Los Olivos Tasting Room & Wine Shop

The most amazing wines I’ve had at a tasting. I would have bought all of them if I could! The owner has a lot of personality and was very knowledgable and quite opinionated about wine! It was a fun experience.

If you know your basics, you’ll get along fine with the owner. Is he a sweet guy? No. This is not a vintner’s tasting room. It is a wine store that has tastings. His tastings are from various regions /​sellers and you’ll get better wines here than on average at any one winery. Seven good tastings for $ 10; that is value. We bought a couple bottles. The curmudgeon old man adds to the experience. If you want cute young wine pourers who spout the company line, visit any of the other 100 wineries. This is the most unique place we’ve visited over the weekend. By the way, his name is Chris… and he was nice to us and he is extremely knowledgeable.

Is the owner curmudgeonly-​sure. I think it is part of the charm. It is also one of the best tasting rooms. Every time we go we end up with new delicious treasures. And it is one of the last stalwarts against the massive corporatization of this region.
His specialty was Pinot before Pinot was a thing (word to the wise. Don’t mention «Sideways»)
If you don’t visit it is definitely your loss

I agree with Stacy and Jerome, the man behind the bar was a crotchety old curmudgeon, we didn’t even stay to do any tasting — and will not recommend this place or return.

This guy is the worst. I love talking to people who know a lot about a subject but hate someone who spends their time making you feel dumb for the questions you ask. The pinots he poured were fine although he ruined it with a horrible raspberry desert wine at the end. Ultimately though wine tasting is about the experience and he gave us a terrible one. I hardly ever have to fight the urge to storm out of a place but I had that here Someone should tell him he’s in the customer service business and that perhaps he should focus on helping educate people about wine rather than telling them all the reasons he doesn’t carry or pour certain things because they don’t sell. To be clear– I am not a novice wine drinker but also know how much I don’t know. That’s why we were there: to learn. Avoid like the plague and head on out to Demetria. Also he informed us after the fact that he doesn’t take credit cards if you only do the tasting and don’t buy bottles (and we certainly weren’t buying bottles from him).

It’s now «Consumable Los Olivos». The outside sign is deceiving because it names all these great wineries but you go inside and they have cheap wine tasting for $ 10pp and only sell the good bottles of wines. They should just call themselves a wine store.

Great Pinots! The owner is a character and knows his stuff. He’s been there for 29 years. Fabulous variety for tastings and just $ 10 total. We stocked up on some unique Pinots.

What a great tasting room and owner.
We saw a sign outside advertising Sea Smoke available to taste.
We went in, asked to taste the Sea Smoke.
Ended up having a conversation with the owner. Discussed wine, the local regions, the history of Los Olivos.
He really knows his stuff. True deep knowledge.
After talking wine for a bit he said, «I have something you have got to try».
He pulled out a wine we hadn’t seen, and isn’t widely available at home for us. He opened it and poured two really nice pours. (no charge) and asked us our thoughts and told us about the wine.
He nailed it… line drive home run… right down the center. It was exactly what we are always looking for in a Pinot.
We bought a bottle, and will be ordering from his shop to have some shipped out. (It was a 2012 Center of Effort)
If your skin is thicker than crêpe paper ignore the bad reviews. He is a nice, knowledgeable guy, who knows his wine, and makes superb recommendations. (i.e. what you always want from a vintner and don’t get)

Anybody who gets pissy from the owner of this place is most likely an old soccer mom who is used to getting kiss butt treatment from her maids. Consumable Arts is a place to taste wine and buy it if you like it, nothing more nothing less.
Chris the owner has been around the block and knows his wines, My girlfriend and I have been here over the years and keep coming back. He specializes in Pinot Noir and sells some of the best SYV has to offer. There have been people who complain about his selection of wines, saying «blah blah blah he only sells pinot» yet fail to see the SIGN ON HIS WINDOW that says specializing in Pinot Noir. He also does a few Grenaches and Syrahs which are killer.
So if you are not a stuck up old female dog then come in and try his wines. Keep an open mind. While he may seem cranky to some, he really is just a comical old dude with a dry sense of humor and doesn’t like dumb drunk tourists.
Just came from his place with 6 bottles and a smile on our faces.

