The Brander Vineyard

I thoroughly enjoy The Brander! It’s the best reason to journey from LA to Santa Barbara for a tasting and to pick up new goodies! Their prices are reasonable, especially if you become a member. I had a great time! Even made a new friend or two! I highly recommend!

— Beautiful property
— on the petite side
— our server Julie was knowledgeable and super friendly
— looking forward to cracking open the bottle of Sauvignon blanc (la presca?)
— I wanna get married here with an intimate party of 30 – 50 ppl.

Was one of the first wineries I visited recently. They specialize in Sauvignon Blanc and other varietals. When I got there, there was a group that had been shuttled there to wine taste. Right away one of the young ladies there welcomed me and asked if we were tasting. There were two of us so right away our tasting began. There a couple of Sauvignon Blancs I tasted but what struck me was how they went out of their way to ensure we tasted also a wine not on their menu which by the way was also very good. Me, I’m not a huge of Sauvignon Blanc but I thought I’d try anyway. We ended up purchasing a few bottles of the wine we tasted. We thought the wine was reasonably priced. There were 3 servers taking care of the tasting room. We ended up with a very knowledable server who told us about the grapes, the vineyard and the other wineries in the area. We even received coupons for wine tasting at other wineries. I really enjoyed myself visiting this winery. The staff was helpful, friendly and professional. I will definitely visit again.

Here’s a beautiful, idyllic location with sprawling estate perfect for hosting parties and celebrations. Surrounded by lush vines and classic architecture, this venue serves as a perfect backdrop for any special occasion.

My friends and I enjoyed our visit to Brander so much!!! Russ was interesting and informative and made our visit quite special. You know how you can walk into a place feeling like a stranger and walk out feeling like you have a connection to the place? That’s what happened. Russ — you are the best!

I’m usually not a white wine person (I prefer a good Pinot Noir), but Brander has really nailed the crisp Sauvignon Blanc. I absolutely loved every white wine that they poured. Service was excellent as well, and the location is beautiful.
If I were going to join a wine club and receive exclusively white wines, I would definitely pick Brander as the one.
Give them a try, especially if you’re a fan of crisp whites.

Standard wine tasting set up in a smallish tasting room. Despite it being not too busy it felt like the pourer was pretty mechanical. The wine selection was decent but nothing stood out.

If the wine wasn’t good, the staff alone would be worth the stars. They were so knowledgeable, friendly, and gave a great recommendation for lunch (which I appreciated.) That being said, the wine was amazing. We were actually looking for Sauvignon Blanc for a friend who had an upcoming birthday, and the team at Bridlewood Winery down the street recommended Brander. I’m so glad they did!
Their wine was fantastic. So fantastic, in fact, that we’ll be receiving a few shipments a year as wine club members. I can’t wait to get that fun package in the mail! Plus, as one of the oldest wineries in the region, they’re able to produce this amazing wine without a price gauge (no offense to some of the other wineries, but their wines aren’t quite worth what they want you to pay, IMO). That being said, if you’re not a fan of Sauvignon Blanc, and/​or want to stick with the Sideways type wines, you may not love this place. We also had no cats indoors during our experience.
Simply the best!

Beautiful setting, château style grounds and tasting room! Sauvignon blancs are on the sweet side but well balanced, and we really liked their Merlot and F/​Red blended red wine. Good value too!

Woof & Meow!!! This place is awesome. Kind of confused by the comments of other reviewers regarding the cats. I have to assume they don’t do wine tastings too often as you almost always find cats and/​or dogs at wineries. Cats are used to keep the mice and varmint away and dogs kind of serve the same purpose. The reviewers that baulked at this might need a history lesson. In fact most of the SB wineries sell two books that highlight both cats and dogs at the different vineyards. Might want to check that book out before posting about things you do not know about.
The staff was really helpful and fun to chat with. Definitely a laid back vibe but had all the knowledge that is necessary to work at a winery. We enjoyed the wine so much that we each bought a few bottles.
Bottom line… this is a good place and you are missing out if you don’t come here. If you don’t like cats, just move to an area where they aren’t or ask the staff to assist you. They really aren’t obtrusive at all but if you feel the need or if you have an allergy I’m sure they will accommodate.
We’ll be back for sure!!!

