Lompoc Wine Ghetto

So what we have is a bunch of warehouses that house wine tastings. I have little experience with wine tasting and my sister was equally inexperienced. The buildings are equally unattractive with only a small sigh outside to differentiate themselves from the neighbors and to indicate there is somebody working today. We went into the first building and didn’t care for the options as we were seeking Pinots to taste. The gentleman directed us to two of his neighbors. We went to the closest of his recommendations.
We went into Ampelos Cellars and spent the next hour with Bailey, a charming young lady who was engaging and a joy. We really enjoyed learning about all the details of the lovely Pinots and the business of wine. It was a positive experience and we will do this again.

Zotovich winery in the wine ghetto was suggested by a friend. We were very disappointed in our visit. Will probably never go back! We visit this area a lot! The man working there was not welcoming to say the least. It was Christmas Eve and he did not say welcome or goodbye. He did not explain the wine, where it was grown or any information period. I asked him where the wine was grown and he said down the road a few miles. Did not even tell there is a brief explanation of the wine in the brochure that was underneath the price list (which I found on my own.) If they want this place to grow or even make it they need to have someone that likes the wine and is happy to tell you about it and to welcome you. We were at a winery in Solvang and the people there were so friendly and happy about there wine you didn’t want to leave. What a difference a salesperson makes!

This was such a fun experience, and only a couple hours from LA. Going around to all the different tasting rooms was so much fun! I purchased a few different wines that I was really impressed by, but Ave Winery was one of my favorites. If you haven’t checked them out yet, give them a try, you won’t regret it.

It had been a while since I’d been to Lompoc to visit my extended family, and when they started telling me about the Wine Ghetto, I was shocked. We decided to stop by there and I was impressed and thought the whole area was really cute. I’m more of a fan of tastings at vineyards instead of tasting rooms, but love the ability to travel around and try different labels in a short amount of time, all in walking distance!

This place was very cool and definitely not a ghetto like one review states. The tasting rooms are nice and the service was great. This is a great place to go if you want to try many different wines without driving to a bunch of wineries. If you are looking for the ambience and beauty of a winery this is not the place. It iis a cool place and Lompoc is a nice town with some good eateries and coffee shops.

The wine ghetto is a great place to taste wines and interact with knowledgeable wine people and sometimes the winemakers. There are over 25 tasting rooms here and all are small and many very small. My friends and I like this type of setup — excellent wines, small producers and no crowds. The food is getting better and there was just a food truck here on sat. This place will not be crowded forever.

Don’t expect any glam on the outside but it’s nice that everything is in walking distance.

Place was confusing. Not really sure what i am reviewing here. There are a couple warehouses in lompoc that serve and make wine. They have different hours and reside in a loosely termed place ‘wine ghetto’ or ‘wine trail’ …its called both. The bottomline, since santa ynez charges and arm and a leg for whatever it takes to make/​serve wine, parts of different people’s wine biz moved to lompoc. Great for the city, but it was quite confusing and an ‘under-​delivery’ for me.

I believe that it’s important for novice wine drinkers to drive out to the vineyards and get the full «estate» tasting experience several times. By and large, most wineries are beautiful places, each in their own way. You shouldn’t rush this. Visiting perhaps two in a morning and two in an afternoon makes for a pretty full day.
However, once you’ve done this for a while, a place like the Lompoc Wine Ghetto can be a welcome change of pace. Since the wineries in this industrial complex are smaller, the wine is often made on-​site. This means that you’re likely to meet the actual winemaker and the receive the best insights on the wines. Also, this place is still relatively unknown to the casual wine tourist – we didn’t see one bachelorette party over an entire weekend. Instead, you get smaller crowds and more time with the tasting room staff, or even the winemaker. Having 20+ tasting rooms in the same location means that it’s awfully convenient: you can probably make six visits in a day, if you bring lunch. One winemaker shared with me that since it’s a community of small winemakers, they can all easily learn from each other. These synergies ultimately benefit the customer as well. I consider Montemar and Ampelos to be «must visits,» and I’ve Unilocaled them separately. Fiddlehead and Flying Goat were also good.
If you think that Napa and Temecula are the ultimate wine experience, then the Lompoc Wine Ghetto is probably not for you. Lompoc also lacks high-​end hotels and fine dining is limited to Le Botte on the other side of this small town. However, if you’re willing to «rough it» and try a bunch of smaller wines that you’ve never had before, you will be rewarded. To get here, look for the hospital and the Home Depot. The ghetto is right behind, and walkable from the Travelodge and a longer walk to the O’Cairns Inn.

