If I could give Rusack 10 stars I would! This was our first stop with my cousin and so glad. The service was beyond my expectations by this amazing lady I wish I could remember her name. She made me feel like I was at home she was just so sweet, I felt like I was family. Tasting fee is $15 you get to keep your wine glass its 6 tastings and she explained everything about how it's grown and where, they have other land where the wine is grown. It's like a little house so much greener it's just picture perfect you feel so relaxed. I saw several people bringing their own food so outside food is welcome. Perfect winery to have some wine and enjoy a nice picnic. Out of the 6 tasting I fell in love and knew I had to get the Pinot Noir Sta.Rita Hills Reserve to take home and share it with my husband. He loved it btw and we have continued to buy bottles at our local grocery store from this winery, I wish I could find this exact one but all their wines are equally as delicious. read more

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We are from Orange County so it's quite a drive to come here but I don't mind. Last time we stayed overnight in Downtown Solvang which was perfect. It was a 5 minute drive from our hotel. My husband and I enjoy coming here. The ambiance is perfect for a picnic. The wine selection is good and the prices are reasonable. read more

What could be better than sitting on a patio under enormous Sycamore trees, sipping wine, listening to soft music and chirping birds, looking out across acres of vineyards? This is my second visit here, and certainly not my last. I love Rusack --the people who work in the tasting room are friendly and knowledgeable. It's a very relaxing and welcoming place. read more

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Love this winery - not so much for its wines but more for its atmosphere and value. First off this place is a great place to stop by for a picnic while traveling between Los Olivos and Solvang. Second, their tasting is only $9 bucks and they give you the wine glass! I highly recommend coming here to have a picnic lunch, just be sure to stock up in town as they don't carry much (some cheese and crackers) other then wine. read more

Stunning setting to visit and taste wines - we got a great introduction to several of their wines and the experience of the team there was visible. Highly recommend their Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. Recommend just buying a bottle and sitting amongst the old oaks and enjoying the amazing view. read more

Lovely winery with outdoor seating. You can bring your own food and picnic there. Friendly staff and good wines. The tasting room is small and quaint but the outdoor area is nice and open with a nice view. Def worth a stop. read more

My wife and I are both in wine industry. We have been wine tasting several times a month for years. Rusack is an awesome winery. Rick the tasting room hostess is very nice and knowledgeable. He is probably one of the best I've ever dealt with. The Catalana Island Pinot Noir was really good. read more

Rusack Vineyards - Wineries Near Me - Solvang, California

Definitely worth a stop on a tour to this area.....Some very good reds here....I prefer their Pinot and Syrah(or Syrah blends), and you will find these on local restaurant lists for a reason. They even have a pretty good chardonnay, which I am not usually a fan of. The setting for tasting is tucked back in a valley and is a very pretty property. Sadly, I find the inside of the tasting room a bit stuffy and the staff unfriendly. So I usually take my tastes outside and enjoy the views. They have cool little tables, with tiles painted with scenes of sea planes and Catalina Island, which I love to visit. read more

Beautiful winery tucked a few miles off the beaten path. They had great wines, friendly service and I got to see a baby buffalo and her mama. Best winery. read more

Update: Aug 18, 2012 We were back in the area, and dropped in on Rusack. We are wine club members, and we love going. But on Saturday, our expectations dropped. The place was pretty packed with people, and they were quite busy. But the customer service and tasting room seemed quite disorganized and the people did not seem to know what was going on or cared. Pretty much the pattern was the staff would work with one person, turn and disappear. The other thing I found quite odd, the tasting list STARTED with a Chardonnay that retailed for $82.50!! Granted it was quite good, but after that was hard to appreciate the others starting with that level of wine. The grounds are still nice, but on this day it was probably 90-95 degrees F and there were a lot of flies too. Overall, a disappointing night. Seriously considering dropping the club here. p.s. I ran into the winemaker and her husband that left in April after 11 years, to do their own winery. Maybe they know something ... read more

