Foxen Canyon Road Wine Trail

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Joe Becerra

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Rancho Sisquoc winery on the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail
Rancho Sisquoc winery on the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail

There are many excellent wineries on the Foxen Canyon Road Wine Trail you may want to take two days to visit and experience these wineries. The trail begins on Zaca Station Road that later becomes Foxen Canyon Road. From Los Olivos, our home base for all the Santa Barbara wine trails, take Highway 154 towards Highway 101. Just before 101, you will see Zaca Station Road. Take that road to the right and proceed to our first winery, Andrew Murray.

Wineries to Visit on the Foxen Canyon Road Wine Trail

Andrew Murray – Rhone-style wines at value prices
Koehler Winery – Beautiful oaks nestling among the vineyards
Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard – Most lavish winery, excellent wines
Zaca Mesa Winery – Rhone wines, good wine values
Foxen Vineyards – Great Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc
Rancho Sisquoc Winery – Small case production of various varietals
Riverbench Vineyards – The specialy is Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
Kenneth Volk Vineyards – 18 different wines made by Ken Volk

Dining and Lodging Recommendations

See Restaurants       See Lodging

A helpful book on the Santa Barbara wine country.Wines and Wineries of California’s Central Coast: A Complete Guide from Monterey to Santa Barbara


Andrew Murray Vineyards

Andrew Murray has a tasting room in Los Olivos, but their winery is out on Zaca Mesa Road. The entrance to the Andrew Murray Winery on Foxen Canyon Road on the left. The wines are fantastic and better yet so well priced in favor of the consumer. What a setting for a wine tasting! The view of the vineyards is so beautiful. We like all the wines at Andrew Murray but especially the Viognier, the Tous Les Jours, a Syrah that rocks at under $20.


Koehler Winery

You will spot the Koehler Winery about a mile from the stop sign on Foxen Canyon Road. The road leading up to the tasting room is so beautiful, lined with majestic oak trees. There are 60 acres of vineyards with several varieties. Koehler is a great place to try Rhone varieties. The picnic area is so peaceful and inviting. Koehler is a family-owned winery.


Fess Parker Winery and Vineyard

The next stop is the Fess Parker Winery. Fess Parker made his fame and fortune as a TV actor playing the role of Davy Crockett in the late 1950s. Fess Parker is a very popular winery on the weekend for bachelorette parties and the like. If you don’t like crowds, perhaps you may want to skip this winery. The Fess Parker Winery was featured in one of the craziest wine tasting scenes. Sideways Movie Trail.


Zaca Mesa Winery

Continue on Foxen Canyon Rd. to the Zaca Mesa Winery. Zaca Mesa has a very spacious and modern tasting room. Rhone wines are the emphasis at Zaca Mesa, so delicious and tasty. You must try the white Rhones.
There is a cozy picnic area equipped with a life-sized chess game. There is also a short hiking trail that leads up from the parking area. Zaca Mesa is located about 3 miles from Fess Parker. Pack a lunch!


Foxen Vineyard

Foxen Vineyards has two places to taste wine on this wine trail. 7200 Foxen Road is the original winery and tasting room, 1860. Also called The Shack. Here you can taste Bordeaux and Italian style Foxen wines. At 7600 Foxen Road is the new solar-powered winery. Pinot Noir is the best here at Foxen Vineyards & Winery. They make several labels of Pinot. The Shack was also featured in the Sideways movie.


Rancho Sisquoc Winery

The famous Flood Family of San Francisco are owners of this small winery which produces less than 10,000 cases a year. The Pinot Noir sells out quickly. Other wines of note are the Malbec, and the Cabernet, both excellent and reasonably priced. We love the rustic tasting room and the spacious and tranquil grounds. The winery is situated up a two-mile drive from Foxen Canyon Rd. Rancho Sisquoc is an excellent choice for a relaxing wine country picnic lunch. You will find the entrance to Rancho Sisquoc Winery about one mile past Foxen Winery.


Riverbench Vineyards and Winery

Riverbench is a relatively new winery. The family has been farming vineyards and selling their grapes since 1973. A few years back, they decided to take the best of their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes and try their hand at making great wines. They have a lineup of small lots of vineyard-select wines. They also have a beautiful picnic area. The tasting room is in a restored 1927 house that is exquisite. It is a fun stop. The Riverbench tasting room is just a short hop from Rancho Sisquoc.


Kenneth Volk Vineyards

Winemaker Ken Volk enjoys making wines. So much so that he has 18 different labels of wine, and that includes some very obscure varietals of wine. Have you heard of Negrette or Aglianico that is just two of some of the fun wines Ken produces? We are fans of his Pinot Noir wines, so beautiful in character. To get to the winery from Riverbench, continue on Foxen Canyon Road to Tepusquet Road. Right onto Tepusquet Road and straight over the bridge for about half a mile. Watch for the signs to the winery.

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  • Joe Becerra

    Joe Becerra has been traveling to wine country and enjoying wine since 1965. He is a retired educator, and now have the time the opportunity to share his wine travel experiences through this Website.

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