I found the wines to be really yummy and the tasting room to be quite nice, but I thought that our pourer (british lady) seemed a little stuck up. She seemed uninterested in her job and projected a cold vibe that took away from the overall tasting experience. Too bad because the wines were quite good.
Review Source:I come here for the book exchange and NOT the wine because I don't like alcohol nor do I drink.
If you love books and reading stop by this place in SB and veer off to the the side of the shoppe and there you'll see a red English style phone booth turned into a book storage with shelves inside. I adore it. I am a sucker for these red English phone boots. Something about it makes me smile. Inside you'll find a variety of books from various genres that people bring for others to take. The way the exchange works is, you take one (or two) book and you leave a book in exchange. It's based on an honor system. I got two awesome books on my recent trip simply by trading in books -- at no cost. Neat idea.
Happy Reading.
I'm not going to lie, by the time we got there things were starting to blend together because the Urban Wine Tour was a hit! They didn't offer tastings after 6pm, so we had to just pick a wine. Good thing the staff was super helpful and willing to let us taste the wines we were thinking would be good to purchase.
The wines were good, nothing amazing, and definitely nothing to compel me to buy a bottle. My palate is quite picky, so sometimes it's hard to please this wishful wino.
After securing our selections, we sat by the fire and enjoyed the ambiance. The place was pretty packed, and for the most part every group just kept to themselves. Overall a pretty good experience I'd be happy to repeat should I again find myself in SB.
Cheers!
I am a member at Corks n Crowns and also Municipal. Â I have managed to avoid Kunin that sits between them for years! Â Â Last time I went it shared tastings with another winery named Westerly--I wasn't impressed. Â Â So for years I have been telling fellow wine tasters to go here and there but never to Kunin... After visiting them a few days ago I feel that Kunin is a formidable player in the Santa Barbara wine scene! Â
It was a friend who invited me after joining this past weekend. Â Â We treat each other pretty well, I will treat her to Kalyra and she will take me to Jaffurs... I take her to Muni and now she can take me to Kunin. Â Â When you join wine clubs... do it strategically! Â
I enjoyed the wines!!!! Â The whites as well as the Reds. Â Â They have quite a range of prices and some of their better wines can be quite expensive... North of $50 per bottle even for members. Â Â That said, many of their wines are vintages of a decade ago! Â Â Most other wineries would call these "library wines" and price them accordingly. Â So if you want to enjoy a nice bottle of Syrah that has been cellared for six or seven years after bottling this is the place for you! Â Â More often than not you are buying a wine that was picked 24 months ago and bottled a few months ago. Â A wine that hasn't had time to reach it's potential in the bottle. Â I personally don't have the willpower to put a bottle of wine in the cupboard for seven years.
I bought the best 2002 Syrah Reserve here back in 2009.
I kept it well and opened it in 2012 and it was seriously the best wine I've ever invested in. I believe I bought it for about $50.
I bought a 2005 Cab Sav as well and it was okay...
This was one of our last tasting visit and I was so glad!
It was also the most expensive and the most pretentious amongst the ones I last visited.
It was packed and loud.
I honestly did not like the vibe but I loved the wines!
I can't wait to go back!
I stopped into this winery on a Monday afternoon. Â I was killing some time before I had to catch the train. Â It was such a nice little tasting room. Â The staff was very personable and knowledge able. Â It was fun talking to the other people in the tasting room as well. Â I tried the red wine flight, 5 wines for $10 and thought they all were delicious. Â Generous pours, too.
Review Source:Kunin is one of the nicer, more refined tasting rooms in the "funk zone." Â I enjoy their tastings menus as they have several. Â You can have a mixed red and white tasting, or solely red or white. Â There really is something for everyone!
I wasn't a huge fan of their viognier, unfortunately. Â Their syarah, however, was to die. Â I would stay sick to a red tasting here. Â The staff is incredibly knowledgeable, and very personable. Â The vibe is also great as the tasting bar has three sides full of stools. Â Basically, once you sit down you will meet someone new! Â Fun little tasting rooms. Â I much prefer it to the loud, hipster vibe at municipal next door.
I've never been tasting in the city of SB itself, we usually go up north a bit around Santa Inez or Santa Maria, but I was pleasantly surprised by kunin's wide selection of wine flights and knowledgable staff. Lucas was very well-versed in wine and in what kunin had to offer. He was welcoming, helpful and fun to talk with.
I went with friends and we did a classic red and a classic white flight, which have us a nice breadth of wines to try. Good, detailed tasting notes and some crunchy breadstick things to munch on.
Prices were reasonable and the location was very easy to find. There are wine places on either side of kunin, but don't overlook it! I'll definitely be back!
