Shoestring Winery

Went on a wine tour for my Bachelorette this weekend. Our first stop was Shoestring. We had an absolute blast here. The ladies were so friendly and fun.
The grounds are really beautiful. We liked the wine so much, that two of us joined the wine club! This is a must stop for your trip in the Santa Ynez Valley.

One of the first winery’s from the 101 freeway and one of the best. Small family run winery with outstanding whites and reds. A must see when visiting Solvang or Santa Ynez.

This lil winery is awesome and the lady’s working there are helpful knowledgable and fun! They explained the steps of wine tasting to get the most out of the wine, from swirling to smelling to the taste. They have a variety of good wine and also some delicious salts made from wines used for cooking and what not, they also sell some habenero jams that are all amazing !!! If your in town or passing by you should by shoestring you’ll love it

My bestie and I had a girls day trip and started our way to Solvang making stops along the way. We saw this winery and made an awesome impulsive decision to stop by for wine tasting. Dana and the staff were so sweet and helpful. We will definitely be going back soon! I recommend the Syrah. I bought a bottle for my boyfriend since he enjoys red win. P. S. The salted chocolate goes great with it.

I did a wine tour today and ended the trip here. They saved the best for last!
The staff was very friendly, they were very willing to explain wine tasting techniques and preferences, and the wine club was one of the best and most flexible options I’ve ever heard of.
Many people visited for a tasting, glass or bottle purchase while I was there and all of the patrons seamed loyal and satisfied. Some of the employees even knew the customer and their wine of choice on sight!
Besides wine, there were also a variety of salts, wafers, and pepper jellies. Very different from my other stops today.
This place and it’s story are a true hidden gem.

Their Merlot was surprisingly good and I’m not a red wine affectionado! What I absolutely loved more though was their cardboard chocolate wine wafers… they were so good we bought 6! And their habanero jam-​holy cow salivating while writing about it — a must eat!

This was our first stop in our string of wineries from DEETOURS, which was amazing! But I just have to stop and say, Dana was amazing. She not only gave us a full tour of the winery, and allowed us to sample the lovely jams and salts and chocolates for her table, but she also had us stop and smell the roses! There were flowers on the property that were lovely. Have her guide you through your day… she’s a delight!

Loved the service, Jess was awesome. Dana’s salts and jellies were perfect. The owner was just so nice. The atmosphere is great. Most importantly, the wine selections are the best. Make sure to ask about the membership. Overall, the experience was excellent.

So glad we stopped! Loved the feel and the staff. Friendly and helpful. We did the wine tasting. Didn’t leave with a bottle but left with a delicious jar of habanero jam. Definitely worth checking out, even if you don’t have a lot of time.

We visited this vineyard as part of a wine tour. Dana was super helpful and fun which made for a great time for my friend’s bachelorette party. She did a great job of explaining the wine and even took great photos of the group. The salty dark chocolate is to die for!

All of the wines are good, Great Staff and friendly. Recommend it, stop and enjoy.

This was the first stop on our wine tour with DeeTours (see my review for them too, they are awesome) and they made a great choice. The Shoestring wines are all estate grown and the tasting is done in the barrel room which is a converted barn, very fun. All of the wines were good, we left with a bottle of the Vino Blend which was our favorite. Adding to the selection of fine wines was their selection of wine salts, chocolates and pepper jellies all of which were excellent.

I recently went on a wine tour and stopped at 4 wineries total. Out of all of them this was my favorite! Not only because I fell in love with the Sangiovese but because the atmosphere was great and Dana was amazing! She had a great energetic spirit and made the tasting so much fun. I also loved the infused salts and fresh vine cut tomatoes as well as the amazing jellies. I will definitely be back!

They have wonderful wines and they have a very friendly engaging staff.

We were headed to Paso Robles for a girl’s weekend wine trip and decided to stop over in Solvang for lunch. So, Shoestring Winery became our very first wine tasting stop for our entire weekend and the bar was set very, very high! The wines are good, the ambiance is great and Dana was excellent! We let her know this trip was to mature my 21 yr old’s palette and to educate her on wines in general. Well, Dana took it from there! She taught all of us how to taste, learn from our senses and determine what we like. It was a real education and I encourage anyone tasting in this area to stop by Shoestring Winery. It’s not stuffy and not salesy. Just a down home winery with really friendly staff and very good wine! Oh and be sure to try the salted chocolates with the wine. I understand Dana makes those herself!
Let it be known that our group decided, after leaving Shoestring, that our later experiences were going to have a hard time surpassing this experience. As it turns out, the group was right. We never ventured into another tasting room as pleasant, educational and fun as our time at Shoestring Winery!

Great wine– great tasting room– FANTASTIC STAFF–
Be sure to sample the Ojai Jelly & specialty wine-​infused salts– You’ll stay & visit longer than you think!

For my first wine tasting experience ever, this was a fun and casual place. The owner was welcoming and taught my fiancé and I a few things about the wine tasting process. We learned to appreciate red wine (previously being the type to only tolerate sweet, fruity white wine). They didn’t try too hard to push wine tasting jargon on us, which was nice. They let us feel it out for ourselves.
It was pretty busy when we arrived, and it got busier as we stayed. We moved down the list of wine pretty quickly– probably too quickly? I saw a few people sitting outside and enjoying their glasses, but I really didn’t know the protocols for wine tasting, so we sort of powered through at the counter.
They also offer some free samples of yummy chocolate wafers, wine salts, and a surprisingly tasty habanero jam. These are all for sale, too, of course. We ended up buying a bottle of 2008 Sangiovese, which we really enjoyed. I never thought I’d like red wine, but the floodgates have opened! I also recommend the Syrah Rose.
The single-​occupant restroom is located outside toward the back of the tasting room’s building. Outside, they have various setups of tables, umbrellas, chairs, and benches for sitting in different sized groups. I imagine this would make for a great outdoor wedding scene. My fiancé and I sat outside on one of the two-​seater benches while we sobered up. One of the staff was walking by outside, noticed us sitting, and offered to bring us some water — very much needed at the time!
I would love to come visit again.

I had a great experience at Shoestring last weekend. The employees had wonderful attitudes and the wine was delicious! Dana provided us with our flight of wines and she really helped create a fun environment while tasting. We ended up going home with a bottle of wine but I wish we purchased some of the wine salts or spicy jellies as well. To me this winery was a perfect example of people coming together with great wine/​food to make for an amazing experience!

Dana and crew were fun!
Simple, industrial and plenty of trees outside. While purchasing a bottle or two, get a jar of the habenero jelly. So good!

Dana and Laurie are so fun, especially first thing in the morning! Love the Rose, Pinot Grigio and Sangiovese, the first 3 on the tasting. Actually all the wines are excellent! $ 10 for a tasting, $ 29+ for a bottle. Beautiful grounds, and really tasty habenero and jalapeño jellies to pair with goat cheese and crackers for post-​wine gnoshing.
Really, the rose was wonderful. Once in Los Olivos we went to lunch and tried ordering a rose that wasn’t Shoestring, and it was such a disappointment. More like a white zin than a rose. I’m kicking myself for not buying a bottle…
Good news is, of course, that joining their wine club is free and you get 20% off your personalized order! Definitely worth it, considering summer is virtually upon us– mid-​March and 85 degrees. Definitely time for rose, pinot grigio (for red wine drinkers!) and Sangiovese!
Thanks Ladies!