rideau vineyard

The best part about this winery is the gorgeous setting. Just outside the tasting room is a lush grassy area, plenty of shade to enjoy a glass or two of wine. The wine is quite good as well. Rhône-style wine, GSM's, Syrahs. The pourers seemed very knowledgable and friendly. Tasting fees were waived when we purchased 3 bottles.If you are touring vineyards in Santa Ynez, you should absolutely stop by Rideau.

My husband and I visited Rideau Vineyard on 2/27/15. It was pretty busy, but we were able to find a seat at the bar. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable.

Very busy. Hard to get served. My wife and I liked the 2013 Riesling ($24) and a Bon Temps Red ($22), but did not like the more expensive Reds. Tasting fee of $12 was not refunded with a purchase of two bottles.

I think this was the coolest winery that we visited. They grounds are gorgeous, with a nice grassy area with lots of tables and chairs, and a beautiful outdoor patio. The main building is actually one of the oldest adobe buildings in California, and is really beautiful inside. The coolest thing is that they also have a small kitchen and serve a variety of flatbreads (not while we were there on a Monday though). The tasting room was a little larger than some and it looked like they might have one outside too, so I think they can handle a large number of people. On top of that the wines were good too. We really liked their reds (for out tastes anyway, since that is what we prefer). The whites are probably good too, but since I prefer the reds I won't judge those. Like a lot of wineries, this one has a great story and I would have loved to meet the owner who wasn't there that day. Maybe you can meet her and hear their story.

One of the better vineyards to visit for a tasting in the Santa Ynez valley. Decent wines, friendly staff, interesting old tasting rooms.

We packed ourselves a picnic and enjoyed this park like setting as we had our wine tasting. It is a beautiful old building filled with history. Well worth a visit.

Very nice and beautiful winery! Wine tour only $35/couple with Groupon purchase. We met the owner and enjoyed a band on the grass after our tour. Best time to go is the 1 pm tour on a Saturday or Sunday.

We found this little gem on Groupon and had such a great time there! Our tour guide was informative, fun and had the most enchanting Irish brogue! Thank you my fine and generous '31st cousin'! (...as she referred to me, being Irish too. ;->) The pairing was terrific and we had the opportunity to order pizza for lunch afterwards. It was made right there on the property in their pizza oven (Yummy!). I enjoyed every wine I tasted, which is unusual for me I have to admit, so I took advantage of the special pricing they were offering and brought several bottles home with me. We hope to return for Iris Rideau's (the proprietor) birthday bash in September and will be bringing my sister along with some of our friends. They all are going to LOVE this place!

Somehow we had never been here even though we've been wine tasting in the Santa Ynez/ Solvang area many times. I'm not a big fan of pinot nor but theirs was delicious as well as their Grenache and Syrah. I don't think there was one wine that we didn't like. The tasting room and the grounds are beautiful. The pourers are friendly and knowledgeable.

Pourers are delightful. Music is always enjoyable. The wine is perfection. Iris makes it her priority to be certain of it and it shows.

I tried this wine tour and tasting from a Groupon promotion. It was top notch. Norma was our guide and Iris, the owner and only female vintner in the USA and her 2 dogs accompanied our small group of 14 on the tour. The wines were really good though I am not an expert. The prices to buy ranged in the $30 -$40 for most and she gives discounts and has a wine club. The house, grounds, and roses were lovely. I highly recommend making this one of your stops while visiting the Solvang area. It closes at 5:00 and the tour lasts about an hour.

A lovely property and vineyard. Enjoy the roses! Our sommelier was so helpful with our tasting. She paired our wines with some that were not on the list as well as "on draft wines". Very interesting to taste in comparison to barrel aged etc. I love the feel and friendliness. They are not pretentious at all compared to some vineyards about their wine tasting. They were wiling to educate us.

There's an old Irish saying: "Be they kings, or poets, or farmers, They're a people of great worth, They keep company with the angels, And bring a bit of heaven here to earth." Norma, the gracious, knowledgeable, and whimsical Irish lady who gave my wife and I two hours of Rideau vineyards history and wine 101, made our time at this quaint and lovely property a special visit that will be remembered. The wines are excellent and the food pairings session was fun and broad enough to be enjoyed by aficionado or novice. A tour of the winery, all part of a Travelzoo deal, was informative and filled with history. Visit Rideau, seek out Norma, and live like a king for two hours.

We enjoyed the wine tour and tasting very much and our guide was phenomenal (Norma I think? ). We left the 2 bottles of wine we'd purchased but after a number of phone calls and a letter to Iris Rideau, the wine arrived at our home. Wine is delicious and other than our guide, the staff is un-helpful. Still worth a visit!

Traveling to Rideau Vineyard via bike was fun. The vineyard tasting manager saw that we were hot and immediately rushed to get us cold water with a twist of a lemon. She was so nice. She went on to give us a personal wine tasting of some pretty good table wines of both whites and reds.