curtis winery

Andrew Murray recently took over Curtis Winery. I was a member since probably 05 or maybe before???Mr Murray and his wife, Kristen, ASSURED me that the service will remain...especially for VIPs!!!And they have delivered well.....

On our way from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, we often stop in Los Olivos area to visit a winery or two. This by far was our favorite. The service was fanstastic, the server was attentive without being pushy This boutique winery has a very hand-on, artisan approach to wine-making and every wine on the tasting menu was great. The server relayed that they crush the grapes the old-fashioned way-using the employees feet! Since it was a weekday and only one other group was there, he gave us a private tour of the production room. He also gave a great recommendation for lunch in nearby Los Olivos.

We visited four amazing wineries on a quick trip to the Santa Ynez Valley last month, and Curtis was the stand-out favorite mainly because of our guide and pourer Billy. He obviously knows a lot about winemaking and loves his job, and his enthusiasm is infectious. Try out the chocolate pairing. There's even a truffle they pair with a white wine and it works surprisingly well.

I visited Curtis a number of years ago, but never made it back due to disappointing visit to Firestone and thought the Foley group also owned Curtis. Was delighted to find out the Firestone family still owns Curtis. The wine tasting was a great experience and the chocolate pairing was out of this world! Julie was engaging, not at all "business-like" in her approach and made me feel welcome. I will definitely return again and again!

We did not plan on stopping by Curtis-but we were SO GLAD WE DID! It was a very nice, small boutique winery which prided itself on their craftmanship. I believe we had Billy who helped us with our tasting--and learned that all the employees participate in all parts of the production. This includes harvesting, bottling, and even "Stomping of the Grapes". Their wines are very REASONABLEY priced and this is not necessarily reflective of their HIGHER QUALITY-b/c they try to sell their wines at lower prices. They then sell about 80% of their GRAPES to other "commercial wineries" you may know..........so you are not paying for Marketing.All in all-it was a hidden gem-with a fun story, philanthropic(Jar Head wine they donate 100% of profits to surviving families of fallen soldiers for children's school funds-and it is SIGNIFICANT $) Cheers!

Billy was a great host. We had a nice tasting and an informative little tour. The winery is of course beautiful and they had a lot of great products in their store. I didn't LOVE their wines but they were definitely good. Everyone was nice and we enjoyed the small-community feel of this place. Warning: It is cold in the tasting room so bring a sweater! Overall though, good experience!

When rating a winery, I want to be careful in making sure I don't rate the wine its self. Your palate may adore something I find gross. Curtis was the second stop on a long day of tasting. First off it is was a lovely location and the tasting room is nice, not quaint nor fancy, just nice. Lots of stuff for sale. The service was good even on a busy day. The lady who poured for us was friendly and knowledgeable without being snooty. She even pulled out a few extras for us to taste that were not on the list that day. No pressure to buy was felt, however we did get a few bottles that we enjoyed. The only thing I will say about the wines is, one of them smelled and tasted like a barnyard. I really wonder if anyone else noticed or thought this.

As a wine blogger, I was extremely disappointed with Curtis Winery. Granted it was late in the day, but the experience was inexcusable. A fellow winery recommended Curtis as a nice friendly place to visit, however, our experience was less than friendly, or nice. Granted, we arrived at 4:40 p.m. to wine taste--the winery was open until 5 p.m. We were briskly rushed to the wine bar and the host informed us that he "had a life" and that we would have to move our tasting along quickly. Did I mention that it was a 3-day holiday weekend? Reluctantly, we paid for our speed wine tasting which was a mistake. Not to say that the Rhone wine blends were not good, but the rushed, rude service left a bad taste in our mouths. Billy, the host, seemed very knowledgeable, but standoffish. The pouring was skimpy and the descriptions were curt. I was appalled when two military guys from San Diego (our hometown) arrived at 4:46 p.m. and were rudely turned away. Give me a break Billy! It was Memorial Day for goodness sakes--these guys represented our country! What the heck was so important for you to do at the stroke of 5:00???? Not only were the military guys turned away, but so was another group of six women at 4:47 p.m. Maybe Curtis Winery doesn't need the business, but as a wine blogger, I didn't want to be given the business either.

