The Vista Ranch & Cellars

Had a wonderful time wine tasting. Just moved to Merced from Tulare. Beautiful grounds love love

Great place to relax and have a glass of wine. Service is incredible and wine is wide ranging for all palletes and affordable.

Came here with a friend and tried their wine tasting during the month of October.
Wasn’t very impressed with the wine we tasted. Lacks aroma and the wine tasted very water down.
However, it is very cheap. Cost $ 5 to wine taste 5 glasses. If you decide to buy a bottle (cost $ 10 – 15 a bottle), then they waive the wine tasting fee.
The area is very beautiful and nicely decorated.
They do serve hot foods like pizza, soups, etc. Haven’t tried them, but they do smell and look tasty.
Would definitely give this place another visit.

We stopped for the wine but got so much more — ambiance, incredible pizza, nice people, and a little oasis in the middle of nowhere! On our way up to Yosemite and it was a last minute decision to take the exit and try this place, and a great decision indeed.

On a company trip along the way to Yosemite and back, we stopped here for lunch and drinks (and by we, I mean 80+ of us all dined outside).
Boy oh boy oh boy, the sandwiches, salads, SOUPS, pizza, fresh fruits, and drinks were all mouthwatering and satisfying. The first thing I did when we arrived was of course check Unilocal for reviews and every star is on point. If you’re ever on your way to Yosemite, take the time to stop by for the grub.
How satisfying you say? I was completely nauseous on our way back from Yosemite (long night, curvy roads, a bumpy bus ride = my stomach was NOT happy) — but we were greeted by fresh sandwiches and fruit and my favorite: the Tri-​Tip Veggie Soup that just hit every single spot and calmed my stomach down.
Also, the staff were all great and were just on top of making sure every single one of us was satisfied with what we had, including helping us take away our garbage, checking in for more food, and making sure we were all well hydrated. I don’t know about you but when service is stellar, it just seals the deal for me!
I’m definitely coming back and trying out the wine tasting portion!

I’ve been here twice both times were to bring the kids to see the ranch. I didn’t go wine tasting or get to taste the pizza. When we got there it was already to late they weren’t serving pizza. We loved it! it’s a great place to take the kids they have a lot of kid friendly activities. It’s awesome I’d love to come back without the kids and go wine tasting and try some pizza!:) I live in Merced, it’s not to far out.

Wonderful wines, staff and goodies from local bravo farms cheese and bussetto foods salami. Joined as a member. Bought a case of wine, cute tshirt, wine glasses and a bottle stopper. We will be regulars as we just moved to Merced and only 15 min away!

We had an outdoor wedding in February here and it was perfect! The weather was a little cold, but the venue provided heaters and bonfires for rental, which we used and our guests loved! They took care of setting everything up, other than the decorations, which was so great to have!
They also provided the catering and their food options are all delicious– salad and bread is served at the table after appetizers, which helped keep our guests from getting antsy or hungry! We had to use their wine and beer which was kind of a bummer since its quite pricey, but it is good quality and guests enjoyed it.
They also had a bridal house where my girls and I got ready the day of. It has a full kitchen, bathrooms and lovely bedrooms along with a salon! All my girls LOVED it and we had a blast hanging there all day until the ceremony.
My only complaint is the staff– we went through about 3 different coordinators during our 6 months of planning with them, so it became difficult at times to get answers and communication back in a timely manner. But when the day came the staff we did have did a great job, especially the catering staff, of making everything perfect and catering to our desires. The grounds are beautiful and we had a lovely, garden, natural outdoor wedding just as we’d dreamed.

What a wonderful place!!! Love the atmosphere, people and the wine. I highly recommend going to an event out there! So fun!

The wines are ALL delicious! We r staying here tonight in our RV for free through Harvest Host Club. and the electric and water hookups included. We had hot ch icken and ham sandwiches and soup… They didn’t have a wine we didn’t like. red white and pink! Tom treated us so nicely and was the friendliest guy ever! Gave us history and info on all of the grapes, regions, and the winery itself. Definitely a great visit. We are leaving the tasting room with a bottle Cab Sav and Syrah. Walking to our RV which is parked on their property to drink and stay the night!!! Wowwww!

