Julie was amazing went over so much detail of the wine. I will say we were the first customers. Such a chill place to start our day. However, we had an amazing time. The wine was great! She made the experience just a little better. If it's your first time at the wine ghetto this is a place to try they don't make you feel out of place. read more

See all

If you like bubbles, check out their bubble flight! I thought it was a little higher on the price side ($35 for the tasting) but all of them were delicious! Dog friendly, casual cool vibe. read more

Flying Goat Cellars - Bubble flight + dog friendly. - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Lompoc, California

They have great sparkling wine and great customer service and employees and are very knowledgeable

Bubbles are absolutely delicious best in town, service is extremely exceptional, ask for Faye she is outstanding!!!

Wine is delicious. The quality is definitely here Service is amazing. Bubbles are the best in town for sure. Faye is the best. Extremely knowledgeable and her hospitality is off the chart. Highly recommended. read more

Great reds, whites and sparkling wines...very friendly and knowledgeable staff! Highly recommend!

I love this winery! This time we tried their sparkling wine. They're all delicious! I am so glad they remained open during the pandemic. Their wine prices are reasonable, so you can definitely afford their wine. read more

See all

I love the wine ghetto in Lompoc and the flying goat cellar is one of my favorite wineries there. Great tasting room with a friendly staff make the experience wonderful. read more

Good service and attention in the tasting room. The $20 tasting fee for the sparkling was definitely a bit steep. Wine preference is obviously subjective since everyone has a different palette. I spent $35 for a sparkling and non sparkling flight for two of use so we could try everything. Neither of us cared enough for any of the wines to leave with a bottle or three. The wines were not bad, but nothing really stood out as truly unique. The wines seemed like they should be aged a few more years before release to take the harsh edge off of them. The policy here is, if you buy three bottles they will waive one tasting fee. For those that enjoy the wine or are willing to buy it to age or on their own, that's not a bad deal. read more

Norm Yost is the Super Dave Osborne of Wine. He is a very down to earth individual who loves to make Pinot Noir and now "bubbles". The tasting room is only open by appointment, so if you plan to visit the wine ghetto in Lompoc call him and set up a tasting. Over the last couple of years we have collected a few bottles starting from the 04 Santa Rita Hills (Clone 2A) Rio Vista to the 06 Santa Maria Dierberg Vineyard. We finally got a chance to visit his tasting room during the VDay weekend when he was open to the public. Norm was pouring 3 different varietals and his newest creation a sparkling wine made from Pinot Noir grapes. He also made the same sparkling wine for Clos Pepe. I, personally love medium to full body wines with some kick & well structured. His wine show off characters of spice with lots of raspberry, cola, blueberry, and strawberry all mingling together in harmony. I know Norm keeps his tasting sessions low key and allows just a few people at a time. He turned away a limo driver when he walked in to see if his passengers could come in and taste (bonus points). Norm, thank you for allowing us to come in and finally meet you in person and giving us a taste of your awesome wines. read more

See all

Great pinot but on this occasion I especially enjoyed their Goat Bubbles sparkling wine. I did think their prices were on the higher side and I was disappointed that they didn't waive the tasting fee with all the wine we bought. This was the ONLY place on all of our stops that didn't waive the fee with purchase. :( I highly recommend people to get off the beaten track and try out some of the tasting rooms in the wine ghetto. The people are very friendly and we have made some great finds. read more

This is one of favorite wines bar none.. its simply wonderful,and believe it or not, one of the main reasons we came here is because of the champagne, and we aren't even champagne drinkers. The goat bubbles rose champagne is absolutely wonderful and worth the journey to get it. The reds are also pretty spectacular and part of our regular wine cellar stocking. read more

Our host, Norm, was very nice & kindly explained each varietal. Cooper, the chocolate lab greeted us upon arrival. The champagnes were very good & the pinots were excellent. Definitely worth the stop. read more

Flying Goat is a winery in the heart of the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. They have a very small tasting room. The bar can only accommodate about 6 people, and there is really only other seating for about 6 people. They have a sweet dog there (I think a chocolate lab) is to be lots of fun. They have neat wall decor and antique stoves. It is a cool funky joint. One of the owners is pouring so he is very knowledgeable about the wine. They specialize in sparkling and pinot noir. I was personally not a fan of the wines. Their wines were a bit tannic to me, but taste is subjective so you should check it out for yourself. read more

