2024 Best Santa Barbara Tasting Room - The Independent

“We feel that opening the tasting room at Hotel Californian and planting the Margerum Estate Vineyard in Los Olivos are the two greatest decisions we’ve made as a company,” explained Doug Margerum, a living legend of local winemaking. “The tasting room has allowed us to essentially have a restaurant again, with the goal of becoming the only tasting room in the world with a Michelin star.” After so many years in the business, how does Margerum stay gratified by the work? “We do what we do because we are Sybarites,” he said. “A Sybarite is a person devoted to luxury and pleasure, and it is the name of our sauvignon blanc. We love the lifestyle of the wine business. We do a lot of our work at the table — our customers and clients are our friends, and we enjoy the time we can spend with them sharing our wine and food.”

Runner-Up: Sunstone Winery