I came here on a Sunday morning. I had my dog with me, and there was no problem coming into the tasting room with him. Â Although I am an Ikea fan, their decor which was nice, felt like I had stepped into an office space. Not really the type of atmosphere you want to taste wine in. Â But they do have hooks installed under the bar area, which are a convenient place to hang your purse. So kudos to them for thinking of us ladies.
As for their tasting menu, I was surprised to see them only offering 3 different wines for the cost of $12. To be fair, they were all Syrah's, which I've been told is normally an expensive wine to begin with. Â Fortunately however, they let me taste a late harvest wine at no additional charge, after I had informed the hostess that I tend to like sweeter wines. So I felt a little better that I had gotten my money's worth.
Overall I enjoyed my short visit with them, but I could easily skip it on my next wine tasting foray in Santa Barbara.
Very nice, clean, airy fresh tasting room. Very elegant atmosphere.
We came in here after getting booted next door at a winery that closed at 5pm on a Sunday Memorial Day weekend. WTF?
So we walk in here and we were poured some tastings by the owner, who was very gracious and spent quite a long bit of time doting on our group, talking about each flight.
Brought my 6yo daughter with us and she behaved herself on a barstool playing iPhone and the ownerwas kind enough to bring her a juice box of apple juice so she can toast with us and enjoy the hour or so.
Not understanding the other reviewers bitching about kids--this is a tasting room, aka a storefront for a winery. NOT a BAR. As long as there isn't a squealing kid or one crying his eyes out, people need to get with the idea that kids are going to happen in life--because, wow, concept: you were a kid once too!
Thanks again to the owner who let my 6yo participate!!!
Last tasting room we visited. to be honest...I actually liked the wine but the service was bad. the lady behind the wine bar gave me the feeling that we were bothering her and she was not keeping track of each pour. Â we shared a flight and I had to remind her which number we were on. Â We did end up buying one bottle to take home with us because we were impressed with most of the wines. Â even though the service was not great..here are the positives- the wine bar is a cool & modern destination and the patio looks like a nice place to relax, we meet some friendly patrons that we chatted it up with.
Review Source:Stopped at this tasting room as a part of the Urban Wine Trail in Santa Barbara.
Can't say that any of the wines really wowed me. Â The place was nice but not fantastic.
I was not a fan of the tasting menus. Â None of the pairings included both red and white wines. Â When I am trying to judge a winery, i want to taste both the white and the reds.
I had mixed feelings about coming here because the reviews are all over the place, but on closer inspection I think a lot of people were drunk and cranky. They probably wanted things for free. The "minority" Carlos was the only one there but somehow someone else was getting hit on? Sounds like someone just wanted some flirting. I came in with a girlfriend in the late afternoon. The wines were not amazing, but I enjoyed two of the reds quite a bit. I wasn't doing a whole big tour either. Â It's a cute place, near the beach, walking distance actually. I thought the service was good, plus my pourer clearly of Mexican/Asian descent so who knows what crack people are smoking. I'd for sure come here again when the wines turned over for the next season(not sure if that's the right wording) and taste what they have that's new.
Review Source:I did the white wine tasting this weekend at this location, choices were 5 whites, 5 reds, or 3 syrahs. The wine list was subpar and the servings were very small - just had a few sips of each.
The services were non existent. The person helping us was more interested in talking to her friend at the counter then serving us wine and explaining the differences between them. I only went there because of a friend's recommendation or else I would have avoided it.
Lot's of wineries in SB area - save your money / time and go somewhere else where the service will be better.
Now I know where not to go wine tasting in Santa Barbara. Horrible service. On my second wine the girl was so fixated on trying to get picked up by so bar dude, all she said as she poured half on the counter and half on my glass was, "this is second wine" and walked away!! Wine was decent but honestly the worst customer service ive ever encountered. Maybe cause I am a minority and was the only one there. Horrible staff. We'll never go there again.
Review Source:Cute place. Friendly service and very welcoming. I find that by the time I got to this wine bar was a little buzz from the first bar. So, in short, don't really remember much except the friend customer service, tasty break sticks and a RED phone booth outside!!!! Lol I would come here again!
Review Source:Stop #4 for us on the Urban Wine Trail yesterday. Â The tasting room is small but sleek inside. Â We were the only patrons at that time so we enjoyed the full attention of the clerk, carefully explaining each wine we sampled, and chatting about wine for our wedding. Â We liked but didn't love any of the wines so we did not purchase any. Â
Sadly I would not go out of my way to visit Kunin again, it was my least favorite tasting room that we visited.
This is a tasting room for Kunin wines.
It has a very modern feel, sleek, with a minimalist approach to the décor so there isn't a bunch of stuff all over the place trying to fill space.
They had 4 different wine tasting options 2 red and 2 white.
I ended up trying the Classic red tasting, 6 wines for $10.
I got to admit of all the places we visit Kunin had the best wine. I liked every single one of the wines on my tasting. My favorite was the syrah which despite its description of tasting of fruits and spice also seemed to have a hint of chocolate to me.
