passion and dedication to our customers.

Our tours run daily year round except major holidays. We pick you up at your location, alleviating any need to drive after the tour. We service the South Coast communities of Summerland, Montecito, Santa Barbara, and Goleta with pick-up times ranging from 9:45am to 10:25pm. We traverse the Santa Ynez Mountains into the Santa Ynez Valley AVA (American Viticulture Area) established in 1983. This unique mountain range creates the perfect growing region. It provides the coolest, longest, most uniquely diverse microclimates and soil types in all of the AVA’s in the United States.

We then pick up our guests staying in Solvang, Ballard, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, or Buellton, with pick-ups ranging from 10:40am to 11:00am, until the capacity of our vehicle is reached. You usually have wine in your glass at a little after 11am, when the wineries open. We organize the day in such away that you aren’t driving from one into the valley and back again through-out the day, we try to limit drive times between wineries to 15-20 minutes.

We select the locations and pay for the flight of wines(usually 5-6 one ounce pours). We visit three locations providing you with a picnic lunch at the second stop. We let the wineries do there job in presenting their wine and we step back and let you enjoy your experience. We have a vast knowledge of the area, wine making, and viticulture and we can provide as much or as little information as possible. 

Oh, and it’s customary to purchase a bottle at each location and tip their staff if you feel well taken care of.

We are capable of doing private tours, large group, corporate events, and offer hourly transportation as well.

I hope this update finds you well and we look forward to hosting you for an incredible wine tasting adventure in the near future.

Harvest 2019 is well under way here in Santa Barbara County. Let us pick you up in Santa Barbara or the Santa Ynez Valley and give you a unique authentic wine country experience. Join us for an unforgettable day of tasting amazing wines in  unique beautiful intimate settings.

This is our busy season for wine tours as people from all around the World visit to see wines being made. Most of the year the wineries are quiet as wine is aging in barrel, not right now. All the action in wine making happens as the fruit matures and is brought into the winery for processing. In just a few short weeks grapes are crushed, fermented, and are put to rest in oak, cement, or stainless steel to be readied for aging and eventually bottling. Many wineries bottle last year’s vintage at this time to make room in the cellar for the new vintage. Many of our guests are getting to see the fruit as it is destemmed, crushed and fermented.

2019 Crop Report: We had good rainfall in the Winter which led to great bud break and foliage, a cool Spring and Summer have lent to a long growing season called a “winemaker’s vintage” meaning the winemakers can make stylistic decisions rather than being dictated by weather and timing. Mid to late August saw the first white grapes and pinot noir being harvested. Then slowly and surely all the other varietals are rippening in good fashion. Many varietals have 4 weeks or more before they can be harvested. We could see harvest continuing all the way through mid-November like last year. This is good because all the fruit isn’t being rushed in for processing. Slow and steady wins the race for high quality wines.

All of this makes it a great time of year to visit Santa Barbara Wine Country, so, join us for a wine tour! Our professional tour hosts can pick you up from Santa Barbara, relax for a drive up the beautiful Gaviota Coast. Alternatively, we might take you up over the Santa Ynez Mountains with breath taking views of Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley. Check out Visit Santa Barbara for other things to see and do while in SB. Or, if you prefer to stay in the Santa Ynez Valley we can pick you up from the many hotels in the area. Check out Visit SYV for more info on places to say and things to do. Reserve your wine tasting tour with us today!

A perfect time for a Santa Barbara wine tour, Springtime is a time of renewal and growth, and it is beautiful to behold. Here in Santa Barbara Wine Country, Spring brings about the cyclical emergence of growth and vitality. Firstly, planted cover crops flourish between the rows of vines. Later, they are mowed and tilled under the soil to fix nitrogen to be used by the vines as fertilizer. Then, about mid-March, we witnessed the first signs of growth on the vines, know as “bud break”. This signifies the beginning of the new vintage and it is an exciting time to see the vigor of the new growth. The hills and valleys are a stunning green, as green as I have ever seen them. The sheer amount of rain this Winter has set us up with spectacular flower blooms and vibrant greens on all living things. Soon, the green will give way to golden brown and the wildflowers will subside. The vineyards will grow to be a vibrant green in stark contrast to the golden hues of the hillsides.

At about this time tourism picks up and wine tours start filling up. Wineries start hosting pick up parties and other events. Many new releases of past vintages are added to the line up for tasting. As wineries sell out of their current offerings, many aging past vintage reds are bottled and released.  Whites and rosés that were picked in the fall are also bottled and released.

All of this makes it a great time of year to visit Santa Barbara Wine Country, and join us for a wine tour! Our professional tour hosts can pick you up from Santa Barbara, relax for a drive up the beautiful Gaviota Coast. Alternatively, we might take you up over the Santa Ynez Mountains with breath taking views of Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley. Check out Visit Santa Barbara for other things to see and do while in SB. Or, if you prefer to stay in the Santa Ynez Valley we can pick you up from the many hotels in the area. Check out Visit SYV for more info on places to say and things to do. Reserve your wine tasting tour with us today!

Thinking about visiting a few wineries and vineyards in Santa Barbara Wine Country?  Before you call Uber, Lyft or one of the literally dozens of taxi services, there are a few things you should know…

Taxis and driving services can be logical option – if you’re up for doing all the planning yourself, or flying by the seat of your pants.  Perhaps you know exactly which wineries you want to visit? You have a clear understanding of the geography/distances of wineries in Santa Barbara County Wine Country? You’re happy to make your winery reservations, pay additional tasting fees, and coordinate your own lunch? Then, simply hiring a driver is definitely adequate. They will get you from Point A to Point B – you just have to take care of everything else in between. This is definitely not as easy as it seems in most cases!

But, what if you want an entire day curated for you, so you can sit back, relax and enjoy?  This is where professional Wine Tour companies come in – like us, Stagecoach Co. Wine Tours.  We specialize in taking care of every detail for you.  We have relationships with dozens of super-local premium wineries, and organize an amazing tour based on our expertise. Our Tour Hosts are passionate about wine, and offer extensive knowledge of the geography, history and wines of our region. We have access to vineyards and wineries that are off-the-beaten-path – some of which, most taxi drivers would never know exist.

What’s more, there are no hidden costs or additional fees with our Wine Tours. Each one includes transportation in a luxury Mercedes Sprinter; all tasting fees at each winery; a delicious picnic lunch provided by our local organic Marketplace; plenty of bottled water, and even a basic gratuity for our expert Tour Hosts. Many of our guests find that it is actually more economical to join us for a Wine Tour instead of hiring just a driver, because we build everything into the cost – so that you don’t have to worry about anything!

Book a tour with us and let us guide you through an amazing and educational Santa Barbara County Wine Country experience!   “We are much more than just Drivers!”