Free wine!
If you can get through the 20 minutes introductory video, the wine tour is well worth it! Very informative, very friendly, and the best part is the wine tasting!
St Augustine is a great place for a day trip. Â Why not stop in and check things out? Â I am not much of a wine fan personally but my wife loves it. Â There really isn't much to see tour wise but you can look around and learn a little about the history of the winery and get a taste for the wine. Â The wines are a little sweeter than I am used to, but then again, I am nowhere near a wine aficionado. Â I drink the stuff but I couldn't tell you the difference between a 100 year old merlot and box wine from Costco. Â Most of the trolleys come by and make stops in the parking lot.
Overall, not a bad place to check in while you are touring the city.
Who can argue with a free wine tasting?! Â The tour mostly consisted of watching a video, but it kept our attention. Â The tasting was a lot of fun! Â Rick taught us about how to taste wine, how different wines are made, and other tips. Â It was educational and entertaining. Â We enjoyed the wine and bought a few bottles after the tasting. Â We were planning to visit the roof top bar too, but I guess it's closed on weekdays.
Review Source:A winery, don't think so. Â This facility is more of a bottling plant. Â They give you a free tour of the place and then afterwards you get to sample several of their wines. Â Here's the best part...FREE! Â They do offer some specials if you purchase their wine. Â I enjoyed their Castillo Red, and their sparkling wine. Â They have gotten much better, and it shows that that they are focused on improving their wines. Â Gor for it!!!
Review Source:Had a wonderful experience here with my niece. I took her for her birthday and they were nice enough to have everyone sing, which might have embarrassed her, but ha ha pay the piper.
Loved the tour and our tour guide/tasting bar attendant. Got some great photos and good muscadine wine.
They could use a little more direction as far as the wine tour goes. Maybe a sign when you first walk in the door. I am not a muscadine fan, but for a free wine tour it was pretty decent. I had to ask most of the questions about their wines though.
The rooftop bar is a cool place to hang out. Friday and Saturday nights there is a band and they are open later. Upstairs at the rooftop bar they do carry a few different Florida craft beers so that was pretty cool.
Always a must-see stop during our trips to St. Augustine. FREE wine tasting? Uh, yes please! The tour starts upstairs in a room where you watch an educational video on their wine making process and how they use muscadine grapes in their wines, and the grapes are grown locally. Then you proceed to the first tasting station, and move throughout the place tasting around 8 of their own wines.
They start with the more dry choices and as you go the selection gets sweeter. I've been to several tastings, and what stands out about San Sebastian's wines is that their reds are sweeter than you'd expect. They also have a fantastic dessert wine. We leave feeling pretty warm and fuzzy and our palates are satisfied. If you like sweet, you'll love the selection, but there are a few choices for those that prefer a more full flavor.
Make sure you head to the rooftop bar when you're done with the tasting. But watch the prices on what you order. We felt pretty stupid after ordering a glass of the Rosa for $7 and then realizing you can buy a bottle for about $9 downstairs. DO try the sangria, as that's made with either the white bubbly wine or the vintner's red (your choice). But just sitting in the sun on a beautiful Florida day, drinking tasty wine and relaxing made the experience a 5. We also enjoyed people watching as people pulling into the parking lot and problem solved how to park in a lot with no lines for spots.
Great free tour, great staff, great live music, great tastings. Â The only reason this doesn't get five stars is because the wine isn't really my thing. Â It was mostly sweet wines, which I understand is what they grow here. Â
I would recommend this place to someone in town and I would even go back myself, it is just not the place I would buy a bottle to take home. Â What I would do is go sit on the rooftop bar and have a drink (they also have beer and good food) and take in some good live music on a nice day.
Not local, so I can only talk about the product. Â A friend gave us a bottle San Sebastian for Christmas and we've been hooked ever since...