Great tasting room and family type culture. The owner/winenaker was pouring as he normally does. They have some great pinot noirs our of their Santa Rita Hills vineyards. Cooler climate locations make for more of an old world style pinot. More mineral and earthy but the fruit does come through. Very well balanced with oak and spice. Picked up the Rita's reserve name after the winemakers mom. But pricey but well worth it! Will be back! read more

Flying Goat Cellars - Back wall of Flying Goat Tasting room. Cool mural of the Ghetto! - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Lompoc, California

BUYER BEWARE! Don't buy pricy wine here...Kate's horrible customer service practice includes selling old wines that are spoiled and they will not replace a spoiled bottle...buyer beware!! These old duos they sell which is what I bought in 2022 and paid over $60 for included an average tasting 2015 Pinot and an oxidized 2015 Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine which they refused to replace upon request! read more

One of my favorite winemakers on the central coast! ***My winery/tasting room reviews are rated based upon many factors. First is QPR or quality to price ratio of the wine. In other words, is the wine priced according to how good it is. The second factor is the tasting room experience. This involves the staff, grounds and anything unique about the winery.*** Tasted: Mid-2010 Tasting room fee: $10 Wine price range: $20-$44 I discovered Flying Goat on a recommendation in a restaurant. I tend to shy away from cutesy labels, especially ones with animals on them. Call me weird, but that is the way I am. I should have taken a lesson from Wade of Wades Wines who says "you don't drink the label." So, there are exceptions to my rule, and after trying them in a restaurant, Flying Goat is one of them. I was captivated when I first tried his Rio Vista Pinot. That was in 2007. I was hosting a large dinner for people that were not wine drinkers and wanted to serve this wine. I managed to find the last case of it in the state in San Francisco. The wine was a huge hit, people even called me afterward to find out what the name of the wine was. I think it is remarkable to impress such a large group with a wine. The owner/winemaker is Norm Yost. As one of my wine friends says, he is the "real deal." I have watched Norm progress from a small winemaker to today where he now has a small tasting room open in Lompoc. Note, they are not open 7 days a week, so call before you go. The tasting room is in an industrial park known as the 'wine ghetto.' Lets get this out of the way first. This is not a fancy place. Then again, you should be coming here to experience superb wine made by someone with a huge passion for it. So, that is why you need to come here. Taste here first, then compare to other pinots in the area. They make some whites and a trio of pinots, all of them different. Many people also like their sparking pinot rose though this was not being poured in the tasting room that day. If you are in the area to learn about and try great wines, you must go here. If you are out partying on a girls weekend out, you may want to go elsewhere. Again, one of my favorite winemakers on the central coast! read more

So I have to give it a 5 Star. If you are here to drink, for ambiance, or collecting wine glasses then take note this may be more of a 3-3.5. If you love Pinots and would like to chat with the wine maker, see the soils and learn about wine then yes, yes it is a 4-5 for sure. I really appreciated my visit to this tasting room. Also, since they focus on Pinot Noir grapes, they have some fun bubbles that they call goat bubbles. If you get a chance to check out the wine ghetto you really should. I think the booming wine scene is about to do some good things for the town of Lompoc. Wine ghetto is like drinking a great wine out of a mason jar. There is not 8 or 10 tasting at most W.G. spots but it's because you are tasting good wines from small wineries. Hey if you want a free glass go to Gallo or Temecula. read more

Great little tasting room. Lots of lovely art to look at. Friendly service. Good Pinot Noir's and Sparkling Wines. Prices ranged from $40-60 per bottle. A bit surprised the $15 tasting fee is only waived after 3 bottles. read more

Flying Goat Cellars - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Lompoc, California

See all

I am shocked that this is not everyone's favorite place in the wine ghetto. Seriously, people--shocked! The pinot was so good I could not decide which one was the best. So I decided that this place is the best! Bonus info: -guy giving pours was gorgeous in a hipstery way (and I almost never say that) -cool pictures of goats everywhere (who doesn't love goats?!) -None of these places offered free tastings with your purchase, so I did not see that as a downside, but more of a ghetto culture thing. read more

Ah, Lompoc! The town where I grew up.It seems really hard times have hit the City of Flowers (and murals) and she doesn't look as good as she used to. That said, the Lompoc wine warehouse is a groovy little joint featuring, among other things, Flying Goat Cellars.' Now, the Flying Goat has a number of very good wines...in particular the 2009 Pinot Noir. If your a Rhone varietal person, don't let the spartan and utilitarian outside detract you from sipping these wines. Also, leave your Napa expectations at the door...this is a different part of the state with legitimate credentials. Think of it as traveling to another land or tasting one of the many faces of California. Once your prejudgments are set aside, be prepared to be enchanted. The prices here are reasonable and had I more time I'd have tasted and perhaps purchased more. I imagine I'll be back to do just that. read more

