where to taste and buy wine??

My Husband and I will leave next week for a long trip to the USA. We wil start in Los Angeles and one of the first stops we will make is the area around Santa Barbara, the winecountry. Ofcourse (or at least for us that is ';ofcourse';!)we want to buy some nice wine (also to take with us in our RV for the rest of the trip). Can anyone recommend some good places to go?? We are looking for nice/good wine for a reasonable price (I would say anything over 10 to 15 dolars a bottle is too expensive for us).

Ofcourse I have found many vineyards on the web but I really don%26#39;t know how to make a choice.

thanks for any info you can get us.

And whiel I am on it: anyone any suggestions on a good spot to camp while visiting the wine-region??

where to taste and buy wine??

Got to Los Olivos. Gainey, Arthur Earl, Epiphany, Andrew Murray are all nice places to wine taste. Many recommend Sunstone in this area, also. If you want a meal with your wine tasting, go to Intermezzo, adjacent to the Wine Cask in Santa Barbara. Have fun! :)

where to taste and buy wine??

Hi tulipgirl,

syrahgirl did a great job answering the vineyard question. Regarding the RV campground, you may want to look at the web site www.flyingflags.com It is an RV campground in beautiful Santa Ynez close to the wineries you will be visiting. I am sure you will get some other good suggestions for campgrounds from other RV travelers. Hope you have a great time!

I might be a little late posting but I have some favorite vineyards that I would recommend for your trip. I second the prior suggestion for Andrew Murray. Their tasting room is in Los Olivos and you can make a stop at the Los Olivos Cafe while you%26#39;re there. Los Olivos Cafe is a great place to stop for lunch. I love Koehler winery. Their reds might be a little more expensive then what you mentioned you want to pay but they have a wonderful chardonnay that isn%26#39;t very expensive. Bridalwood is another wonderful choice. Not only is it absolutely beautiful (great place to have a picnic) but they have a large selection of very good wines in all price ranges. Sunstone is also nice and I really like the wines at Shoestring. One to also check out is Rusack (though expensive). Try to stay away from a lot of the commercialized places and stick to the smaller boutique wineries. If you%26#39;re looking for a wonderful Italian restaurant try Trattoria Grappola-it never disappoints!

We had a very good dinner at the Los Olivos Cafe, really yummy Lamb Shank and the chocolate ';scream'; for dessert was rich and decadant. You can get the Bernat Syrah here that the owner makes himself. :)

I think you may have trouble finding wine in your price range at the vineyards. You would probably do better shopping in a supermarket. The experiences I%26#39;ve had at the wineries is that the wine is all $30 and up.

Thanks everyone! I am actually IN Buellton (flying flags RV park) as I am reading the last entries. Tomorrow we will have to make a choice as where to go, but with all your help this will be a lot easier. I will raise a glass to the health of all of you!!

Cheers tulipgirl (love the screen name) and have fun in the wine country! :)