1. Â Their Vintner's Red is one of the most delicious wines (if not THE most delicious wine) that I've ever tasted. Â I'm no wine connoisseur, so my palate is not very sophisticated. Â That said, I've had many compliment the wine when I've served it. Â It's very much a sweet wine. Â A red that someone who likes Rieslings would appreciate.
2. Â This wine was so good that I've done something that I've never done before; order a case online. Â Their online system is a little quirky when you try to change quantities, but otherwise very easy to navigate. Â The highlight was that I ordered on Thursday and my wine delivered on Monday morning! Â
I'll definitely be ordering regularly and will visit next time I make a trip up north! Â
Highly recommend!
If you like very sweet wines then you may like this winery more than I did. Â I found that the tour was very unorganized. Â You go upstairs to a room where they are playing an informative movie on wine, but there isn't anyone up there to greet you or let you know when to move on to the next room. Â We sat down in the movie room and then realized we did not have to and we just moved on to the next room where there was a lady standing with wine to pour into your tasting cup. Â She was not very informative and did not tell you much about the wine. Â You then would move on to the next room and it would be the same type of set up. Â You did this until you have tried all of the wines and end back up in the gift shop. Â The wines were too sweet for my liking. Â It was like drinking grape juice. Â
There was one room in the winery that I enjoyed seeing, which was where all the wine barrels were. Â Other than that, the winery didn't have much to look at and there wasn't anyone walking you around letting you know any information about the winery. Â It's sister winery in Cleremont, Florida - Lakeridge Winery is much more organized, has more to look at, you have a tour guide, and the wine tasting is done all at one around a large bar where they tell you all about every wine they're about to give you. Â Although their wines are just like San Sebastian's.....very sweet.
This place is just plain FABULOUS. Heaven.
From the time you arrive the staff welcomes you and advises you of where to go for either tours or tastings. Â We jumped on tasting! Course! :)
I've never seen a tasting so huge in all my life. Picture a U shaped stand up bar and I counted up to 24 people all around the bar. It was awesome. Â The wine guy was full of personality, knowledge and charisma. He was able to capture the attention of anyone at our tasting and keep us engaged. The host makes or breaks the tasting...if you get stuck with someone who has the personality of a toothpick (to steal my best friend's line here) then you're so disappointed. San Sebastian will NOT disappoint.
Their gift shop is huge and there are so many bottles of wine and trinkets to purchase you'll be in heaven and have to figure out what you really want if you don't buy it all!
Great place. Will go back for sure. St. Augustine is a do-over town so with that being said, we'll be back.
San Sebastian Winery is fun fun fun! And free wine tasting! I"m not crazy about all of their wines, but I do love most of them!! The staff is friendly and informative and the wine is reasonably priced! As a Floridian I am glad I can get it local and do not have to drive all the way to St. Augustine for it!!
Review Source:My girlfriends and I LOVE the San Sebastian Winery, not necessarily for the wine, but because of the ambiance and entertainment upstairs! I've lived in NE Florida for a while, and for the longest time, didn't even know there was an upstairs bar at the winery, we thought it was just a tourist trap with a tour.
If it wasn't for us loving the magic man Mereaux, we wouldn't have ever started coming here. We visit him often at the Tasting Room, and found out he also worked at the winery, so we started visiting him there as well. Â
It's a beautiful rooftop terrace, with a semi-decent view of the city. Â The staff are wonderful, the gentleman running the bar is always very friendly and attentive, and our regular waitresses (Brittany and Courtney) are always a delight! They really make you feel welcome and my glass never goes empty!
Try the Red Sangria, paired with the meat and cheese plate. Or, if you are looking for something with a bit more substance, their sandwiches are fantastic.
My wife and I stopped into the winery today after visiting the Lightner Museum down the same street.
We took the very quick free "tour". You actually just seem to goto station to station sampling about 7 different wines that they produce. There is a bottling facility here that was not running during our visit. There is a "video room" showing how they harvest the grapes and make the wine.
The best thing is that all the wines were really very good! :) It was hard deciding which ones to bring home.
