LOCAL
LOWDOWN
YOU KNOW THE
SAYING,
“location, location, location?” Well,
sometimes it takes a while for the right one to become
available—but in the case of Hitching Post Wines’
long-awaited tasting room, it was well worth the
wait!
Located right next door to the famed Hitching Post 2
restaurant in Buellton (which was so memorably
immortalized in the movie Sideways), Hitching Post Wines
recently opened its first-ever tasting room, after almost 40
years of winemaking.
The spacious, nearly 12-acre property, formerly occupied by Loring Wine
Company, belongs to Frank and Jami Ostini and Gray and
Charlotte Hartley. The new tasting room is housed in a
mid-century farmhouse with trailing walkways and outdoor
seating areas with a view of the Santa Ynez Mountain
landscape—including the Ostrich Farm next door. Throughout the property
are walkways and casual picnic areas that invite guests to
linger over a bottle of wine while taking in the dramatic
landscape. Dogs are welcome, too. Longtime friends, Gray
Hartley and Frank Ostini have been making wines in Santa
Barbara County since 1979. With Pinot Noir as their primary
focus, the winery produces about 17,000 cases a
year.
The other beauty of this location is easy access to Hitching Post
2’s Santa Maria Style BBQ food pairings. Coming soon will be
an expanded lunch menu served from a refurbished 1970s
Vintage Airstream trailer.