My son belongs to this winery, and he gets 6 free tastings so while camping this weekend, a group of us went. The wines were excellent and Billy (wine pourer!) gave us an excellent review of all the wines. He was accommodating and informative. We had a wonderful picnic on Curtis's grounds and actually joined their wine club.

Billy took great care of us - made us laugh, poured us amazing wines and I joined the wine club. The attention to detail in describing the wines was impressive and our large group really enjoyed ourselves. I hope to get back to the winery for a relaxing day on the lawn with a bottle of anything!

Curtis Winery has always been my favorite winery in the valley and I have been a wine club member there for some time now. Every time I visit I feel welcomed by either Julie or Bill, who usually work on the weekends. They have always been very accommodating and even let me have an extra taste of something it it's open because I'm a member. The only thing that they cannot taste you on is the Jarhead Red wines; all of the proceeds go towards the Marine Corps. Scholarship Foundation and every bottle they open in the tasting room takes away from that fund. Curtis has a beautiful front lawn with views of the vineyards which is perfect for picnics or tasting outside. Their wines are beautifully understated, reflective of an old-world style and their Syrahs showcase specific vineyards. If you come during harvest and in the middle of the week, chances are they'll take you back to the crush area so you can see the winemakers in action! This winery is a must try if you are in the area!

On a trip with two couples, visiting about ten wineries over two full days of tasting, you would think the last place you visit would be a quick stop, "I've had enough" experience. We had reserved a wine-chocolate pairing class and I was eager to get on the road to drive back to Santa Clarita.Of all the winery personnel we encountered over the two days, Julie T. at Curtis Winery was the most personable and down to earth. It was like sampling wine with a friend rather than being lectured to by a wine snob. She got the message across about the wines Curtis was offering while seeming to enjoy conversing with us. The wine and chocolate class was fun and informative.We felt so good that instead of driving away immediately after the class, we decided to sit outside under the oak trees and admire the scenery, reluctant to head back to the rat race.Our trip to the Solvang area was a success and our visit to Curtis Winery really capped off the experience.

I am in the wine industry and always recomended my customers to Curtis and finally went tasting over there for the first time myself and Julie was in the tasting room pouring, and was the most unfriendly, unaccomodating person I have ever experienced. She was clearly stereo typing the person I was with because she refused to allow him a taste of a wine he was interested in buying. I will never refer anyone there ever again!!!!

I don't understand anything less than a five star review for this place. My husband and I have been coming to Curtis for three years now after being introduced to their wine by friends. We have always had great experiences. In fact, we became members because we enjoyed their wine and the experience so much. They throw a great party every year called Calypsofest. We have attended three years in a row and have brought new friends every year. And, Elizabeth, their manager is a gem! We just visited the tasting room again this weekend with some friends and had a great time. Even though they were really busy, we were given excellent service by the pourers. Give this place a chance, and you won't regret it!

It's been more than a year since we visited and tasted at Curtis, so I can't guarantee current experiences will be the same. But, we thoroughly enjoyed our stop there as well as the wines.They're not a high-end producer but I recall we thought their rose' (pinot noir or cabernet-based as I recall) and viognier were quite tasty and refreshing. They were clearing out the viognier from the previous vintage for a ridiculously low price of $10 per bottle so we bought a case to bring back to Oregon. The rose' wan't much more so we added 6 bottles to our order.Those bottles were pretty much our go-to summer sippers that year and friends who imbibed with us all commented favorably on our "house wine." Sadly, the last bottle was consumed this past summer. We're planning another visit to the area in 2013, so we may stop buy and look for more.