Came to sample a bit of wine and enjoy the experience very much. André was very friendly and attentive to us. If you love Pinot this place is a must! read more

Flying Goat Cellars - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Lompoc, California

I appreciate the two options of a red tasting and a sparkling tasting. The gentleman knew a lot about the wine. The dogs were a cute addition as well. Didn't appreciate feeling rushed out. Had just finished our tastings and wanted to relax on the couches when the lady asked if we wanted to buy anything. We replied no thank you. Then she asked what tastings we need to pay for. Would have been nice to enjoy relaxing for a few moments. Hospitality goes a long way. read more

This was a really fun place to taste wine in the ghetto. There were a lot of friendly people inside tasting alongside us, and the woman pouring wine was also very nice. I was skeptical how good the wine would be with a label like "flying goat" but I really enjoyed most of their pinots. They were talking about how fun the wine pickup party had been the day before and I believe it! My bf picked up 4 bottles of pinot to take home and joined their "pinot only" wine club. I can't wait for the shipments to start coming! read more

Good wines but not that special. My bf and I were stoked to try this place out, there are a ton of raving yelp reviews! We were the first ones here and maybe it was because the temperatures weren't exactly right and stuff the wines weren't that impressive. They did have the only tasting of bubbly rose that we had on the entire trip so that is unique but that's about it. Their tasting room is adorable with soil samples in bottles and maps everywhere but still eh. Also, I thought their wines were quite a bit more expensive than other places, it was around $44 per bottle. read more

Honestly, although this was a very nice place to taste with a very nice person performing the tasting, I just couldn't get into the wines here. The sparkling wines are neat because it's one of the only places you can find sparkling in the wine ghetto, but I just didn't find them that exciting. Also, in my opinion, the pinots are better (and at lower price points) at many of the other wineries in the ghetto. I'd like to emphasize that my friends and I had a great time here with great service, but I don't think I'd be back. It's a curiosity for sure, but I just didn't like the flavors. Again, subjective, but isn't that what all reviews are anyway? read more

The atmosphere was very nice and the people were so friendly and helpful. They showed us on a map where each region was and more importantly the bubbly was on point! We had a lot of fun and thank you for the recommendations of other places to hit. read more

Flying Goat Cellars - They even took our photo in front of this really cool sign! - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Lompoc, California

Very good bubbly. Very good Pinot. I was able to arrange a private tasting. Totally worth it. Katrina was very knowledgeable and professional. read more

Flying Goat Cellars - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Lompoc, California

I've been a fan of Santa Barbara pinots for 20 years. Flying Goat has always been one of the better pinots out there. I met the owner Norm a few years back at the WOP and he seemed like a nice guy and is well connected in the central cal wine community. With that said, I find the attitude of a particular woman working at the Lompoc tasting room to be a poor representation of the winery. Based on previous Yelp reviews here, perhaps it was Norm's wife? I don't know, but I was ready to buy a case of wine and the lady wanted to charge me for the $10 tasting. I guess what startled me even more was the snobbish attitude. Is this what things have come to in the market place? I get it that if the public will pay for tastings, why not charge them to help cover your costs. That's been standard for quite a while now in all tasting rooms. But the whole idea behind a tasting is supposed to be to encourage people to buy your wine. These days, most places have a policy of a one or two bottle minimum, before the tasting is waived, but no comp at all? Wow! I tend to think this was just this particular lady's own policy for the day based on her snobby attitude. Hard to imagine that Flying Goat would have a policy like that or leave the decision to comp tastings at the discretion of their employees. She looked at me with a "how dare I" face when I questioned why she would still charge me for the tasting after I wanted to buy wine. All I can say is that this attitude is bad for business since she just lost a sale from me. I'm just rating the experience at the tasting room, not the wine. Flying Goat makes 3 and 4 star pinots in my opinion. read more

Really liked my tasting experience here. I tried the pinot noirs tasting for $15. Norman Yost the wine maker was there and went over the various vineyards and differences between each wine. The 2005 Pinot noir was excellent. read more

Wonderful Pinot Noir! I had to join their wine club. Also, their logo is so cute. We had a wonderful time tasting there, and spending time with Cacao (the dog). read more

So this was our second tasting room and the wines were pretty good (they had a Pinot Noir that was really good) - But I'm giving them 5 stars because Chad our server was just a funny guy who made us laugh while enjoying good wine - (which is really the reason to go wine tasting!!! - have a good time!!) -we had a group of 6, plus there was already 6 people there and Chad was able to juggle serving all of us, and be entertaining at the same time! - Good times! read more

Sparkling wine in Santa Ynez Valley! We joined the club and are drinking the goat bubbles. Tasty bubbly!!

