I took a yummy organic wine tasting trip to Santa Barbara county with my friend Gina on Tuesday!

Okay, only two wineries of the five were actually eco, but these two marked the beginning and end of our trip –

We kicked things off at Sunstone Vineyards (125 N. Refugio Rd., Santa Ynez. 805.688.9463.), an organic-certified vineyard. During the tasting, the knowlegeable woman pouring the wine let us know that the sauvignon blanc and viognier grapes are not grown at Sunstone’s vineyards; thus not all the wines are 100% organic. But the 2005 estate merlot I bought — and stashed in the reusable wine bag I brought — was.

Then we went to Artiste Winery (3567 Sagunto St., Studio no. 102. Santa Ynez. 805.686.2626), Sunstone’s less-eco “brother” winery and art gallery that doesn’t have its own vineyard but buys wines and blends them into its own concoctions.

The place has an easel that lets people get creative (left) — and a number of pieces by an artist who paints with wine (below)!

To pace ourselves, we had an Italian lunch at Trattoria Grappolo (3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez. 805.688.6899), which apears to be very popular with the locals. I had the salmon special — not as spectacular as the locals suggested, but pretty yummy. Grappolo offers an extensive local wine list, but since we still had 3 more tastings to go, I didn’t drink there –

After lunch, we hit Gainey Vineyard (3950 E. Hwt 246. Santa Ynez. 805.688.0558), then Bridlewood Winery (3555. Roblar Ave., Santa Ynez. 800.467.4100), which apparently used to be a horse rehab center. I bought a very nice viognier here to fill up my reusable bag.

Last but not least was Beckmen Vineyards (2670 Ontiveros Rd., Santa Ynez. 805.688.8664), which embraces organic and biodynamic farming. I honestly wasn’t too taken with the wines, but did buy a vanilla-flavored organic lip balm made with organic hempseed and sunflowerseed oils. Beckmen also has a gorgeous outdoor area (below) –

Because its tasting room closes at 4:30 pm, we didn’t make it to the organic-certified vineyards of Alma Rosa Winery in Buellton as Sue Bob recommended. Maybe next time!

Interested in going on your own eco wine tasting? You can cobble together one of your own like I sort of did, or you can sign up with Sustainable Vine Wine Tours! The more adventurous might also be interested in the Santa Barbara Wine Country Cycling Tours

I got to keep all the tasting glasses, since Gina’s going to be leaving LA at the end of the month. These 10 glasses replaced the ones I’ve broken in the last year!

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