Artisan Excursion Wine Tours - Solvang, California

Gwen Zimlin

What a great tour! We were picked up at our hotel on time. Tom explained where we would be going and that he likes to take people to smaller wineries and all over the Santa Ynez valley. Our favorite winer was Imagine Wines. We could have talked to the owner all day. Such an interesting man and what a life! There we had a very delicious lunch: sandwiches, chips, cookies, and water. Tom is very personable and we talked on the way to each one. I highly recommend this wine tour.

Ann S

Tom was our driver and he was very professional, on time, and easygoing. He took us to 4 places -- 3 winemakers and an olive oil farm.

Our group was fun and easygoing. Just the perfect size too. There were 8 of us, including me and my group.

I was glad we were able to stop at the olive oil farm because sometimes he isn't able to due to space and time. So you might be able to go or not. They sell lemon cucumbers, a variety of raw honey, balsamic vinegars, and olive oils. They had free samples of each.

I love that Tom picks small operated wine producers over big ones that mass produce their wines. We went to Brander, Tomi Cellars, and Lafond.

Lunch was a sandwich of your choosing, a bag of chips, and chocolate chip cookies. We had lunch around 2 pm at the second winemaker. So I strongly advise that you have a solid breakfast or you'll be hungry for a while.

I don't drink wine often or go on wine tastings often but I enjoyed the overall tour. It was a very scenic ride and each wine producer was quite different from the other. Learned a lot of new things too! I liked Brander's wines the most. Tomi Cellars was the most passionate and unique. And Lafond Vineyard was the most beautiful, picturesque vineyard we visited.

We drove from Los Angeles for this and it took about 2.5 hours with no traffic on a Saturday morning for anyone wanting to do a day trip from L.A. But spending the night is better if you want to explore the beautiful area.

Pamela Nardella

Tom was informative about the Ynez region. The wine tour was perfect visiting 3 smaller wineries/vineyards, each had a very personal touch.

Paige Adler

Tom was such a great tour guide! The wineries were incredible, and we especially loved Boyd at Tomi Cellars. It was such a great way to spend my birthday, and we got some amazing wine from the local artisan wineries that we toured!

Anne Dela Cruz

Our wine tour experience was extraordinary. Tom was customer focused from the beginning where he picked us up from our hotel through the time he dropped us off. His knowledge of the Valley and wine was educational, and he listened to our interests to make our wine tour as customized as possible. The wineries selected were amazing, especially at Tomi Cellars where the wines were delicious and high quality. Tom made sure he picked up lunch for us and was very attentive throughout the day. Highly recommend Artisan Excursion Tours if you are in the Valley. Tom is so wonderful, so try to join a tour with him. Thanks to Tom for an awesome day of wine tasting and exploring the Valley.

Cinthia Inzunza

Had a wonderful time doing this winery tour with my boyfriend! Glad I read the reviews and opted to do this one instead! Felt very intimate, personalized, and special, all the more since it was just my boyfriend and I! The tour guide, Tom, made it more worthwhile by combining his amiable personality along with the winemakers' excellent expertise! The wine spots we hit were also like hidden gems as they aren't the big ones we're accustomed to doing on most tours. Sipping wine out on the country side and enjoying our time without being rushed is what created a cozy ambiance. I can't thank Tom enough for giving my boyfriend and I a pleasant mini vacation to "sit back and relax" in the moment. Book this tour and support this wonderful business! On another side note, lunch was delicious and you even taste wine straight from the barrel

Russell Romo

It was a great experience. Variety of wineries were a great idea. The fact that you can come close to the barrels of wines and how it's being processed is a great deal. Tom was a very friendly accommodating as well. Lunch was very good, fresh too. I would recommend this tour to my family and friends.

Judith M

Tom was a wonder guide for the day. Prompt pickup at our hotel, tour bus was very clean, and provided interesting information during our trip. The pace was perfect and we had plenty of time to eat the delicious lunch. He had excellent choices for wineries.