We have tasted here several times and know the routine. The grumpy old man «GOM» (owner) is the wine tasting Nazi of the Santa Ynez Valley but for some, he is his own man with his own personality. Here are some tips if you want to «accept the abuse» and «get along» with GOM:
1. Do not EVER mention Sea Smoke. GOM loathes it despite him advertising it and selling it one bottle at a time for about $ 120. He rarely if ever has it open for tasting and its an extra $ 10. Simply not worth it… the bottle or the attitude… really. If you’re obsessed with Sea Smoke, go to the Wine Ghetto in Lompok to the Santa Rita Hills tasting room… they have lots of Sea Smoke for the same prices and have a great attitude.
2. Do not EVER bring your dog into this place. GOM loathes dogs in his store and he is more than willing to be rude to you if you do. «Service» dog owner beware!
3. Don’t bring your kids or anyone under 21 into this place. My guess, and its just a guess, is that GOM rubs the locals so negatively that if he does anything wrong, the cops/​ABC are called to try to shut him down.
4. Don’t mention Sideways… ever. It makes GOM even grumpier.
5. If you are a bike rider, pass on this place. I’ve ridden my bike all through Sonoma and Napa and across Italy and as romantic as it sounds, wine tasting and bike riding really don’t mix so well. Perhaps a glass at lunch or just one tasting, otherwise, leave that to your day (s) off the saddle. GOM is no friend of the cyclist.
6. Don’t be part of a wine tour or with a group larger than 4 if possible. My own opinion is that this confuses GOM which results in harsh tactics to those «guests.»
7. Don’t be upset at GOM asking for $ 10 up front per person for tasting. He does that because he knows that occasionally he is so unpleasant that people leave in the middle of the tasting and don’t pay. In fact, pull out your $ 10 or $ 20 (for 2) without him even asking, slap it on the table and see what happens… that may put a smile on his face but I highly doubt it.
8. Go into this place as a business proposition… you are in there to taste wines and if you like them, to purchase them. Bantering is very much discouraged, so if you have to say anything, keep it brief and about the wines you are tasting and that’s it.
Why go to this place? Because GOM pours and sells very good wines that are difficult to find. And he pours 5 – 8 wines (in the $ 25-​$ 50 range) per tasting too. That’s it. Period. I happen to see GOM as a Seinfeld character (hence the Wine Nazi reference) but my wife, who can put a smile on anyone’s face, is hesitant to return. She actually gets along with the owner but simply does not believe in patronizing a place with such a negative vibe. And while he treats us just fine as we follow 1 – 8, it is unpleasant to watch others get treated harshly. We shall see. I doubt GOM reads these reviews but if he did, I would ask him just one question: Is pouring wines to people enthusiastic (but occasionally ignorant) about wine such a bad life?

The «Cranky Old Man» term used to describe the bartender in multiple reviews, is an understatement. Within 30 seconds of entering this bar (thus the no one under 21 years of age allowed sign), I was wondering what horrible tragedy had befallen this employee to cause him to have such a nasty demeanor. Even more offensive and uncouth than the cranky old man, was his haggardly mother who also works in the shop. My wife and I were so disgusted with their insulting attitude, lack of breeding, and sheer obnoxious behavior that we left without paying for a tasting or buying one item from this shop. Our assumption was that they are vintner-​wanna-​bes who lack the funds to own an actual label and are relegated to working in a shop selling other people’s wine. Their bitter attitudes, we have no doubt, will continue to cost the vintners who allow their wines to be pedaled by these people, many purchases and any possibility of positive publicity. It is those people who are entrusting their sales to the old man and his mother who are paying the price.
We frequent the vineyards in the valley several times per year. We purchase many cases of wonderful wine and always have enjoyable experiences. And while we don’t expect to be «pampered» we do expect common courtesy. There are too many fabulous wineries in the SYV to waste your time in this shop. Take our advice — skip the Los Olivos Tasting Room — you’ll be happy that you did.