Prob. our favorite winery during our most recent trip up to to the santa ynez valley. Wasn't the best weekend to go since it was raining pretty much the whole time. We bought sandwiches at Panino Solvang with the intention of eating at the picnic grounds. Bought a sangiovese to drink while eating our sandwiches and bought a syrah to go. both were scrumptious. We also had a tasting of two wines with grapes grown on catalina island..i think both were in the $100 range? my guess is because the grapes need to be flown in. def not worth it for us to purchase but was great to be able to taste the wines. i think we were told rusack would be the first winery to be making wine from catalina island grapes. def will be back here when we come up again! read more

5 stars for the wine. 5 stars for the gentlemen that finally acknowledged us. Otherwise the woman that works here (the big one) is prejudiced. She acknowledged and asked if everyone needed help except us. If she wasn't prejudiced then a word of advice: acknowledge and offer to help everyone in the tasting room ESPECIALLY when two people are standing right in front of you. DO NOT IGNORE THEM. DO NOT offer to help everyone around them. Needless to say, we won't be back. read more

It was a beautiful drive to Rusack Winery along a winding, single lane country road. Big, beautiful trees and a nice outside patio greeted us as we walked to the tasting room. The tasting room was a bit small and there had to be at least 20 people doing tastings inside so it was a bit crowded. The wines were good, the pours were better than elsewhere but the price was a bit higher too ($18). The best part was their house cat. She was so cute and friendly and almost made me forget why I went there . I would come back and bring food to sit on their patio and enjoy with a bottle of their wine. read more

My least favorite stop on our wine tour. What really got me was that, unlike every other winery where we made purchases, they did not comp the cost of the tasting, and my companion spent about $1000. (most places comp a tasting with a 2 bottle purchase) Guy didn't even mention the wine club, which would have made her purchase a couple hundred dollars less. Wines were OK, but certainly not the best in the area, and most certainly overpriced. They tended towards the bland and boring. read more

Wine tasting $18. Nice area for a picnic lunch. Nice scenery. Whites are better than their reds in my opinion. You purchase a bottle, they do not discount the tasting fee from the price of the bottle. No, you do not get to keep the glass from a tasting. Not enough parking for all of the customers, I had to park on the side of the road. Publications say among the top 10 things to do. I think not. read more

What a beautiful location. We stopped in on a Saturday and even in off season this place was busy. The lady who assisted us was knowledgeable and friendly. We tried 6 wines. Most of the wines were good. I am not a fan of dessert wines, and this was not different. I enjoyed all the Syrah's and the Chardonnay, but didn't find anything that was a stand out. Will go again in the future and take a picnic when the place is not so busy and I can enjoy the tasting in a less rushed fashion. If you are looking for a view, put this high on your list. read more

Rusack Vineyards - Wineries Near Me - Solvang, California

Really enjoyed $40 Santa Rita Hills Reserve Pinot Noir. It destroys any $60ish bottle of similar Pinot Noir I've ever had at Fess Parker.

We were underwhelmed with Rusack. I mildly enjoyed the Pinot. The Zinfandel has a cool story (they found the grapes in Catalina and brought them back), but the wine is just so so. Save your trip and go to Martian or Foxen 7200 up the road. read more

Cute little winery with plenty of tables on the patio for a picnic. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy any of the wines they poured. The very last pour, the dessert wine, was tasty. It wasn't too syrupy. But still, I'm not a big dessert wine kinda person, so that tiny little pour was more than enough to satisfy. It wouldn't be on my personal recommendations list, but hey, different strokes for different folks, right? read more

This winery has such a beautiful scenic overview. The drive is a little hilly and the shared road is a little narrow but it is worth the trek. Once you're there it feels very serene. Their wines were very tasty I loved their Pinots and Syrah's. They have some nice outside tables to relax while sipping on your wines. The service here was really good and their tasting was a good value since they allowed you to keep your wine glass. read more

