As I planned a fall wine trip to the Paso Robles area, I decided I needed an afternoon in Lompoc. This worked out well as I had a shipment to pick up as well as one for a friend. The wineries in the “wine ghetto” and mini “wine ghetto” never fail to disappoint.

Getting to Lompoc around 12 on a Friday was perfect as this is when most of the tasting rooms open.  We quickly stopped at Arcadian and Fiddlehead to pick up our orders before parking the car at the good ole’ O’Cairns Inn.

In twist of circumstance on our last visit to area we ran into  Angela the winemaker at Turiya and she invited us to return for a barrel tasting of her limited production wines. So we started our day there and continued tasting through the afternoon!

Every tasting at Turiya is a barrel tasting. Since winemaker Angela barrel ages you can get a real idea of her wine making process. Current vintages tasted were 2009.

At Turiya, each bottle label is 24K gold leaf and wax sealed

Brewer Clifton stood strong with their pinot noir line-up, the award wining Santa Rita Hills was all sold out!

Longoria just opened their new tasting room in Lompoc, it is outside of the main ghetto area located closer to Brewer Clifton, Scott and Transcendence

Ampelos – the greek inspired winery. It is the first in the United States to be certified Organic, Biodynamic, and Sustainability in Practice.

I loved the way the Jalama wines tasting room used the barrels to create art walls and added rustic elements like horns to compliment the red chandeliers.

Assortment of pinot noir and syrah wines from Santa Rita Hills and Santa Ynez Valley