I really enjoyed this tasting room and wine shop. They have a great variety of wines from throughout the region and the owner is very knowledgeable about the wines that he is pouring. They have a huge menu and pour about 7 or 8 different wines. There is a nice variation between the different wines that he is pouring. If they still have it, you have to try the Raspberry dessert wine– it’s divine. I bought a bottle and I want to pour it over ice cream or pancakes… mmmmmmmmmmmmmm…

Hmm, interesting. I can’t decide if I like the guy here or not. He was kind of an ass but also just kind of honest. I guess that makes for not great customer service but also I am happy with people being honest. The guy pretty much thinks that he knows everything about wine and that he only has the best in his shop. I disagree with many of the things he said, like Pinot Noir is the best wine, but all the wines he served us were good and that is all that really matters. Basically the shop has lots of wine, mostly from smaller local vineyards. You can do a tasting of whatever he has open or you can just buy a bottle based on his recommendations. He had a good variety open and we ended up taking home a couple bottles.

My husband and I were walking by and notice a sign advertising sea smoke wines which we both love! As my husband told me he would like to go in for that particular wine the tasting room working rudely interrupts saying «well that wine is very expensive» to my husband and I as if we couldn’t afford it! We walked down the street to the Los Olivos wine merchant and café to buy it instead since they are friendly and do not judge the book by its cover!
Being open minded I went back months later to give the place a shot once more. The rude man behind the counter was a jerk to me right from the start. I will never go back or recommend this place to anyone. It’s a shame all the wines in his shop will be getting a bad reputation from his very bad personality.
Some people have commented on here his job isn’t to be kind it’s to sell wine but being nice to the people that walk in is pretty much the only way to get people to buy! I can’t imagine this place being in business for many years to come.
Go to the Los Olivos café instead! 100%

The man behind the tasting bar needs to brush up on customer service and general politeness.
My husband and I came here a couple years ago and spent a lot of money buying Sea Smoke wine. We decided to stop by again, but the moment my husband walked through the door with our small, well-​behaved dog on a leash, the man behind the bar said «get the puppy out or no wine tasting» — okay, bite me a-​hole. We moved on to several other tasting rooms in town who graciously welcomed us and our four-​legged family member into their tasting rooms.
I see this tasting room has low ratings — I haven’t read any yet, but I can only guess the snarly attitude of the man running the tasting room doesn’t impress customers.
Again, dogs don’t have to be welcome, but a friendly tone of voice and well-​chosen, polite words would be a respectable way to treat a customer interested in spending money in your establishment.

This is by far one of the hardest reviews I’ve had to write. How do you tell a world that is all about being treated with gloves, to take them off when you come here? All guards must come down when you step here. The Mr. holds no punches and expects nothing. I absolutely loved it here. It was a real, down-​to-​earth tasting, Just the way I want it. Good pours with a healthy dose of opinions.
If he had poured some wines that were horrible, bad or just plain sucked, then I could see a problem. I like every single one he poured and even challenged other places while he did it. How do you expect to grow, especially in wine culture, if you think your are king of the world, and know it?
If you can find it, look for the humor in it.
When the GF and I went there, he looked at our bag. The bag had a label on it, we had two wines in there from the establishment and asked how we liked it. We said we like it, but wasn’t as good as before. He said they just got bought out by a bigger corporate winery (who will go unmentioned) and they suck. Reaches over and pulls out a wine, «Here, try this». Killer!
That was the whole experience. We walked out with four wines.
And don’t forget; never, never, EVER mention the movie or book Sideways to him. If you do, you will get a few great stories.

