melville winery

I like Melville a lot. They have one of the most interesting syrah's I've ever had (deliciously smoky!) and I appreciate their Chardonnays. Definitely worth a visit.

We really enjoyed this winery. The tasting room is in a beautiful building and, because we were there on a Friday, was relatively quiet. The scenery around it is beautiful and you could bring a lunch and eat outside while you sample. We found the Pinot Noir to be a favorite here.

Very nice winery. The weather was beautiful and the staff very friendly and knowledgeable. The wines were excellent and reasonably priced. Can not wait to to go back.

Beautiful, low key tasting room with knowledgeable, friendly people - maybe even an owner here and there. Lovely, quiet surroundings, porch overlooking the fields.

This winery produces some excellent wines. I particularly like the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The tasting room is staffed by a very knowledgable and helpful team. The grounds provide some lovely picnic spots as well.

My wife and I visit wineries in the Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez/Santa Rita Hills about 3-4 times a year. There are many wonderful wineries in this region, but without doubt, the best wine to be found at any area winery is at Melville. The wines produced there are head, shoulders and waist above the rest, and are literally world-class. I'd say 75% of the wineries in Napa Valley wish they could produce wine as amazing as this. Another reviewer wrote, "This place is not for the casual tourist passing by but for the serious wine drinker." I mostly agree, but would say a casual wine drinker can enjoy these wines as well, but don't come here because you saw "Sideways" or are partying with a bunch of frat boys or bachelorette girlfriends. The surrounding grounds are lovely and there's a small picnic area outside. If you enjoy wine and you don't like Melville, there's something wrong with you.

We visited this place at the recommendation of a friend, and sure are glad we did. Their chardonnays were excellent, not oaky and with little malolactic fermentation. Crisp and tasty, if you like the European style especially. We were blown away by their pinot noirs, which reminded us of Oregon at its best. The prices are ridiculously cheap for those of us used to Napa pricing. I almost hate to write this review. The staff were pleasant, turning us on to Industrial Eats for lunch. We will be back some day soon.

Melville has always been one of my favorites, with excellent wine all the way around. The Terraces Pinot Noir has always been my particular favorite, but the Verna's Vineyard is great too--in fact they're all great. In the white I like the Chardonnays, but the Viognier is always my favorite. Can't beat the setting, too.

This place is not for the casual tourist passing by, but for the serious wine drinker. Award wining wines waiting for you.

I received a VIP tour in a silent auction and was excited because I had heard good things about this winery. When we first arrived at our appointed time (we had a reservation) the tasting room servers ignored us. One even stood in front of us and wouldn't acknowledge my existence. This didn't start us on the right track! I finally had to interrupt him since we didn't want to be late for our tour. He was very rude to us but agreed to let the tour guide know we had arrived. And before you assume they were very busy, they weren't, each server had one party each they were attending. Our tour guide (wish I remembered his name) was a joy. Very informative and happy. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. However, as part of our tour we were to receive two bottles from the current releases so we again had to go to the tasting room after our tour. The same guy was there and you'd think he'd be a little more nice since there was NO ONE in the room at that time but NOOO! He acted like we were inconveniencing him. It is really too bad this happened to us. We are locals and love to bring our visitors wine tasting. We have no intention of visiting Melville again. There are other wineries that have great wine and wonderful staff.

Melville makes the best wine in the valley. Consistently good quality. I love the tasting room decor and environment. Driving up the lane, you are actually right in the fields with beautiful lush grapes inches away from your car. The building of the tasting room is very inviting.Vibrant colors set int he middle of the winery. I only wish they would have hotel rooms. It has a French countryside feel and t would be great to wake up in the morning over looking the rolling planted hills and smelling the sea not far off.

I have tasted a lot of Pinot Noir, in both the Santa Barbara area and the Russian River Valley. Melville has the best selection. Their Pinots have a lot of fruit, and are not wimpy, without big oat flavor.

Had a reservation today with a group of 8. Upon arrival we were instantly turned off by the hostile behavior of the staff. Pompous, cold, and callous seem to be the best adjectives for the estate overall. Will NEVER return. Save your money and go down the road to a friendlier, more informative establishment.

Actually, those wine tasting rooms that want you to run through the gamut from a Sauvignon Blanc via a Rose and a Syrah to end up with a Meritage just don't allow for a real shoot out of the approaches to varietal styles. At Melville we chose the small batch tasting where they pour a sequence of different clones of Pinot Noir and you can realize that there's quite a lot of variation just across different versions of a single varietal. That was jsut what I was up for as I had wanted to dedicate the day to finding a really good Pinot Noir in the traditional Burgundy style, light and a good alternative to a white wine as an accompaniment to Salmon or Chicken. But most of Melville's offerings were the high alcohol fruit forward bold red wines that so many California wineries produce; more suited to red meat - except that Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot suit so much better. We did like one of the clones that was a lighter example but still 14.5% alcohol.The winery and surroundings are charming but lack a vista of the locale. The tasting room is well done. Our host was charming and informative as well as chatty. We had a very pleasant time. I'd recommend this as place to compare bolder interpretations of the Pinot Noir style. Definitely interesting and informative - and fun!

Inspiring wines....painstakingly crafted and developed with love.The Melville Winery is nestled in Santa Ynez Valley...picturesque, charming and relaxed. Raise a glass...toast to Melville...where the Nectar of the Gods is created....Melville an American winery worth saluting.