Wow! How have we not been here before?! This was our last stop after a day of tasting and the perfect way to end the day. It was peaceful and serene. Almost meditative. The tasting room service was great, we were able to sit out of the patio surrounded by oaks and come back inside to get our next tasting. Everyone was super friendly and we get very welcome. The wines were very good and we bought a couple bottles. Prices were also reasonable. We got a great Syrah for $30. read more

Decent wine in a very nice setting. Stunned to learn that even after buying six bottles and spending more than $200, they refused to waive even one of the two $18 tasting fees for my wife and I. read more

I just don't understand anything less than a five star rating for this place. The serenity and beauty of the patio encased with all of the old oak trees and gentle warm breeze was five stars in its own right. The wine is absolutely delicious. You get a free glass,if you pay for tasting, which is happening less and less these days. The staff is knowledgable and friendly, but not pushy. If you are within driving distance from this place.... There is no excuse for not coming here. If you are a bit farther away, make a trip to Los Olivos or Solvang, and put this place on your MUST SEE list. You won't regret it! read more

Rusack Vineyards - Gorgeous up here - Wineries Near Me - Solvang, California

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This was our favorite vineyard that we visited - beautiful setting - wines were delicious and Kevin was super knowledgeable and also very friendly. Bought some pinot for home! Highly suggest a visit! read more

Rusack Vineyards - The estate vineyards - Wineries Near Me - Solvang, California

Charming! Delicious wines and worth the drive... Very nice grounds with plenty of tables, just bring your own food because I think it's somewhat pricey. My boyfriend and I got into it a wee bit when he almost bought the $25 wine opener, just because it came with a pocket knife he wanted so we could slice the cheese. Instead we compromised and bought 2 bottles of their wine... and found a country store just 30 min. later. :) Highly recommended and I hope to return soon! read more

This was my very first time wine tasting so I didn't know what to expect but I had a great time at Rusack. It was so relaxing sitting outside on the patio overlooking the vineyards and sipping on some wine. Next time I'll remember to bring some cheese and crackers. I didn't buy any bottles because I'm not a big wine drinker but maybe next time. read more

Out of the 7 vineyards we have visited in Solvang, this is my favorite. We bring along a cooler with a picnic lunch and eat out on the lovely deck that overlooks the vineyards. The picnic area is perfect for a summer day, as it is covered by trees and very shady. The ladies are always very polite and informative about the wines. The first time we visited was on a guided wine tasting tour, so the second visit we struggled to find the vineyards! Google didnt take us in the right direction at all so we had to wing it from the map -- but was worth the u turns and extra driving. $9 for a tasting plus the glass is very affordable (about 7 wines to taste). My hubby loved the Pinot Noir and my mother in law loved their dessert wine. A must visit for all wine lovers! read more

Nice winery, beautiful views, knowledgeable staff. I recommend the 2007 Anacapa, Santa Barbara County. This is a great Bordeaux style red. read more

Rusack Vineyards - Rusack - Wineries Near Me - Solvang, California

Wine tasting for $9 including glass. Pretty good price. I was looking forward to buying a bottle of wine, but I didn't like any of their wine selection for their tasting. One thing I did like was the atmosphere and outside tables. I like how you can just bring your snacks and enjoy the outside shady and beautiful seating area. read more

Gorgeous vineyard but the windy road to get there is a bit scary. Friendly staff that give you the low down when you arrive, buy a tasting, sit on the patio, and let us know when you are ready for more. I had mixed feeling about their reds, but their dessert wine won me over. read more

Cant say enough about this awesome vineyard! The views are fantastic and the people that work there are super friendly. The wines are superb as well. We were on a trip and did a tasting and when I got home one of my glasses had broken and I was heartbroken because I truly love these glasses and they were a souvenir from our anniversary trip. I was able to order another on the website I was expecting to get one and I just got a shipment in the mail of 4 glasses! I was so excited now I have a few to spare in case I break another one. read more