I have to quote the review of Kristie, who was there the same time, and with whom I fully agree:
«The wine is great, setting beautiful, and staff very friendly. But they had cats sitting on the bar counter shedding in the wine glasses and biting people.»
Yeah, that was part of the charm for cat lovers. I mean, nobody wants to have to put a drain strainer on their wine glass, but yeah… The setting is beautiful (perfect place to eat our sandwich) and the servers were especially friendly, but, yeah, it was kinda like a Wookiie barbershop after petting one of them.
Update (⁸⁄₁₅): again, great wines, excellent service, but the main attraction was Wine Cat Millie.

The wine is great, setting beautiful, and staff very friendly. But they had cats sitting on the bar counter shedding in the wine glasses and biting people.

Their wines were just ok.
The main house was small and not very fancy. It shouldn’t be about how fancy things are, but about the wine itself and the wine was Meh, as in– not Meh-​morable.
Their product and location is about 2 stars, but our server was really knowledgeable and offered decent sized pours, so she made the experience a learning one.
The place was simple a little gaudy, and crowded. I felt a bit claustrophobic in the main house. I know it should be about the wine but it’s also about the experience and the overall experience was just ok.

Wonderful winery, one of my favorites in the Santa Ynez — GREAT wines!!! They are known for their whites however, I also love their Reds just as much. Great atmosphere, beautiful estate great place for a picnic. Everytime my wife and I come here we have never been disappointed with the tasting.

Friendly, beautiful estate. I learned a lot here about AVA’s, about different sav blancs and bought a beautiful cabernet franc. Super cute cat named Millie. Loved it here– super prices too. Thank you. Bring a picnic.

Not a fan of their wines. Russell did our pours and seemed high the whole time. Was a very odd experience that he seemed «gone» while pouring our wine. There was even a moment where he randomly left us, skipped out the back door and then showed up again on the other side (this is without telling us he was leaving). So, so strange. Nice kid but odd experience. The wines were beyond average and the ambiance was lacking all together.

Brander is definitely a long time favorite of mine. their SAUV BLANCS are truly top notch. I like the straight forwardness of them. Natalie is a great wine. Try it. The rose is also lovely.
The tasting room is quite pretty. Like a chatau. We tasted on the side patio which was actually great to be outdoors on a nice day with a knowledgeable and friendly pourer.
Worth a visit.
My Santa Ynez Valley disclaimer:
Overall, it’s much more expensive to taste in the SB region then it use to be. Most places are $ 12 – 15 where it use to be $ 5 with an occasional $ 10 but then you would get it credited back if you bought wine. HA! Gone are those days. Sad for those of us that have been tasting here for 20 years or so.

GREAT FOR OUTDOOR PICNICS! The Brander Vineyard has lot of outdoor tables and bench tables for you to enjoy a bottle of wine and bring your own picnic. It doesn’t have the same upscale and elegant feel as the other wineries we visited which was refreshing. I mean… C’MON…the place has a PINK castle! It’s fun! Like an adult playground.
We did the Classic tasting ($ 10) and got to try 5 different types of their famous wines. Brander is a very non-​pretentious vineyard which is why I really enjoyed my time here. The staff was really laid back and they explained their different wines to our group in a very non-​snooty way and answered all our questions. The courtyard is also really spacious and there is lots of natural shade provided from the beautiful trees. Super laid back and relaxing atmosphere. AND THERE ARE TWO SUPER FRIENDLY CATS HANGING AROUND WHO ARE JUST DYING TO BE PET. Why wouldn’t you love this place?!

Our tasting hosts Remy and Nick were fantastic and a wealth of knowledge about the wines, the winery, and the area. We bought several bottles of the Coleston Canyon Clone 7 Syrah ($ 30) and enjoyed our tasting. We brought our Clone 7 to Bouchon that night and had it with dinner — so delicious. I wish we had bought a case! I’ll just have to go back — oh darn! The tasting was reasonable ($ 10 for classic, $ 15 for deluxe) and I liked several of the wines. They have a nice courtyard for picnicking and are very close to Los Olivos Grocery store where you can get cheeses, meats, snacks and sandwiches. I’ll be sure stop in for more tasting (and probably buying) during my next time through the area.

What a strange little vineyard trapped in a time warp with King Arthur. It kind of scared me. I kind of liked it.
This 4 star review is for the whites at Brander. One of the oldest producers in the area for whites, they have it down.
As far as wanting to hang out here, it wasn’t a place to linger, but I did enjoy the history and commitment to the craft. People were friendly and I didn’t mind the retro.