2/2014 Update - couple more notes . Just finished a weekend with 20 friends in the ghetto. None of the tasting rooms are equipped to handle large (over 8) groups without advance notice and only a few can handle with notice. Thus you need to split up into groups. Flying Goat was very accommodating with our visit. There's also a picnic table outside the tasting room. We had a catered lunch from American Host (awesome) and brought some extra tables. While the tasting rooms of Los Olivos tend to look down their noses at Lompoc and the Ghetto there's another big difference. Lompoc tasting rooms have clean restrooms rather than being directed to a distant portapotty in Los Olivos. ************************************************************************************************************** Only 15 years ago Lompoc was considered to be the low class, bad end of the Santa Ynez Valley. However, thanks to an abundance of low cost warehouses, a City that welcomed wineries while the County of Santa Barbara was discouraging them and a great climate Lompoc has become home to an outstanding group of wine makers. As you enter Lompoc from Highway 1 or Highway 246 the first "landmark" is Home Depot. Behind Hodepot lies a sprawling 20+ year old industrial part that is home to a number of excellent winemakers including Flying Goat. http://69.89.22.138/~lompocco//images//lompoc%20wine%20trail%20map.pdf Their wines are great. Several friends who are very serous about their wines have Norm's wines at the top of their Santa Ynez Valley wine lists. Favorites Rio Vista Dijon Clones and Rio Vista 2a. The tasting room is all about enjoying wine with fellow enthusiasts. Not to be missed are some of the Flying Goat Cellars events including dinner at the La Purisima Mission only a couple miles away Tasting the Santa Ynez valley should be looked at as three (or more ) distinct areas - east of the 101 including Los Olivos and Solvang, Buellton and west ( Highway 246 and Santa Rosa Road and finally the Lompoc area. You can easily get overwhelmed trying to drive all over the valley in a day. It's much better to work one area with less driving and more time for enjoying the wines. As a beginning experience the Spring and Fall Santa Barbara Vintners Association events are a good introduction although after a year or so they become somewhat of a cattle drive. Also look at the individual winery events during these events or the passports that offer tasting at a number of wineries at a single price. Back to Flying Goat, their Goat Bubbles sparking wine is not to be missed. As a final note , the folks in the tasting room know the wines and it's not uncommon to find he owners/winemakers hard at work. read more

Good wines. Some interesting sparkling choices as well. The wine is just as good as some of the other wineries in the "Wine Ghetto" but I think Flying Goat has a little better value. It's been a while since I last tried them out but I loo forward to going again. read more

Great wine...pinot's are done in the old world style with elegance and grace. This would have been a 4.5 if the tasting were larger. Unfortunately there was not enough wine in the glass to adequately assess the wine. If the husband is pouring enjoy....great wine...pour more ;) read more

Damn good wines and friendly guy pouring 'em. Definitely a fan of their Pinot.

Jeff B. Thousand Oaks,CA Wine tasting is a serious hobby for my wife and Me. We had freinds take us to Flying Goat about five years ago and it has created a problem in our household... our family members and freinds now request Flying Goat Pinot for Holidays and special dinners. We have taken many beginning wine drinkers to the Flying Goat tasting room and a few wine snobs and they are unanimous... some of the best Pinot ever! Norm Yost is frequently in the tasting room. Even when he's not, the staff are always knowledgable and friendly. Ask questions about the different varieties, vineyards and methods of making these Pinots and you'll learn lots while enjoying great wine! read more

Really enjoyed the bubble tasting and all the other wine here ! Spurred and got 4 bottles! One of my favorite places.

We came here due to multiple recommendations and glad we listened since we would not have chosen the place due to the name. We loved every Pinot tasting. It's the only place that offers sparkling wines but we are not fans. Highly recommend coming here and tasting the Pinot Flight. read more