Los Angeles is not a city people associate with wine, and that is exactly why the wineries within a couple of hours of it are such a good day out. Malibu’s vineyards climb the Santa Monica Mountains less than an hour from Santa Monica; Santa Barbara wine country, two hours north, is one of California’s great regions and reachable by train; Temecula, an hour and a half south-east, is the weekend escape of the Inland Empire; and Ojai hides a cult producer in a valley an hour and a half up the coast.
This guide is about the day trip. It gathers the wineries we would send a first-timer to in each of those four areas, the honest logistics of Southern California traffic and the one route you can do by rail, where to eat between tastings, and where to stay if a day becomes a weekend. Our regional guides are linked at the end.
Getting There From Los Angeles
Malibu is the closest wine country, forty-five minutes to an hour from Santa Monica along Pacific Coast Highway and up the canyon roads into the Santa Monica Mountains, and the only one that can be done in an afternoon. It is also the one to check before you go: the fires of 2018 and 2025 changed what is open, several tasting rooms have closed for good, and the estate that lost its coast-road tasting room now pours only at weekends in season, so confirm hours the week you travel.
Santa Barbara wine country is about two to two and a half hours north on Highway 101, with the Santa Ynez Valley towns of Los Olivos, Solvang and Buellton at the centre, the cool Sta. Rita Hills towards Lompoc, and a cluster of tasting rooms in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone a short walk from the station. That station is the point: Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner runs from Union Station to Santa Barbara in about two and three-quarter hours, which makes the Funk Zone the best car-free wine day in Southern California, with the valley wineries a tour or a rideshare beyond.
Temecula Valley is about an hour and a half south-east on Interstate 15 outside rush hour, and considerably more in it; leave early and come back after the traffic. The wineries line Rancho California Road within a few minutes of each other, so a driver or one of the local shuttle tours does the day easily. Ojai is about an hour and a half up the coast via Ventura. California’s drink-driving limit is 0.08, so agree the driver before the first pour wherever you go.
Wine Tours Near Los Angeles
The wine country near Los Angeles runs from Malibu and Temecula to the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara. These small-group and private trips work those areas, some with pickup in the city and some you drive to. Booking is through Viator; the ratings and prices are theirs and can change.
A guided vineyard hike in the hills above Malibu with photo stops and wine, an easy half day from the city.
Check availability on ViatorA tasting day among Temecula Valley wineries, the closest wine country to Los Angeles by car.
Check availability on ViatorAn all-inclusive day in the Santa Ynez Valley with winery visits and tastings.
Check availability on ViatorA full day from Los Angeles up to the Santa Barbara wine country with tastings, with pickup in the city.
Check availability on ViatorOur Recommended Wineries Near Los Angeles
These are the tastings we would point a first-timer to, grouped so you can build a single-area day: Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains closest to the city, Santa Barbara wine country by road or rail, Temecula Valley to the south-east, and Ojai up the coast. Each links through to our full winery guide, and the map plots them all so you can see what sits close together.
Wineries within day-trip range of Los Angeles · tap a pin for the winery guide. Map data © OpenStreetMap.
Rosenthal – The Malibu Estate Vineyard
Why Guests Love It: Oak-Shaded Canyon Vineyard, Live Music Weekends, Steel-Aged Chardonnay
The vines here were first planted in 1987, which the winery describes as the first vineyard in Malibu. The old PCH tasting room burned in the January 2025 Palisades Fire; since August 2025 tastings happen at the canyon estate itself, weekends only, as a reservation-only 2.5-hour vineyard experience among oaks and vines with live music on the lawn.
Read our full Rosenthal – The Malibu Estate Vineyard guide →The Barn at Cielo Farms
Why Guests Love It: Sunset Mountain Views, Open-Air Terrace, Weekend Pizzas
A hillside vineyard wine bar on Mulholland Highway with sunset views across the Santa Monica Mountains and a wine list of its own sparkling, rose, white and red. Reservations are mandatory through Tock with a 35 dollar day pass per party (not per person); cheese and charcuterie all week, pizzas Friday to Sunday, children only on Sundays and no pets.