The staff were all very friendly and knowledgeable about the wines.
I look forward to coming back when it gets a little cooler and going up to the jazz bar/restaurant on the 3rd floor balcony.
The wine store on the 1st floor is nice. There are obviously the wines for sale, as well as wine accessories and gadgets. There were also a small selection of Boars Head salami's and cheeses.
I love this winery. The tours are fun and informative, and the folks who run it are very friendly. Plus, the last time we came through, we were given the option of skipping the movie part of the tour, and getting straight to the informative tour/tasting part, which was fine by me!
I love the upstairs outdoor terrace. There is usually live music. They make some really fantastic sangrias, and offer great cheeses to munch on (cant remember the other menu items, we filled up on cheese and charcuterie). Mmmm. I would come here all the time if I lived in town.
So St Augustine is the place to go if you're a Floridian and feel like playing the tourist. Well this is one place that you can't miss if you're there. It's a pleasant walk from the main drag and has all the delicious muscadine grape wines that they serve at the Lakeridge winery, they're sister company.
The tour is short and sweet and they get right to the point. The wine. The tasting is fun, free and they have an awesome little balcony area upstairs where you can order a heavily overpriced boars head meat and cheese platter and some sangria and soak in the scenery.
All in all it's a good time, it's relaxing and who doesn't love that weird wangy muscadine taste? The bottles are also a pretty decent bargain.
This place has free wine tastings, so you can't go wrong. You first sit in a room where you can see a video of how this winery started, and then you proceed into the first room of wine tasting. If you ask question each person is very knowledgeable about the wine you are tasting. (There are only two rooms for tastings but you try at least 8-9 wines). When you walk towards the second room you are on a second floor level and the passage sides are made of wine barrels which is pretty cool. On the third floor they have a beautiful view of St. Augustine where you can eat and drink more wine. Back to the first floor they have the shop. This place is great to visit while you are in town.
Review Source:I was initially disappointed when we pulled up, for whatever reason the word Winery had conjured up images of vineyards and nice scenery, not so much.
However, the staff members were very pleasant! Â No stuffy and pretentious guide for the tour. Â The free tasting was enjoyable and informative and the film about the owner's journey into the wine business was interesting. Â
We left happy and with several bottles of wine. Â We did not get to enjoy the rooftop bar thanks to poor weather that weekend but I bet it is worth checking out.
I could've cried when I got to the turn off for this Winery and it was totally blocked off with no way marked to get around the construction.
Settled for going by the liquor store and picking up a bottle of the Vinters Red and Vinters White. Â Both were good, but I was shocked to find I actually preferred the red.
For all you wine-lovers, muscadine wines are well worth trying!
What a great learning experience! Â Really, a learning experience, I thought that was meant for school/classes, etc. Well this place has it all. Wine tour, wine tasting, and shopping. Guess what the price is free!!! Â Yes, free. Now that's one of my fave words in the English dictionary.
My hubby and I are not wine connosieurs(I can't even spell the word, let alone be it). But we still wanted to check this place out. Who would have thought soooo much detail went in to making wine. Well, now we know thanks to this place.
We tasted the wine, they were quite different for our weak taste buds, but I'm glad we got to learn the differences with them. Will I remember, maybe when I see it again.
It was a fun experience, and when we did this, it was raining and chilly outside so it was perfect to do on a rainy chilly day!
OK so this was my first winery experience and perhaps I was expecting a cold dark dungeon, with barrels of wine by the walls, a small table with with glasses and some cheese.
This was not like that at all. I was good but modern, the tasting informative and the people where wine experts wine itself is very good, but sweet. I like dark rich and full flavored. My favorite is Vinters White, a sweet mellow white. Its more a dessert wine, somehting to have after diner with fruits.
Anyway I do recomend it even if it was not what I was expecting. I will go again in the future.