I’ve read the occasional negative review or two about the ghetto, but I don’t understand where it’s coming from. I’ve only been to the ghetto about three times, but so far every single time has been an absolute delight. In fact, I try not to visit the same place as there are so many tasting rooms to try. True, it is behind a Home Depot and you’re not sure what to expect, but the wine is delicious! Thank you Unilocal for the reviews as it’s helped to decide which wineries to try. I’ve been to Palmina, Ampelos, Fiddlehead, Arcadian, Flying Goat and Piedrasassi. If you truly have a love of wine, the please try the Ghetto as it will not disappoint.

So much fun! Went here for an event with the Wandering Dog Wine Bar and we got to meet a bunch of the vintners of the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. If you want some laid-​back fun wine tasting without judgmental pourers, the Lompoc Wine Ghetto is right for you. There are a ton of places to go tasting at (19 I believe). You won’t be disappointed in the quality of the wine at all.
Get a sober driver or a taxi cab. The Ghetto is not near anywhere– it’s an industrial park. Trust me, the cops will give you a ticket every time.

We happened upon the wine ghetto when our hotel (the Santa Ynez Inn) gave us a card for two free tastings at Joseph Blair. We drove right past it since on the outside it doesn’t look like anything. Seriously, an industrial park. Ghetto for sure. I was VERY skeptical but figured we were there so we should give it a try.
This is for serious wine drinkers who are here to stock up on wine. It is the most efficient way possible to taste wine — no driving around /​parking /​etc. between wineries — a one stop shop. What’s difficult is deciding where to go because you couldn’t even make a dent in seeing all the wineries that are represented here in one day. It’s not for people looking for that wine tasting experience of walking around a beautiful vineyard and taking in the scene. We did that the day before, so this was perfect for our second day of wine tasting. Wine tasting without the pretension.
We made some good finds here and you probably will too.

If you like wine tasting, do yourself a favor and go here. Now.
A great afternoon spent wine tasting, and you don’t have to drive. At least not until you’re finished.
Bring a lunch, because they don’t serve food, and get to tasting!

First impression. Ugly on the outside, pretty on the in. It’s nowhere near the quaint loveliness you get driving into Los Olivos, and in fact my initial feeling was one of disappointment. I think I was expecting a large single complex with all the tasting rooms under one roof. Instead it’s like a large industrial park with corrugated trailer like buildings scattered across the asphalt lot. Once inside any of the tasting rooms though, you’ll be quite pleased with the ambience and the quality of product. Tastings are inexpensive and interesting.
We started at Palmina and it’s a good spot to begin. It’s one of the larger rooms, and the most inviting, best of all the wines are excellent. Though the region seems to be known for Pinot, it’s the whites that shined brightest. I’m not a fan of white wines by any stretch, yet every varietal I’ve tried in the Santa Ynez area has been fabulous. A
Loring Wine Company wasn’t much to look at, but the wine quality was outstanding. It’s pricier than the other rooms, but there is no mistaking the superiority. A
New Vineland/​Piedrasassi has both nice wines and wonderful bread. The owners are wondefful. A–
Joseph Blair is a newer room, it’s bright and cheery with a pleasant line. B+
Stolpman Vineyard is also very nice. B+
Samsara. Small but interesting product. B+
Jalama Wines gets a little hazy here, don’t remember much. Good flavors. B+
Zotovich Cellars towards end of day, even hazier. B+
Fiddlehead Cellars was okay and it’s very popular, but it was moderately good for me. B
Overall it’s a really great place to visit for a day. The boutique wines are quite good and mostly cost effective. Though the website said no kids, it’s just as kid friendly as Los Olivos. There’s a very decent motel nearby called Cairns Inn, it’s inexpensive but comfortable, clean and with a lot off complimentary offerings. There is no food available at The Wine Ghetto, but there are picnic tables. It’s a little off the beaten path, but certainly worth the effort if you love wine.