Read our full The Barn at Cielo Farms guide →Malibu Wines & Beer Garden
Why Guests Love It: Shaded Garden Tables, Bring-Your-Own Picnic, Wood-Fired Pizza
The tasting garden for the Semler family’s Saddlerock Ranch, an 1,100-acre property in the Santa Monica Mountains where the family began planting Cabernet Sauvignon in 1997 and now farms more than 70 acres of hillside vines across twelve varieties. Walk-ins are welcome, table reservations carry a 20 dollar per person deposit credited to your tab, wood-fired pizza runs Friday evenings and weekends, and you may bring your own food. Strictly 21 and over.
Read our full Malibu Wines & Beer Garden guide →Malibu Wine Hikes (Saddlerock Ranch)
Why Guests Love It: Vineyard Hike With Tasting, Chumash Cave Paintings, VW Bus Tour
The only way to walk the Semler estate vines on Saddlerock Ranch: a guided 2.5-mile, two-hour loop with a wine tasting included (49 dollars per person), passing the Chumash cave paintings known as the Cave of the Four Horsemen. A 4×4 vineyard tour with charcuterie (from 425 dollars per vehicle) and a two-hour VW bus tour (from 99 dollars per person) cover the ranch for anyone who would rather ride than hike. Closed Tuesdays; reservations required.
Read our full Malibu Wine Hikes (Saddlerock Ranch) guide →Cornell Winery & Tasting Room
Why Guests Love It: Old West Canyon Setting, Malibu Coast Wines Under One Roof, The Old Place Next Door
Cornell Winery is the tasting room of the Santa Monica Mountains, a rustic wooden room at the Cornell crossroads in the hills between Malibu and Agoura that pours wines from the Malibu Coast appellation and neighbouring small producers, next door to The Old Place, the log-cabin restaurant that has fed canyon regulars for decades. It is the easiest place to taste what the mountains make without visiting each vineyard.
Read our full Cornell Winery & Tasting Room guide →Carhartt Family Wines
Why Guests Love It: Covered Garden Patio, Family-Run Pours, Dog Friendly
Mike and Brooke Carhartt planted their first vines on the family’s Rancho Santa Ynez in 1996 and now farm about 20 acres there with their son Chase, selling everything direct from the Los Olivos tasting room and its covered back patio. The tasting room is open 364 days a year, welcomes dogs and outside food, and pours a rotating list of more than 20 seasonal wines including estate Sangiovese.
Read our full Carhartt Family Wines guide →Stolpman Vineyards Tasting Room
Why Guests Love It: Organic Ballard Canyon Syrah, Sunny Patio, Roussanne and Rhone Whites
The Los Olivos patio for the Stolpman family’s Ballard Canyon estate, planted in the early 1990s on a limestone outcrop that suits Syrah and Roussanne, farmed organically and dry-farmed with native fermentations in the cellar. Two flights are poured daily (25 dollars, free for club members), parties are capped at six, and the La Cuadrilla bottling sends its profits to the vineyard crew.
Read our full Stolpman Vineyards Tasting Room guide →Brave & Maiden Estate
Why Guests Love It: Vineyard and Mountain Views, Private Seated Tastings, Estate Cabernet
A Santa Ynez estate off Highway 246 built around Cabernet Sauvignon, with Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, and a tasting room that looks straight over the vines to the mountains. Everything is by appointment, seven days a week between 10am and 3:30pm: a private seated tasting is 55 dollars, a winery tour with tasting 100 dollars, and dogs are seated outside.
Read our full Brave & Maiden Estate guide →Melville Winery
Why Guests Love It: Estate Pinot Noir, Vineyard-View Seating, Dogs and Kids Welcome
Ron Melville moved his family estate to the Sta. Rita Hills in 1996 to grow cold-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah, and the 125-acre vineyard along Highway 246 is still run by Ron and his son Chad with everything bottled from estate fruit. The tasting room has indoor and outdoor seating facing the vines and states plainly that it is dog and kid friendly.
Read our full Melville Winery guide →Babcock Winery & Vineyards
Why Guests Love It: Sta. Rita Hills Pioneer, Quirky Indoor-Outdoor Lounges, No Reservation Under Eight
Next door to Melville on Highway 246, Bryan Babcock has been making wine since the 1980s and was central to getting the Sta. Rita Hills recognised as its own AVA. The winery is known for its gravity-assisted vine canopy and a maze of indoor and outdoor tasting spaces; two flights are offered plus wine by the glass, and parties of seven or fewer need no reservation.