My boy had a blast at the pumpkins patch. There were a lot of varieties of pumpkin to chose from. We tried all the fun activities there including the hay ride and cornmaze. Unfortunately I could not do any wine tasting :(due to my situation.

Attended a wedding here and was impressed by the facilities and the grounds. Very picturesque. The only bad part was an outdoor wedding in the afternoon on a hot October day. The reception was held outdoors as well and the mosquitoes got quite bad biting many of the guests. The do have a really cool pumpkin patch and corn maze near Halloween and well as a nice wine tasting room with many locals labels including their own.

Nice atmosphere, pulled over here on the way to Yosemite. Super cute outdoor place with picnic tables and lights. Food was good, ambiance great.

We had heard about this place and decided to give it a try on a whim.
We were very pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere is really great in the tasting room. Jamie is a really awesome pourer. Professional, but also inviting and entertaining.
This is going to be a regular place for us.

I’m going to be nice and give it 3 stars based on the quality of service and the ambiance. I’m not sure if they’re only doing pizza this season (hopefully they aren’t). First thing I noticed is prices had went up — $ 13 for what is essentially a personal pizza. Throw in salads, drinks, and tip and you have a upwards of $ 40 meal that will still leave you hungry afterward. The service was superb — much better than any other time I’d been here. But the stingy and expensive food are hard to forgive. If they have any of their usual themes this year, then we may go again. But we’ll lay off pizza night.

We stopped here on a whim while driving back from Yosemite and really enjoyed ourselves. It’s a great location right on 140 and they’re tasting room is open ’til 6pm, so a lot of you who frequent Yosemite can make this a pit stop in either direction.
We did Half Dome and were really sore/​exhausted driving back. As soon as we saw the sign, we spontaneously pulled in to stretch our legs; we were immediately taken by the inviting layout.
Vista Ranch & Cellars doesn’t try to be big and fancy like so many other wineries, they keep it homey, simple, and family oriented for the Yosemite travellers. The set-​up around the tasting house is like a big, country yard filled with picnic tables and a giant BBQ — I loved the feel.
The inside wasn’t very big, but there were a couple of tables and a long wine bar (you could do your tasting at either). Lots of neat crafts and nic-​nacs to look at, some great snacks (buy some of the Celtic Sea Salt Caramels or Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels … Soooo friggin’ Good!), and more of the «home» feel you find in the yard when you arrive.
The price was super reasonable at $ 5 for 5 tastings, and they waive the fee if you buy a bottle (seriously, that’s a great price!). The gal doing wine service was smart, fun, and knowledgeable about the wines. She was also good with the pours (I hate stingy tastings where they pour so little it almost disappears when you sniff the glass).
In the end, our favorite was the sparkling wine — really wonderful and refreshing! We left with two bottles of that, plus some zinfindel (mostly because of the Half Dome label; it’s a great souvenier for those who’ve just finished the climb!).
Next time you’re on 140 travelling to or from Yosemite, stop in and check them out; it’s a fun place to stretch your legs.

The Vista Ranch is really cute, the food is pretty good, most of the staff are nice, helpful & friendly, the only staff that ignores costumers is the young lady that works in the wine tasting room, I wanted to buy something, I had to wait forever because the female employee was too busy gossiping with the people who were drinking wine, the Vista Ranch only has ONE bathroom for costumers, the last few times I went with my family we had to use the bathroom & there was a line of little kids playing in the bathroom, there is another bathroom but costumers are NOT allowed to use it… Only Employees I’m not sure why they do not get at least a few porta-​potties or build a few more bathrooms, they would get a lot more business if they did that, my family, friends, co-​workers & I refuse to go to Vista Ranch for that reason, if you do plan on going to the Vista Ranch make sure you use the bathroom before you go, if you have an upset stomach stay home you are not going make it to the bathroom because the line is always really long.