I’m already plotting my return to the Wine Ghetto. It was that good.
As many others have stated, you have to put aside your expectations and just go with the flow. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how little it matters that the Ghetto is located in a small, nondescript industrial park (asphalt, metal warehouses, etc.) when you’re inside the tasting rooms. The quality of the wines, the knowledgeable and friendly staff, and the number of wineries represented in a small, walkable area make this a very worthy detour for any wine aficionado (a).

The Lompoc Wine Ghetto is a pretty cool place to taste wine. It looks like a boring, industrial business complex on the outside, but once you get inside a tasting room, you pretty much forget how the place looks like. In all honesty, wine making is not all grassy hills, rows of grapevines, large barns, dirt, and tractors. That part of wine making is at the vineyards, right?.
Most winemakers who don’t have a vineyard, they gravitate to places like the Lompoc Wine Ghetto to make their wines. It’s spacious, the overhead is low (sometimes), and it’s a convenience. At the Lompoc Wine Ghetto, like on a day like harvest, you’ll see barrels and presses being moved around in complex and grapes being produced into wine. There are more boutique wineries at the Lompoc Wine Ghetto, so expect to see and experience wines from lesser known wine labels, genius winemakers who defected the big wineries to produce under their own label, etc.
The cool part at the Lompoc Wine Ghetto are its tasting rooms. There are some 16 tasting rooms. Some are open to the public and some require a reservation. A tasting of about 6 to 10 wines may cost you between $ 5 to $ 10 depending on where you go. Sometimes the tasting fee is waived if you decide to join a wine club the same day. A week ago, my friends and I spent a few hours at the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. We shared tastings instead of getting a tasting per person. A two ounce pour of wine is more than enough for two people to share anyway. Makes sense, right?
I still like Ampelos and Samsara. Taste of Sta. Rita Hills is a cool little wine shop that sells the wines of even smaller boutique wineries or you can try the shop owner’s own wine called Moretti. Last weekend, I ended up liking Jalama Wines so much that I signed up for their wine club. It was the 2010 Jalama Mourvedre that I fell in love with. A bit earthy, some grass, a little wet dirt and the dark chocolate truffle or a chocolate mousse cake undertones, because that’s what this wine tasted like to me.

This industrial area actuallly has GREAT wines. I particularly loved Fiddlehead and Flying Goat! If you are here and you want a little more variety than the actual vineyards — try this! Really fun and actually the wines are just as good! It is a hidden ghetto gem!
While the atmosphere may not be as lovely as the vineyards, the wine is unique and just as delicious! Try it out if you have extra time!

The Lompoc Wine Ghetto gets better every time we visit. There is always something new, the quality of the wines are very good and you will most likely be surrounded by people who know a thing or two about wine and aren’t just wine tasting because they «think it looks cool». And yes, if you are serious about wine and are in the SB area, then this is truly a must. Agreed, it’s in a pretty random spot. Drive a couple blocks off (like we did the first time) and you might think twice about stopping for directions if you know what I mean. My favorites? Samsara and Loring. These are no frills, knick-​knack-​crap wine shops who specialize in… you guessed it: wine. Maybe this has already been done but I think a great addition to the ghetto would be food trucks. Just something to think about…

«And how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?» — Homer Simpson
After the two Sunday open houses, our next stop on the wine tour was the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. I’ll review the wineries we visited individually, like frankly KT should have done below, although that review is suspect .
The Lompoc Wine Ghetto is housed in an ugly industrial park that magically and organically coalesced into ground zero for Santa Rita Hills wine producers. 13 wineries, soon to be 14, have tasting rooms on site and that makes it very easy to taste a wide variety of wines in short order. We hit three wineries on Sunday while walking out of two (Samsara and Tasting of Santa Rita Hills) that were too crowded and too hot to do comfortable wine tasting.
There are excellent wineries including favorites of mine like Zotovich, Loring and, soon, Arcadian. If you are in the area and want to avoid to tourist traps like Fess Parker or Firestone, make your way over here to Lompoc.

Wow. This is some of the best Pinot Noir in California and it’s housed an industrial complex.
In the perimeter you’ll find Fiddlehead (quite possibly the best Pinot in California, if not in the world) as well as Flying Goat, and Samsara. Visiting the ghetto makes for a great weekday afternoon and since all their wines are well priced you can come home with a souvenir.