I really liked this place and I want to come back over and over all try all there other wines. They only thing that was of about the place was the service.
Don't get me wrong everyone was very professional, and we were attended to quickly. The service just doesn't seem to be very warm or friendly. But they are professional so take that for what it's worth.
Nice tasting room.... aaaaand that's about it! I can see this place has mixed reviews and that makes sense. Some may like those kind of Syrahs  that are all harsh tannins, I do not. The Savi Blanc was decent,  but no wow factor for me.
I went in with my 2 sisters for a child-free afternoon of wine tasting. The hostess was nice at first and then started to ignore us. I've been tasting up and down California and Santa Barbara is BY FAR the more snooty of the regions and I'm usually disappointed by the smugness of the tasting rooms in general. Kunin was no exception. If you're going to have this sort of atmosphere, I would hope the wine would at least be good.
We originally wanted to do 3 separate tastings and ended up only doing 2 because of the hostess ignoring us. *sigh* Once more people showed up and some of them with BABIES-- (why do people do that?) we really decided to hit the road. Very disappointed.
Cute place, $10 for 5 tastings. Wines were great, they have one table were a small group can sit, and a couch with coffee table where people can relax - unfortunately when we went the couch was overtaken with 6 small kids who were crying most of the time. We drank our wines fast & went to another place.
If it wasn't for the loud crying kids I would give it another star.
My fiance and I first stopped by right after they opened and the place was pretty jam packed.
We were in a good mood, having already stopped by a few tasting rooms, so we were happy to deal the crowds.
However, they didnt seem to want to deal with us...
I think we waited about 10 minutes and in that time, I swear to you, no one behind the counter even looked at us. They were busy pouring for a bunch of drunk looking people who came on a tour. This really ticked me off and its not the first time this has happened. We look really young and often get cold shoulder bc they think we're there to just get drunk. But the truth is we know our wine and buy a lot of it, so they missed out!
We went a second time only bc some friends wanted to, the treatment was much better this time and I did enjoy their wines but I can't forget my first impression so I probably wont be going back on my own.
They are also pricier than the other wineries nearby.
They need to be reminded that there are several other wineries within walking distance for customers to choose from so to them I say lose the tude.
LOVED the decor in here, bright airy beachy feel. Elegance in simplicity. My bf and I had been doing a mini winery tour yesterday and this was our third stop...so to say the least we had tasted a few different wines. At Kunin we got the reds tasting and I loved all four of the ones I tried and ended up even buying a bottle. Seth was manning the bar with a friend of his and they were both friendly, attentive and informative. Definitely a place to go if you are in the area.
Seth also helped me out with letting me know his vendor and how to find out how to purchase his wines down in OC. Crossing my fingers Hi Time will carry!
After stopping by the Santa Barbara winery we decided we wanted to do some more wine tastings and ask the recommendation of a local and BOY was she spot on!
This place has a cool unpretentious air to it. Somehow we lucked out and the place wasn't packed so the A/C felt wonderful on a hot summer day. We sampled both the Westerly and Kunin wines. I preferred the Westerly wines, they had a unique smoothness to them. Also our bartender/sommelier, I don't know what to call him other than Alex, he rocked. Was attentive without standing over us and joined in on the fun when he came around.
Definitely will be making another appearance in the future!
Our friends Ryan and Jess introduced my girlfriend and I to Kunin a little over a month ago. We've been back almost every Sunday for the art walk, a tasting, and great conversation. One of the best parts of this tasting room, which is a combined room for Westerly and Kunin, is the staff. They are always attentive and nice, ready to answer questions and share a laugh.
The wines are great, though admittedly I have not had all of them. My favorite is the Kunin Syrah, and just yesterday I tried the 2004 single vineyard which was delicious! I recommend stopping by for a visit if you're in the area and taking some time to not only enjoy the wines, but also the company of those you will find around you.
I did not know Kunin offered baby bottles. Not cute!
This busy and busing at the seams tasting room offers 2 winery selections from Kunin and Westerly but I would stick with Kunin. The room is bright, airy and loud with conversation. The Pape Star, a Rhone blend was great but afternoon came to a screeching halt with the manager/owner/bad parent's toddler ran into us while navigating her walker. Yes, I said baby! Â
What the hell is a kid doing in a wine tasting room? And she belonged to an employee. This was extremely inappropriate. To the fathers, well, defense, he did say they don't usually let her roam around with it's this busy. Hold the phone! This is a regular assurance? Can't you afford child care so you can come to work and pay attention to the paying customers rather than watching out for your kid. I'm not even sure it's legal to have a minor there (I'm not certified by the California Alcoholic Beverage Control) but it sure isn't cool.
The wine, worth the tasting.
