Zotovich Vineyards Tasting Room

About this place

Zotovich Vineyards is a family-owned boutique winery producing small-lot wines from its 40-acre estate vineyard in the northern Sta. Rita Hills, between Buellton and Lompoc. Owner Steve Zotovich purchased the vineyard in 2004 — first planted in the late 1990s to Italian varieties and since grafted over to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Viognier and Grenache — with the first estate wines produced two years later. Winemaker Joey Gummere, making wine in Santa Barbara County since 1997, crafts three tiers: the everyday ZOTO label, the core Zotovich wines, and the small-production "Z" reserve bottlings. Vineyard manager Ben Merz, a Cal Poly SLO viticulture graduate, oversees the estate farming. The tasting room sits in the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Center at 300 North 12th Street, Suite 1D — at the corner of Highway 1 and Highway 246 in Lompoc. It is pet friendly with outdoor patio seating; hours are Wednesday–Saturday 12–5pm, with Sunday–Tuesday visits by appointment, and wine club members always taste free.