Small-Group Santa Barbara Wine Tour (MAX SIX GUESTS) to Private Locations

I would recommend this tour if you can confirm all tastings will be at actual vineyards. We were very disappointed to find that one of the 3 tastings was in a small dark warehouse in an industrial park. Not what you anticipate when you pay for a winery tour in the beautiful wine country of Santa Barbara. Very disappointing. Lunch was good, and Karina was very nice, but before you go, make sure you will be going only to actual vineyards. Also know that after the last tasting, upon return to the van for the drive back to your hotel, a clipboard with a gratuity invoice from your tour guide asking for her/his gratuity and detailing suggested amounts and how they would like it to be given to them—will be laying in your seat when you get back into the van. It will detail several different percentages they suggest and how they would prefer you give it to them: Venmo, cash. Including one pre-calculated tip amount for 25%! This was tacky, overreaching, and insulting. First of all, I had put aside $120 in cash in my purse to tip the guide for my small group of 3 before I had even left the hotel that morning—Which was more than 20% of our 3 tix. Anyone who is going to tip—is going to tip. And if someone doesn’t believe in tipping their guide or didn’t have a good time for some reason, coming out and asking for for a tip at the end isn’t going to change their mind. And we can all do the math in our head. We are not stupid. We don’t need you to calculate percentages for us. And finally, gratuities are SUPPOSED TO BE discretionary and optional. Most, of course, will tip. We all know that. Most will tip fairly and sometimes generously. Those that don’t, will not do so just because you ask. So to those of us that know the right thing and always planned on doing the right thing, that “invoice” waiting for us on our seat in the van at the end of our last tasting, not only reminding us to tip, but calculating the various amounts—was not a classy, pleasant way to end the day. I’ve toured with guides all over the world, and have never seen this. I thought about keeping my $120, because I was so annoyed and taken back by the brass of this, but at the last minute, as we arrived back at our hotel, I gave her the 120. Again—more than 20%. Please know—people are not dumb, we can do simple math, and those that tip tour guides, will tip you. We don’t need to have you shove an invoice for a tip in our face at the end of the day. It actually almost cost you a tip. And please look up what a gratuity actually is—it’s a discretionary and optional “thank you” for service over and above what you are already being paid. You are not supposed to tell people or even remind people to give you one.

The wine, the views and our host, Karina were all awesome!! Enjoyed meeting vineyard owners and winemakers to hear their stories.

Steven was fantastic. A completely unique experience. Highly recommend for those looking or a more personal experience with a focus on smaller wineries.

Stephen are tour guide was very knowledgeable and wonderful. He interacted with our group and shared his extensive experience about Santa Barbara wines and winemaking he gave us great restaurant recommendations and we would love to go on tour with him again! We especially loved the selection wines tasting and learning Marco’s wine making process. Highly recommend this experience

What an outstanding way to celebrate our anniversary! We were very fortunate to be among very compatible, fun people. None of us had met each other but during our first winery visit we had lots of laughs and good conversation and it continued to get better and better. Steve, our driver, was fantastic and very informative. The wineries we visited, fit our likes very well.

Loved this tour!! Went to 3 wineries and we had time so our guide added an olive oil tasting before our last stop! Highly recommend!

Wonderful day with Karina! We visited several wineries, all different and amazing on their own. Karina is so knowledgable about wine, the region, the varietals, I feel like we learned more on this trip than through countless other wine tasting experiences. Looking forward to enjoying the wine all year round through our new wine clubs!

This was my favorite part of our trip! So much fun, so much education, and the sights were breathtaking. Don’t hesitate! This was worth every cent!

The tour was great, Steven was very punctuql and professional, the wineries visited and the tasting experiences were excellent... 6+ hours very well spent, I recommend it to anyone who wants to have a memorable wine tour of Santa Barbara.

The entire experience was amazing! Steven was excellent- fun, friendly, and very knowledgeable. Our group was so fun. The wine was fantastic. Great day!