An employees baby wondering around the sales floor packed with wine toasting adults, unacceptable and for that, Â you lose my business. if you're not careful, you could lose yours too.
this is the first tasting room that Captian Jack's took us.
there are actually two different sets of tastings here:
1. Kunin Winery
2. Westerly Winery
This modern tasting room is pretty cool. You walk in and you're greeted by friendly staffs. The tasting area is in the center of the room.
The place is quite small and it can get stuffy when there are a lot of people. The wines are okay. I think I like the westerly's more than the kunin's.
If you and a friend are here for wine tasting, get one of each and share, that way you'll get to sample wines from both places!
If you're here w/ a wine tour, then i think it's about $8-10 for 4 tastings.
Beautiful, classy modernistic tasting room. Â Of four wineries visited in Santa Barbara, this was the only one where I actually purchased a bottle. Â It was the 2007 Paso Robles Zinfandel. Â Spicy yet fruity, Â Perfect balance. Â Since I don't get up to Paso much, I think I would re-order from this winery for a good Paso Zin in the future. Â
Best winery visited on our tour!
This was the second tasting room of three that I went to. Â It was a bit more upscale than the other two, had an air of elegance to it, which was nice and unique. Â We tried both wine lists, the Westerly and the Kunin. Â There was only one person working but she was very knowledgeable of the wines and gave us a lot of information about the wine, the grape, the winery, and the family. Â It was pretty cool to have so much information. Â
The wines themselves were interesting. Â The Westerly group seemed to be either pretty good or pretty bad. Â 2 of the group had almost no flavor, or maybe I just like being slapped in the face with flavor, I'm not sure. Â The Kunin wines were mostly very good, especially the reds. Â I even found a blend that I liked, and that's hard to do.
Out of a visit to five tasting rooms, this place stood out so much, it was incredible. Â Not only is the place really cool in modern, kind of has an IKEA- decorated look to it, but the wines were all amazing.
Our group really lucked out because we had the most knowledgeable guy telling us about the wines. Â We all stood around the center counter, and did our tasting while he explained things to us and answered our questions. Â I believe he is a friend of the owner and was just helping out for a bit, but wow did he make the entire experience. Â Their dessert wine was amazing. Â Not sure if it was the Kunin or a Westerly, but it was great.
As I write this, I am enjoying a glass of Westerly 2005 Syrah. It's a succulent flavor full of currant, berries, and a hint of something earthy. I can imagine the Happy Canyon foothills in Santa Ynez, the delicate sunlight, and the scent of the damp soil. It's a delicious wine.
As I entered the wine tasting room of Kunin & Westerly, I felt an ease about the place. Seth Kunin was attending the other customers from behind the counter. It was a comfortable tasting room, right near the train tracks on Anacapa in downtown Santa Barbara. An elegant British lady began my tasting with some of the Westerly whites. I say she's British, but she has lived in Santa Barbara for some time. She was a lovely lady with style; her eyes sparkled as she poured the first taste into my glass, telling me which wine she was pouring. I am into reds, full-bodied, juicy reds, smooth, and soft, rich and complex.
I was surprised at how much I liked the Viognier. I can't tell you which year the Viognier was exactly, but as I try to remember, I think it was a 2005. Please forgive me if I am wrong on the year. It was just bursting with the flavors of guava and grapefruit. I was also amazed at how complex it was. I am almost a convert to white wine after that. Perhaps one of the two white wines to overwhelm my senses, their Viognier is truly intense, layered, and remarkable.
I suppose drinking whites would help me keep my teeth from staining that berry color, and I have tried to like a few chardonnays. But my heart is always with the reds. After a few tastes of their surprisingly complex whites, we moved on to the reds. The room began to fill up with more people, mostly British, which was pure coincidence. Two different British couples were enjoying the tasting as well. Then a lovely, tall dark haired woman came into the room with her little baby girl, Phoebe, 7 months old. Â I am only guessing that this is Seth Kunin's wife, and I am also assuming she runs the wine business with him. I did not ask for their names, but I do believe, just by their body language, familiarity, and that includes passing the little sweet Phoebe around to one another, that I am correct in my guess. Both were personable, friendly, and generous with the extra little pouring and crackers to soak it all up.
I bought the one bottle of Syrah, and wished to buy more, but I was using up the last of my vacation money, and that kept me from buying a case or two. It was incredibly affordable for such a great wine. I cannot wait to order some if I can't go back to Santa Barbara soon.
Kunin & Westerly Tasting Room (28 Anacapa St.) from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. Go to: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkuninwines.com&s=b2e9a97952eb5d12b3448d9aaf5355288d7e58690626b8f4915cb64a21d01cd8" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://kuninwines.com</a> and <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwesterlyvineyards.com&s=99e059659cde732f3d41efb30a51a37d905426c2673b915fe672f423699b2c26" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://westerlyvineyards…</a>.
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