This is review is for future brides who are looking for a venue.
The food is delicious and the venue is beautiful!
But…Just a couple of things to consider before booking.
Write down everything they say to you on your first visit because things will change as you go. Make sure to ask a lot of questions.
Also email is pretty much the only way to communicate with the event coordinator unless your making a payment then you can reach her through phone.
When we first arrived at the venue for a walk around we were greeted with wine tasting. However we thought it was free until my husband saw somewhere on a piece of paper that was by us that they charge for the tasting. She never mention anything so we just kindly refused and never went back for the tasting.
Again don’t be shy to ask questions and to say no!
However there were some good stuff… like the food!
The cook was really nice when we went for our food tasting!
The venue is really nice! Our guest really liked the venue.
Good luck!

This is a nice place to stop and do a little wine tasting. The grounds are well cared for, providing a nice place for weddings or parties Friendly staff.

I am disappointed.
I had heard good things from a young lady that came here with friends for country night or something. We came back together because this was supposed to be the place to be. I believe there was a Mexican cultural theme. Rather than make jokes, I will introduce the sequence of events as they occurred.
— Get to front of line to pay — lady tells us that they are out of food, and that all they have left is pizza. This was fine because that’s what I wanted.
— They run the card. They run the card again. They run the card again. Several more card runnings later, the person running the card said they didn’t think it worked and ran inside and ran it again. Then she came out and said «So it’s doing the same thing there. It’s weird. It says it didn’t run but it probably did. You may have been charged multiple times so if so just give us a call.»
— We go up to ask for our food. A lady comes to us and asks us what we want. We tell her our pizzas, and she writes down «blue shirt» to remember us.
— Many moons pass. We have not received any food, and the lady was nowhere to be found. As we’re waiting, the bartender came to the group sitting next to us and asked them if they had gotten their food yet. The group said they did not order food, but we mentioned to him that we hadn’t received ours. He ignored us, and told the group that didn’t order food he’d bring them free beer while they wait for food they never ordered.
— As he was leaving, we stopped him and said «hey, we haven’t gotten our food yet, do you…» at this point he was tapped on the shoulder by someone else. Rather than continue and listen to us, he spoke with the person that tapped him on the shoulder, then laughed and said a few jokes, then walked away without coming back.
— We stopped another young lady to ask us if she could check on our food. She goes to the pizza makers and points at us. The pizza people raise their hands up in the air and shake their heads and look upset. Apparently they had planned on not making any more pizza, I believe. The lady came back and told us that our food would be ready soon. She asked us if we would like drinks while we wait. She stopped the bartender (who happened to be serving the free drinks to the table next to us at the time) and asked him to bring us two beers. He dropped off one leftover beer because one of the people still not waiting for food decided he didn’t want it. Then he said «I’ll be right back with the other beer — Dos Equis okay?» We said «yep» and he left.
— He never came back. We did not get the free drink for our trouble. He was talking in the back with one of the other workers, and they were laughing and joking around.
— More moons passed. Still no pizza. At some point we saw a cheese pizza sitting there, along with another pizza. A third young lady went over and asked who it was for. They said they didn’t know, so they motioned for her to just give it to anyone. She laughed and started walking away before the second young lady stopped her and told her to bring it to us. She brought them over. The first one (cheese) was correct. The second one (meat) was not correct. We mentioned to her that it was the wrong one and she smiled and went back and got another one that happened to be done and brought it over.
— The table next to us asked the lady that brought it over if they’re still making pizza. She responded with «No, we’re out of food. We just decided to do them a favor» motioning to us. Then she walked away.
We left soon after.
Really, just terrible all around. Potentially charged multiple times, out of most food, extremely long wait, ignored by several waitstaff, no free drink as promised, two hours until we got our meal and then telling the table next to us that they «Did us a favor» which really is the only reason I’m even bothering to write this review, because … wow.
The only think keeping this above 1 star is that my lady’s experience a few week’s prior was great. Many people seem to like it here, so there is a very good chance I’ll give it another try and update the review later. This was a horrific first impression though, and at the end of the night my partner was more upset than I was because she couldn’t believe how bad the experience was and was looking forward to me liking it. I don’t like writing bad reviews, but think of this as me doing Vista a favor.