Read our full Babcock Winery & Vineyards guide →Margerum Santa Barbara Tasting Room
Why Guests Love It: Walk From The Train, Heated Patio, M5 Rhone Blends
Doug Margerum launched his label in 2001 and pours it at the Hotel Californian in the Funk Zone, a short walk from the Amtrak station, with a heated patio and hours until 8pm (9pm Friday and Saturday). The list is Rhone-led from a 20-acre estate vineyard: the M5 red and white blends plus Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, Counoise, Picpoul, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne, which makes it the best no-car wine stop from Los Angeles.
Read our full Margerum Santa Barbara Tasting Room guide →Leoness Cellars
Why Guests Love It: Terrace Vineyard Views, Award-Winning Winery Restaurant, Vineyard Tours
Founded in 2002 by Gary Winder, who has farmed Temecula since 1972, and Mike Rennie, with a 20-acre estate Cabernet block planted in 1999 and rolling vineyard views from the terrace. The Restaurant at Leoness won the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice award for best winery restaurant in 2025; tastings, vineyard tours and the restaurant are all booked online.
Read our full Leoness Cellars guide →Wilson Creek Winery
Why Guests Love It: Almond Sparkling Wine, Creekside Grille Lunch, Live Music Weekends
The Wilson family’s winery since 1996 and the valley’s best-known address for sparkling wine, thanks to its almond sparkling and the newer Almondsecco and Citrus Spritz. It is a big, lively property with multiple tasting areas, live music and the Creekside Grille (lunch daily, dinner Fridays) looking over the vines. Children must be supervised and pets are not allowed apart from service dogs.
Read our full Wilson Creek Winery guide →Doffo Winery
Why Guests Love It: Malbec From An Argentine Family, MotoDoffo Vintage Motorcycles, Garden Brunch
Marcelo Doffo founded this micro-boutique winery in 1997 around the site of a historic Temecula schoolhouse, and his Argentine roots show in the Malbec that, with Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, made the family’s name. The MotoDoffo collection of more than 200 vintage motorcycles and scooters is free to view from the tasting room; groups of one to seven can walk in, eight or more must reserve, and The Brunch House serves on the garden patio.
Read our full Doffo Winery guide →Falkner Winery
Why Guests Love It: Hilltop Panorama, Pinnacle Restaurant Lunch, Amante Super-Tuscan
The Falkner family has made wine here since 2000 on a hilltop with some of the widest vineyard views in the valley; tastings run daily 10am to 5pm with reservations recommended for the al fresco tasting. The Pinnacle Restaurant upstairs serves lunch Wednesday to Sunday behind near floor-to-ceiling windows, and the list runs from Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah to the Amante super-Tuscan blend.
Read our full Falkner Winery guide →The Ojai Vineyard Tasting Room
Why Guests Love It: Cult Syrah and Pinot Noir, Walkable Downtown Ojai, Dogs Welcome
Adam Tolmach started The Ojai Vineyard in 1983 after co-founding Au Bon Climat, and still makes about 6,000 cases a year of vineyard-designated Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Grenache and Sauvignon Blanc from long-term Santa Barbara County growers, plus Barbera and new hybrid whites. The downtown tasting room beside the Ojai Art Center is open daily noon to 6pm, reservations are free and recommended on weekends, and children and well-behaved dogs are welcome.
Read our full The Ojai Vineyard Tasting Room guide →Plan Your Wine Day
Tell us how long you have and what you are after, and we will put together a day from the wineries in this guide, in real driving order, with a route you can open in Google Maps and reminders to book.
Where to Eat
Lunch is part of the day in every one of these regions, from a beach-side deli in Malibu to the tasting-room towns of the Santa Ynez Valley and the winery restaurants of Temecula. These are the standouts, all well loved by the travellers who review them.
The Old Place (Cornell) (Malibu)
A 19th-century general store turned steakhouse next door to Cornell Winery, with thick-cut bacon BLTs and steak sandwiches; open Thursday to Sunday only and worth booking weeks ahead for a weekend table.
Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market (Malibu)
No-frills counter-service fish and chips at picnic tables above the ocean on PCH; daily 11am to 8pm, soft drinks only, so save the wine for the winery.
Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe (Santa Barbara County)
Serving lunch and dinner daily since 1995 on Los Olivos’ main street, steps from Carhartt and Stolpman, with a 500-bottle local list and Cal-Med plates.
