riverbench vineyard and winery

Lovely setting - recommend bringing a lunch to enjoy out on the patio. The Reserve pinot and the One Palm Pinot stood out. Rest of the tasting wines were solid . Tasting fee is $15/6 wines. Very reasonable.

We have become Riverbench wine club members because they do such a good job with their wines and hosting their winery. Every year we have had a complimentary lunch when we have visited the winery paired with the wine tasting. The pinot noir and chardonnay are in a class above others. In the good old days, we were wine club members in more than a dozen wineries up and down California. Since then, due to this fun economy, we have cut back to just three and one of them is Riverbench.

You'll love tasting the wide variety of wines. The location is lovely and the view of the surrounding valley is picturesque. All of the staff were friendly, informative, and funny. Santa was gracious enough to take a picture with us as well. I left with a bottle of Chapel View Chardonnay which I found tasty. Next time I visit Santa Maria, I know I'll be back again. If you're able to acquire discount tasting coupons as part of a hotel package you'll save some money.

The oldest vineyard in Santa Barbara County, Riverbench is on the edge of the Sisquoc River just outside of the village of Sisquoc. The views are incredible, and the wines are quite good, especially the Chardonnay.

The location here is so great! Off the beaten path with open space all around. It looks like a house very nicely renovated and the grounds are beautiful with lots of areas to sit or throw a blanket. We came for a "Bulldog Fundraiser" which was a really fun event, and very worthy cause.

The tasting is a good price and the country atmosphere is excellent! $10 for a tasting. Only negative was a bad smell coming from the bar area but that would be an easy fix. Over all a great time.

What a nice surprise and pleasant setting for wine tasting just outside Santa Maria. We enjoyed their chardonnays and pinot noirs so much that we joined their wine club. Great outdoor area to enjoy a picnic lunch or cheese and fruit with one of their wines!

We visited this winery because our friends are members there. We had a delicious lunch and wine tasting outside in the garden. The staff was exceedingly friendly and welcoming. They made you feel like you want to come back.

I loved the new tasting room in the Funk Zone in Santa Barbara. Nice, relaxing atmosphere, attentive staff, dog friendly. I will definitely be visiting again.

We drove down Foxen Canyon Rd and decided to stop here. Both the inside and outside of the winery are beautiful; the outside has gorgeous flowers and lots of tables for you to sit at and enjoy your wine, and the inside is newly renovated. There is a small gift shop with cute gifts, and they also sell cheese and bottled water. The staff was extremely nice and accommodating. Unfortunately, we were not impressed with their wines. The tasting list included one Riesling, two Chardonnays, and three Pinots, so be sure you like these varietals before you go here! Most of the wines missed the mark and were either too bland or packed far too much punch. However, I would still suggest stopping here because the area is beautiful and it's a perfect place for a picnic!

We visited several tasting rooms during the day, and Riverbench was a standout. The tasting room and the small grounds were beautiful and, by the way, the wine was terrific. Unlike most other places, this place also sells a small selection of food.

On a day trip to the Santa Ynez wine country area, we made a point to visit Riverbench Winery since the description of the tasting room, grounds and the wines they specialize in appealed to us. The wine tasting room is a beautifully restored Craftsman style home. It is very tastefully decorated and the whole house is immaculate, but it has a warm and cozy feeling at the same time. The wine host and hostess were delightful and we very much enjoyed our time in the tasting room. The wine prices like most in the Santa Ynez valley can be a little high, but the wines are top quality and they do apply 1 tasting fee per 3 bottles purchased. The grounds there are lovely, so we stayed for a picnic under the trees. This is definitely a place where you can really take your time and relax for a while.

We visited Riverbench for the first time during a recent trip. First of all, I highly recommend the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail, it's a very pretty country drive that you won't get if you stay down in the Solvang area. As for Riverbench itself, it is located in a restored craftsman style house - nice building and tasting room. As for the wine, they do not give you options on what you are tasting - we got 3 pre-selected chardonnays, and 3 pinot noirs. Half of them were okay, half we did not care for. Our server, a younger guy, seemed friendly enough but my husband and I both noticed he seemed to be pouring us significantly less wine than each of the other couples who were there at the time. In addition, at the end, he offered the couple next to us an additional tasting that was not on the "list", but then put the bottle away, and never offered us the same, rather left us standing there wondering if we were finished with our tasting - rather awkward. He was not actually rude to us, but both of these things didn't leave us wanting to return. We are not sure why we were treated differently, as we were perfectly pleasant throughout the experience. After this we visited Rancho Sisquo right next door - much more casual atmosphere, friendly servers, scenic property with great picnic spot, and good wine!

a comfortable, welcoming small tasting room with some terrific wines and terrific hostess in Krystal. She not only made us feel like we were welcome guests but also gave great suggestions for other wineries and lunch locations for the the day. Definitely will return.

Discovered River Bench several years ago on our way to Cambria Wines. The tasting room is a very well decorated room. It has the feel of being in someones house, very cozy and comfortable. The tasting room has some nice gifts for purchase. I am a huge fan of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which is this wineries speciality. I have tried some incredible wines at River Bench. I finally joined their Wine Club. It gave you several different options which I found very nice. Planning my free lunch (one of the perks of a wine cub member) Keep making great wines!!!