How can people be fans of this place?
On Easter, on our way back from a trip, we stopped into town to grab a few wines before heading home. My Girlfriend was immediately drawn to the sign on the street advertizing Dessert wine tastings. I was excited as well as there was supposedly Pinos to drink too. However, upon entering we were not very well received.
First, if you have a sign out side advertising something and people inquire about it and genuinely would like to try it, don’t tell them that you aren’t doing said tastings because you don’t happen to have any dessert wine bottles open. Second, don’t get offended that we decide to leave your shop because you are rude. Informing us that we can have a tasting of whatever is open and not taking the time to, maybe, explain what you have open is piss-​poor customer service.
I don’t expect to be pampered; however, I would expect to be treated with basic courtesy.
Upon reading reviews of this place I see that this isn’t a boutique winery trying to sell their product, but a person/​business who is an outlet for smaller wineries, who, would otherwise not be able to showcase their wines; and/​or an outlet for wines not commonly found in the region. It’s bad for business both for this tasting room and the wineries this place represents.
Funny enough, I experienced this in April and here it is July and seeing this shop again today has compelled me to warn others to avoid this place. Additionally we couldn’t remember the name and were able to find this place just by searching for «grumpy old man» — kind of makes you think, doesn’t it?

I really don’t think the Mr. is in the business of impressing people who stumble into his tasting room expecting a glamorous parade of foofoo… Jeeze, what a bunch of whiners in here! Pay your $ 10, enjoy the hand selected pours, then support the small local business and leave with your favorite bottle.
We were sent here by a local of Los Olivos, after my husband golfed with him and chatted him up on the local wineries. We wanted a solid showcase of the SYV without traveling all over the SYV… we just didn’t have the time for it. And we were not too enthused about the shop-​front tasting rooms in town as they were overrun with drunken tourists. This place was about 20 minutes cruising slowly from Solvang. The drive was gorgeous, and I really wanted to pull over and play with the miniature horses, but we had to make it here before they closed so that was a no-​go.
We paid our $ 20 upfront and were handed two glasses and a list of the current stock. We tasted the 2012 Jaffurs Viognier, Haka 2009 SB Pinot Noir, Sandler 2010 Bien Nacido Pinot Noir (SO GOOD, so smooth) 2009 Kenneth-​Crawford Babcock Pinot Noir, Center of Effort 2010 Edna Valley Pinor Noir (one of my faves… so jammy and smooth), 2007 Barrack Bordeaux, and One Time Spaceman 2010 Paso GSM Blend (also a fave). We finished with a sip of the Saint James Raspberry Regale. Each one was poured along with some background on its maker, and a history lesson on the surrounding valleys.
I didn’t feel pressured to buy anything, but I was really impressed with the One Time Spaceman and the price was right (ok ok, and I loved the label!!!) so I went with that, and a Raspberry Regale for some future champagne cocktails. I felt appreciated as we left, and I really appreciated the attention paid to us simple tourists passing through. A good place to stop in if you are in Los Olivos and want to try some nice small production wines without all the fluff.

If you come into the place and take one look, do you really expect to be pampered? This place is serious about the wine. One of the few places where you can pick up a bottle of Sea Smoke, Alban and Saxum in one shot. Try looking for those 3 in any of your local wine shops and you’d be hard pressed to find them together. The grumpy old dude KNOWS his wine. Unfortunately he doesn’t impart his knowledge freely.
As for what you can taste, I love the concept. Come taste wines you can’t taste anywhere else. How else can I discover smaller wineries without having to buy an entire bottle. The flight wasn’t Pinot heavy anymore, we had a Chardonnay, GSM blend, Bordeaux blend, of course a couple Pinots and a dessert wine. Ended up with the Bordeaux blend from Happy Canyon Vineyards and a bottle of the hard to find (not tasted) Sea Smoke.

I have to agree with a few of the others — the man behind the counter was not at all friendly.
Of the few wines I tasted, I didn’t like any of them. Prices were higher there then other places for identical bottles of wine. When we asked if they could match the other prices they were quite rude.
With all the great options in Los Olivos, I will not stop in here again and I would not recommend it.