It's a stop we have to make every time we're in town. Even if the winery had nothing to do with it, the rooftop bar would still be a great reason to visit. Â The perfect mix of outdoor rooftop seating, good live music, a nice breeze, and a full bar with a number of light snack options.
I think it's odd that the bottles of Vintner's Red selling for $9.99 on the ground floor will cost you $19 on the roof, but to be honest it's so nice up there that I don't even think about it.
If you're in town, make it a point to go up there at least once when the weather is pleasant and split a bottle of wine with someone special. Â It's worth it. :)
Free wine tasting? Yes, please! Wine that tastes like burnt tires? Um, no thanks!
Something's wrong with their Vintner's Red and White right now. Seriously, never had wine that terrible. And for them to be their "best sellers" . . . well, maybe they're selling to people whose tastebuds have been damaged by Zicam. It absolutely tasted and smelled like burnt tires - everyone I was with agreed.
The tour is ok. The guide was cute and friendly. Admittedly, there's not too much to see, but it's free and air conditioned (and ends with the wine tasting), so why not? And even though the wine's pretty much undrinkable, you can just shoot it down your throat for a nice free buzz. Ha.
I know you're wondering at this point - why the 3 stars? Well, that's for their rooftop bar/restaurant. It's a very nice setting, with a decent view and a lovely ocean breeze. And the drinks (no wine, believe me!) and food we had up there were quite nice. We had some bread and oil, as well as a meat and cheese tray, and everything was delicious. Service was friendly and quick. And I think it's Friday and Saturday evenings that they have live music (jazz?) up there. I would definitely go back to the rooftop bar.
AND, since everyone else LOVES the Vintner's white and red so much, I would also give the tasting another try. It HAD to have been a fluke that the wine tasted like that. No one in their right mind would like what we had.
I have family in California and have been to Napa a few times so when we heard that St. Augustine had a winery, we were kind of expecting vineyards and what not, so needless to say we (well I) was slightly disappointed.
It was just a regular building surrounded by a regular parking lot. We went inside and we were happily greeted and were told about the "free tour and wine tasting", things were definitely starting to look up! The tour was a little cheesy but the wine tasting was terrific. Â They let you try about seven different wines for free and the tour guide is really friendly and helpful! We really enjoyed the Vintners Red and took a couple of them home. Overall, (though not what expected) it was a very pleasant experience.
Any time you mix christmas lights, a live band, a rooftop, sangria, and wine straight from the winery, you have something special. When you put it in downtown historic St. Augustine, you have something really special. The only negative is that it closes too early!
You'll find a fun mix of ages, couples, dates, wedding parties, and groups, all mingling, drinking, and dancing on the rooftop, blanketed by rod iron high tops, a small area for the band or DJ, and classy bar.
And, the wine tasting is amazing! We actually went here for a consumer behavior class and did a full wine tasting during the day. I learned a lot, it was in depth, but very fun and relaxed at the same time.
This is a review for the upstairs bar only:
We came on a Sunday at 3pm. There was live music and a fun atmosphere. A table opened up pretty quickly. There was not much shade, so I'd definitely recommend bringing your sunglasses and maybe a hat.
The food and wine was fun. I had the red sangria. It was a little too sweet for my taste, but the pour was very generous! My boyfriend just drank beer. We shared a cheese and meat platter. It was fine, if not a little overpriced.
All in all, the upstairs bar is a fun place to go for out of towners and maybe locals. Â The atmosphere is fun, laid-back, and friendly.
I'd like to give this 3 1/2 stars... but there's no 1/2 and 4 would be just too generous.
This was my first visit to the winery and I was very much so looking forward to it! Â I didn't even know there was a winery in St. Augustine! Â I went with a bunch of girls from my sorority alumnae group and we met up around 12:30pm. Â Well, as we were waiting for some of the group, we decided to go upstairs to check out the little rooftop bar/eatery. From the website we knew it would be serving light snacks or lunch.
