Wine Tours by Appellation - Santa Barbara, California

Peter Spera III

Paul guided me and my wife on a private tour in June 2024. Our Airbnb host referred us to Appellation Wine Tours. Paul was quick to respond to the initial request with information about his company and a list of questions to help him craft the day for us. He asked about other wine tours and wineries that we had visited in the past as well as our favorite wine varieties. Based on the answers to those questions he created an incredible day for us. He responded immediately to questions that we had prior to the day of the tour. On the tour day he picked us at our Airbnb, the vehicle was comfortable, and Paul was highly informative about the wineries and wine growing in the area. He discussed wine and any questions that we had on the way to the first stop. We had private tastings at 3 wineries; all were great and gave us a good viewpoint of the wine in the area. The lunch that he prepared at the second stop was excellent and the outdoor setting in the vineyard was the perfect place for lunch.
Overall, we enjoyed our day with Paul. He was informative and easy to talk with, the wineries that we visited were perfectly suited to our tastes while also letting us explore new wine. I would recommend him to anyone who is looking for a private wine tour.

Mary Ann Lee

What an incredible day! We were taking a girl's trip to celebrate a special birthday and wanted to include a wine tasting as none of us had gone on one before. I found Paul's page when researching wine tours and reached out to him. He responded quickly and sent us each a survey to find out about our previous experience, what types of wine we liked and what we were looking for, then set up an itinerary based on our responses. Paul picked us up in his vehicle and gave us a history of the regions we'd be seeing as well as the ways they would affect the various wines we would taste. He is a wealth of information!
We learned more from each individual hosting the tastings and met some exceptional wine makers who were truly wonderful people. We sampled wines that were so much better than anything we'd had before and had a wonderful lunch at one of the vineyards.
The weather was perfect, the vineyard country was breathtaking, and the entire experience was relaxed and informative. I would definitely recommend this tour, it's worth every penny!

joanna tan

My husband and I visited Santa Barbara for the first time and he wanted to do a wine tour. We chanced upon Paul’s website and liked the fact that we were going to be guided by someone who was a sommelier and experienced in the industry. Communication with Paul was such a breeze. Responses were always very prompt and accommodating. The itinerary was supposed to be surprise, just trust the process because it works. When the day came, it was truly magical and beautiful. I am not a wine drinker but i loved sniffing and appreciated the stories and the inspiration behind the wine making. Paul himself did an amazing job in setting up the stage before each visit to the wine facility, my husband loved it. His wonderful personality, passion and knowledge will blow you away. Each wine recommendation that Paul brought us to was super amazing. We had such an amazing time. The cheese platter that Paul served was delicious! This wine tour was a highlight of our time in SB and will def do another tour with Paul when we are ever back in Santa Barbara. A BIG thank you to Paul for creating such ofa beautiful memory in SB for us, you are the best!

Happy W

If you want an intimate, knowledgeable, unpretentious experience with winemakers who create amazing wines, this is your place. I stumbled upon it as I wanted to take my daughter who is a student in Santa Barbara wine tasting for her 21st birthday without worrying about driving or figuring out what wines I’ll actually like. Paul has really incredible knowledge and figured out our palate quickly, providing us with a truly unique experience. It really was incredibly wonderful even though it rained most of the time!

Shannon Bednar

The whole experience was amazing. I had no expectations as my group are not wine connoisseurs. I believe Paul tailored it to what we were looking for. Paul is super knowledgeable, listens to what you say and just an overall nice guy! AND the wines and ambiance were fabulous! Definitely would recommend!!

Erica Gastelum

Paul was very knowledgeable about the region and the wines. He provided a great framework even before we set foot in the first winery. I also let him know we were celebrating a milestone birthday in our group and he made sure to set expectations for the group and individualize the tour. We were very appreciative of the wineries he chose and how it met our criteria of “exceptional wine with an exceptional experience” we ended up becoming members for two of the wineries. thank you Paul!

Katie Connell

I found Appellation Wine Tours online and am so glad I did!

My husband and I were visiting Santa Barbara for our honeymoon and Paul helped give us a very special experience. He responded to my inquiry request very quickly and was upfront about what our wine tours would include and pricing.

After filling out a brief questionnaire, he planned a custom tour of three wineries and selected the wineries off what he knew was the most important to us. Paul picked us up at our hotel and gave us a lot of history of the area on the way. He is super knowledgeable about wine and the vineyards in the area and getting his insight alongside the wineries speeches was so helpful. He has top tier knowledge and could cater a tour to the most skilled collectors but can also easily adjust for those less experienced just looking to enjoy nice scenery and some wine.

Paul also packed us a delicious lunch that we ate at one of the wineries and made sure to have plenty of water on hand. He was also great at making suggestions about what to do while we were in town, and we had some of our best meals at spots he suggested.

I would highly recommend Appellation Wine Tours to anyone looking to explore more than one winery in the area!

Scott Wisner

Paul gave an amazing wine tour in the Santa Ynez valley. He was full of super interesting information and very knowledgeable of the area and the wine industry in general given his background. He was a safe driver and showed up early to help us get our babies car seat in the car as well. I would recommend Paul to anybody looking for an amazing winery tour while traveling near Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez.