Santa Barbara County just may be California’s most authentic wine region, and it’s not just the grapes that help the area stand out from the state’s larger and more well-known regions. Wineries here are known for their personable approach to hosting guesets, and that often lends itself to unique experiences – like pairing wine tasting with horseback riding.
Photo courtesy Presqu'ile Winery
Pair Wine With Horseback Rides at These Central California Wineries
On a trip here, you can trot through rolling hills, surrounded by lush greenery and breathtaking views of vineyards, orchards, and mesas, paired with a thorough wine tasting experience.
“I think Santa Barbara County is truly stunning, geographically, “ says Greer Shull, Marketing Director for Fess Parker Winery in Los Olivos. “One thing that’s neat about here is that it’s really approachable still. You can do really neat experiences in Santa Barbara County and it’s not going to be priced through the roof, and wines are absolutely beautiful.”
She should know – Shull’s grandfather started the winery and ranch, and she’s spent much of her life around it. As the Santa Ynez Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA), Santa Maria Valley AVA, and the region’s five other AVAs gain increased recognition as a more affordable and laid back place to taste wine than the bigger wine regions further north, the varietals and grapes on offer continue to expand. The region now has some 200 wineries. But some of the long-time staples continue to offer unique experiences to complement their wines, one of which is the ability to pair a tasting with a horseback ride about 45 minutes from Santa Barbara.
Photo courtesy Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard
The experience was pioneered by Fess Parker Winery, which in addition to its 110 acres of vineyard that specializes in Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as well as an estate-grown Rhône varietal, offers guests the chance to dive further into the vineyard and ranch experience on horseback via Fess Parker Ranch Horseback Adventures.
“Most winery visitors are only down at the winery on the lower level of the property,” says Shull. “On the horseback ride you actually get to go up to the upper mesa of our ranch so you’ll see the top of Rodney’s Vineyard and 360-degree views of the Santa Ynez Valley.”
Guests arrive at the winery and check in before being shuttled over to the barn on the backside of the ranch. Here, they’re saddled up for a 75-minute ride through the 714-acre ranch. Of that, 110 acres are planted to vineyard, meaning guests not only get to experience the vines but view the rest of the working ranch. If they’re lucky, Katie Parker, the mastermind behind the horseback tours, will be running the ride.
After getting unsaddled from the ride, guests are shuttled back to the winery for a seated wine tasting on the terrace. The experience is, obviously, geared towards adults, though kids old enough to ride a horse can partake in the horseback ride.
Pairing local food with wine and a horseback ride in the Santa Maria Valley
Photo courtesy Presqu’ile Winery
30 minutes north on the 101, Presqu’ile Winery (pronoucned press-KEEL) in the Santa Maria Valley also offers horseback rides paired with wine, and this tour adds a gourmet meal to its Estate Horseback Riding & Tasting Experience.
“The Estate Horseback Riding & Tasting Experience begins with a horseback trail ride through our world-class 500-acre estate featuring breathtaking views of our vineyards, San Rafael Mountains, Solomon Hills, Santa Maria Valley, and on a clear day, all the way out to the Pacific Ocean,” says Shannon Gotsick, Presqu’ile’s Hospitality and Tasting Room Manager.
Following the ride through the estate, guests partake in a food and wine experience atop the winery’s terrace. The meal is prepared by Estate Chef Julie Simon, primarily using ingredients grown in the establishment’s garden and from other local purveyors.The experience costs $250 per person, with kids 12 and up able to join in all but the wine tasting, with groups between two and six people accommodated.
Photo courtesy Presqu’ile Winery
“Flanked by the San Rafael Mountains and Los Padres National Forest, the Santa Maria Valley is famous for savory and bright Pinot Noir, strawberries and its eponymous style of oak-smoked barbecue,” Gotsick says.
The Murphy family, who owns the winery, chose the Santa Maria Valley over the larger wine regions in northern California as well as Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Gotsick says, because of the “welcoming, unfailingly gracious and supportive,” community. This community spirit, along with unique experiences like pairing horseback rides with wine tastings, is what drives central California’s wine regions. 