Industrial Eats (Santa Barbara County)
Counter-service wood-fired pizza and deli plates in the Buellton industrial park between Los Olivos and the Sta. Rita Hills wineries; communal tables, open noon to 8pm daily.
Bolero Restaurante at Europa Village (Temecula)
Spanish tapas and paella at the Europa Village winery resort, a few minutes from the Rancho California Road estates; reviewers advise reserving for weekend lunch.
Creekside Grille at Wilson Creek (Temecula)
Seasonal, locally sourced lunch on the winery grounds with vineyard views and unusually good gluten-free options; lunch daily, dinner Fridays.
Ojai Rotie (Ojai)
Rotisserie chicken and sourdough on a garden patio a short walk from the Ojai Vineyard tasting room; closed Monday and Tuesday.
Where to Stay
Los Angeles is the natural base for Malibu, but Santa Barbara wine country and Temecula both reward a night among the vines, and Ojai has one of the most celebrated resorts in California.
Calamigos Guest Ranch and Beach Club (Malibu)
Cottages and bungalows on a 200-acre ranch in the Malibu canyons close to the Mulholland Highway wineries, with a private beach club for guests and a pet-friendly policy.
Check availability on Booking.comThe Landsby (Santa Barbara County)
Scandinavian-styled boutique hotel in the centre of Solvang, ten minutes from Los Olivos and on the way to the Sta. Rita Hills, with shops and cafes on foot.
Check availability on Booking.comPonte Vineyard Inn (Temecula)
Four-star inn on the Ponte estate on Rancho California Road, so the first tasting of the day is a walk from your room; pool, terrace and on-site restaurant.
Check availability on Booking.comOjai Valley Inn (Ojai)
The valley’s historic Spanish Colonial resort with spa, golf and five restaurants, a few minutes’ drive from the downtown tasting rooms.
Check availability on Booking.comWhat to Pack
Southern California is dry and sunny most of the year, but the coast is cooler than the valleys and the Santa Ynez Valley can be twenty degrees warmer than Santa Barbara in the afternoon. Pack sun protection, a layer for the coast and the evenings, and comfortable shoes for the canyon roads and vineyard paths.
Bring water for between tastings, a cooler for the bottles you buy so they do not bake in the car, and your reservations and IDs. Traffic is the real variable; leave before eight on a weekend and plan the return after seven.
Why Los Angeles Is a Wine Lover's City
Los Angeles was California’s first wine city: vineyards covered the land around Olvera Street in the 1830s and the state’s wine industry began here before it moved north. What the city offers today is range rather than a single region: mountain vineyards above the Pacific, a world-class region two hours north that you can reach by train, and a valley to the south-east built for a weekend.
Pick one region per day, check what is open before you drive, book the tastings you care about most, and let the rest unfold over a long lunch. That is the whole art of wine tasting from Los Angeles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can you go wine tasting near Los Angeles?
The closest vineyards are in Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains, under an hour from Santa Monica. Santa Barbara wine country is about two to two and a half hours north, Temecula Valley about an hour and a half south-east, and Ojai about an hour and a half up the coast.
How far is Temecula from Los Angeles?
Temecula is about ninety miles south-east of downtown Los Angeles, roughly an hour and a half on Interstate 15 outside rush hour and considerably longer in it. The wineries sit within a few minutes of each other along Rancho California Road.
Can you visit wineries near Los Angeles without a car?
Yes, by train to Santa Barbara. Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner runs from Union Station to Santa Barbara in about two and three-quarter hours, and the Funk Zone tasting rooms are a short walk from the station, with tours and rideshares reaching the Santa Ynez Valley. Malibu, Temecula and Ojai need a driver.
Are the Malibu wineries open after the fires?
Some are and some are not. Several Malibu tasting rooms closed after the 2018 and 2025 fires, and one estate that lost its coast-road tasting room now pours at its mountain vineyard only at weekends in season. Check each winery’s current hours the week you travel.
When is the best time to visit wineries near Los Angeles?
Spring and autumn are ideal, with harvest in September and October the liveliest time in Santa Barbara and Temecula. Summer afternoons are hot inland, so taste early; winter is mild and quiet, and the Malibu vineyards are at their greenest after the rains.