I agree with other reviewers about the bad vibe here. The patio is very beautiful, and the wines were good. Not great, but good. The problem was the scolding vibe we got from the owners or employees. They're nice to you long enough to get your money. After that, you better watch your ass or they will turn cold and rude. Not saying there is such a thing as a wine nazi, but these people come close. read more

Beautiful location, nice staff, decent wine, and a cool cat that greets everyone. This is probably one of my favorites to visit in the area. At first, I just love the location and the scenery... but I also enjoyed the wines. I know the sb/santa ynez area is syrah-ville, but I wish I would've actually purchased some wines during my visit here. I am a red wine kind of gal, but I really enjoyed the chard here as well. I know some reviewers discussed the pourers, but the few that were here when the hubs and I visited were extremely helpful and had tons of information to share... we were the first people to come in on a sat morning, so maybe we got them before it was busy, but all 3 of them were chatting with us and were really friendly. I will definitely be back to rusak... and this will be my next picnic spot. read more

We were members for many years and then we changed our membership (encourage by the staff) to include the "Catalina " wines. This membership was to receive 3 bottles of wine instead of our original 2 bottle membership. We receive the 3 bottles for a year and it became to expensive. So asked to be switched back. We were told we could no longer be a member of the 2 bottle membership!! We would need to keep the 3 bottle or no longer be members! Very disappointing !! So we joined Fess Parker's and Bridlewood and they both have an amazing patio and the staff treat us like we are their favorite members! So bottom line don't join Rusack unless you are sure what you are getting trapped in. read more

$9 for 6 tastings of different wines and you get to keep the cup! heck yeah what a deal. Not only that it was total serenity outside on the patio. They say you can't walk the vineyards but I'll admit I cheated and took a little tour and snapped away some pictures. The drive their is so fun you feel like you are in a completely urban atmosphere. Awesomeness!!! read more

Quaint little winery about 5 minutes from Solvang Small tasting room opens to a nice wooden deck framed by Oak trees with a view of some of the vines on the property. Situated in a small valley along a rural road, part of this place's charm is that it is quiet. I'm not a wine drinker do I can't comment on the quality of wines, but my companion seemed to enjoy them. No restaurant or snack offerings that I saw but the place is perfect if you're visiting Solvang on a warm summer afternoon and wanted to grab some cheese and crackers in town and drive five short minutes to this charming little place. read more

Our AirBnB host highly recommend Rusack to us. It didn't disappoint and was our favorite tasting of the entire weekend. The Rose, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir (Solomon Hills) were absolutely spectacular. We picked up a bottle of each (we should have gotten more I think). I kept telling my husband that this was the first tasting in my life where I loved every single wine they poured. Such a gorgeous location off the beaten path of Los Olivos. We'll be back and probably will be joining the wine club soon! 5 Stars!! read more

Excellent! Our guests always love it. What better way to spend time in wine country than underneath a canopy of shady oaks overlooking healthy vineyards. Friendly staff too! read more

Great all around experience with Rusack. My friends and I (party of 8) made a reservation in advance and had a lovely outdoor table set up upon arrival. Our pourer was very knowledgeable and friendly and even came out to pour our tastings outside while we ate. Wine was very good and overall ambience was lovely. Definitely recommend! read more

I loved Rusack! They have such a fun wine tasting room, great patio to sit out on and a beautiful vineyard to look at. The guy (Joe I think) was very informative, and even though he was helping others too still paid a great deal of attention to us. One of the BEST wines I have EVER had is the Red blend 'Anacapa'. Delicious. My husband and I had a great time here, and the wines were just fantastic. Plus we drink out of the wine glasses that we got to keep free of charge on a weekly basis I am honestly quite surprised at the negative reviews. I had a really bad experience at another winery that I did post about so I am not a super easy person to please. But I did love it here. I may go order Anacapa now that I am thinking about it.... read more