There were 4 of us at first and at 12:50 everything was still closed. Â When we went out to see the seating area, there was no one there but the bar looked open. Â So we walked through the indoor area and I overheard some people talking (who apparently were working) and he said something to the effect of: "what are those people doing here and how did they get inside?" Well, first of all dumb ass, the door was unlocked and 2nd of all, the ELEVATOR! Â There was NOTHING that had the hours of the bar posted so how the heck are we supposed to know you don't open until 1pm!! So we went back downstairs to find someone to ask.
Upon meeting the rest of the group, we then decided to eat first so we headed back up to the rediculous bar and now we were a party of 12....sadly the outdoor area and the weather were perfect but our service was not. Â When we got up there, none of the 3 people working there greeted us. They acted like we weren't there. They said they were not prepared for a group, well, your stupid place doesn't take group reservations (the girls tried that prior to coming). And then Mr ""how did they get inside" got upset when we tried to move tables together for our party. They were RUDE RUDE RUDE! and I didn't care whether or not we stayed. But because I didn't really have a choice to go somewhere else (wasn't driving and needed food before tasting)
Our server ended up being so nice and wonderful to cater to 12 of us! Â I ended up ordering some food - chips/ salsa and an Italian sandwich. Now the sandwich was surprisingly tasty. Good idea. Â I also got a white sangria. Â Bad idea. It was sunny and warm and the sangria kinda f-ed me up so by the time we went indoors fo the actual tour I did not feel so hot...in fact I really wanted to lay down and take a nap. Didn't expect the effect of sangria and sun to screw me over. But I took a few moments in the restroom to splash water on my face to cool down and felt a little better. I went along on the tour but didn't taste anymore wine for fear I would lose my lunch. P.S. There was a musician that afternoon who was quite good.
Now this tour...The people pouring knew what they were talking about in terms of the wine. Although it would have been nice to actually have had a tour guide to explain the making process and such. Â I had a hard time focusing (as I wasn't feeling so hot) but i know there was 1 taste downstairs, a red and a rose at the 2nd station, 2 more in the back room and 2 or 3 at the last station. Â You need to remember to keep your cup from the first station because you don't get a new one for each wine. There was also a little video. I watched it with my eyes closed and I think it cycled a couple times. I really needed to close my eyes for a few minutes but once I woke up I felt fine.
The experience was OK. Â I was totally turned off of the place because of the lousy service at the beginning but I didn't leave with too much of a negative feeling. Â I did have fun with the girls I went with so that helped.
I liked the little store on the first floor and ended up buying a shirt and the muscato grape juice. Glad for that mini nap because it made me ready to stop at the chocolate store around the corner!
This is a must-do when visiting St. Augustine! Located on King Street, just outside of downtown proper, the winery specializes in wines prepared with the locally grown muscadine grape. This winery shares a vineyard with Lakeridge Winery, in Clermont, FL.
They hold daily wine tastings and tours which run every half hour, so you're bound to have the opportunity to participate. If you get there in between tours, take the opportunity to browse the selection - the wine is reasonably priced and tasty.
After the tour, you can head to The Cellar Upstairs - this is my favorite part! It's a rooftop wine and jazz bar, with live music and light fare (meat and cheese platters and sandwiches).
You can enjoy your new favorites found at the tasting, or if you prefer, beer is available also. I like the Vinter's White and Red the most, especially when I'm craving something sweet. Careful though, the Red is so smooth and sweet, you forget it contains alcohol!
St Augustine, Florida.
One of my favorite places in the entire world.
Add a little wine in the mix, BEST place ever :)
I visited San Sebastian not too long ago and fell in love with their selection of wine, cute decorations and souvenirs, the rooftop bar to lounge and soak up the sun, the yummy snacks to nibble one, the live band that performs every so often and their passion for their work.
Every time I visit this seaside town, I ALWAYSSS stop by for a glass of yummy red wine ;)
What could be better than enjoying a glass of wine amongst palm trees as the sun is setting?
Almost nothing :)
This review is mainly for the wine and jazz bar upstairs.
Although on a related side note, I love the wine at the San Sebastian Winery.
The wine and jazz bar upstairs is great. Â Great wine, great music, and great atmosphere. Â They also have some appetizers available (we had the fruit and cheese tray which was pretty good).
We saw a band named Ain't Too Proud to Beg, and they were absolutely amazing. Â It's a little pricey, but I would highly recommend it. Â There isn't too much seating available upstairs, and I would recommend you bring a jacket or coat, as it can get cold depending on the time of year (it's on top of the building and your outdoors).
I pass the San Sebastian Winery almost every day and the thought almost always crosses my mind. "What is a winery doing here in Florida?" Â But I never let my curiousity take me any further than that.
Last Saturday, my new friend/neighbor and I were on our way home from the Farmer's Market and passed the winery again.
"Have you ever been on the wine tasting tour in there?", she asked. Â
"No, but we should try it sometime." , I replied.
Amanda, a much more spontaneous soul than I says, Â "Let's go now! Â Your husband is still sleeping and mine is playing video games, and it's a beautiful day. Â We should be having fun."
"But, what about our strawberries and tomatos and cupcakes we just bought. Â They'll get hot in the car!"
"We won't be that long...make a u-turn."
"Okay....."
The wine tasting was fun.  You walk right  through a beautiful gift shop to the first stop, for  "Reserva", a dry white wine I really enjoyed.  You next wander upstairs and through the winery from station to station, stopping at each to sample.  Most of the rest of the wines are sweet, made from Muscadines grapes grown in central Florida.  I'm not a fan of sweet wines, but my friend liked them a lot. Â
The last stop was for Cream Sherry and for Port (which always reminds me of Rhett Butler). Â They were both excellent, fortified with brandy, it's a good thing the cup is tiny.
Heading for the exit, we noticed musicians heading up stairs to a rooftop patio. Â We had no idea that even existed!
Beautiful!  With a view St. Augustine and the harbor, we ordered a platter of cheese and bread, each sipped a glass of our favored wine (I had the Reserva) and listened to some really good music on a  gorgeous afternoon.  What could be better?  I highly recommend.
But our cupcakes did melt.
Stopped here on a whim while vacationing in St Augustine last week. Great place, loved it so much we called folks from the place to tell them to visit next time they're in town! We've been to Napa and other wineries in the US and abroad.
While it's surprising to find a place like this on east coast Fla., it holds its own.
The tour was informative, and the tasting was educational as well as generous. We enjoyed the wines. They also offered sherry and port, as well as a mulled wine at the end, all pleasant.
The shop is well stocked with wine paraphernalia and the usual touristy stuff without being tacky.
One notes however that the grapes are grown and crushed in south Fla., then shipped up as juice to be fermented. So no vineyards around for scenery. But you can always stroll through nearby downtown historic St Augustine after sampling here.
I was surprised yet happy to see that there was a winery in Saint Augustine. Naturally, I had to pay them a litle visit. The tour is free and starts off with a short film on the winery, a walk through their holding tanks/barrel room and finishes off in their tasting room. The servers were fun and informative.
I didn't care too much for most of their regular wines but I did like their brandy and port so I had several bottles shipped home.
On the day we visited, there was a blues band playing upsairs in The Wine Cellar, their wine & jazz bar. It's a nice place to sit back and relax while enjoying a glass of wine or sangria. Great views of the city from the rooftop.
Get the Blanc DuBois. Â They claim it has the grapefruit flavors because the vines are on land that used to grow grapefruits. Â Regardless, if you spend summers in St Augustine, it's hot enough for nicely chilled whites. Â This wine does the job.
They also have a Sangria mix that uses their red (Vintner's Red, I believe) that is a great pick.
Also take time to enjoy a glass of their awesome sparkling, Blanc De Fleur at the Jazz Bar on a weekend night. Â Views of the water, a little blues/jazz and some good sparkling will cap the night.
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