The Santa Barbara Vintners is a 501 (c) 6, non-profit organization, with members including wineries, vineyards, vineyard management companies, and business/hospitality associates. We join together to promote and preserve the world-class wines of Santa Barbara County, California. Membership in the Santa Barbara Vintners provides a slew of year-round and targeted benefits for your business. Interested in joining? Click here to skip to the Membership Types section.
Santa Barbara Vintners Goals
Association Background
Begun in the spirit of camaraderie, 17 founding members incorporated the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association in 1984 with roughly 9,000 planted acres. The mission was to market and educate the public and the trade on the grapes and wines of the relatively-unheard of wine region composed of the Santa Maria Valley and Santa Ynez Valley AVAs.
The region is now internationally known and composed of seven AVAs: Alisos Canyon, Ballard Canyon, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, Los Olivos District, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Sta. Rita Hills.
Now, the association represents not only wineries and vineyards, but businesses, hotels, and restaurants, as well. In line with our mission to create an inclusive and collective membership, the whole region benefits from and may contribute to the success of the wine industry through membership.
Today, the region has almost 300 wineries and almost 15,000 planted acres.
Effective Use of Your Investment
At its core, our association allows all members interested in promoting and preserving the Santa Barbara County wine region the ability to leverage their dollars collectively. A great example of this is using a small amount of funding to write a grant application for an exponentially larger amount of funding. We carefully consider the most effective use of your membership dues to harness our collective power.
Association membership provides:
Marketing
Events
Relationships
Advocacy
Advocacy – With almost $2B of economic impact, the wine industry of Santa Barbara County must stay engaged in policy issues that impact the wine industry. We track various County issues, as well as shepherd the wineries, tasting rooms, and vineyards through regulatory impacts, such as Covid-19.
Winery | A winery that is located in and conducts business in Santa Barbara County. At least 75% of the total wine production bottled at the member facility will qualify for and be labeled Santa Barbara County or with the approved appellations of Alisos Canyon, Ballard Canyon, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, Los Olivos District, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Sta. Rita Hills. Click Here to Join as a Winery. If you don’t have the time to fill out the full form, please use our Join Now short form and we’ll fill in the details.
Winery Associate | A winery that is not eligible for standard winery membership as stated above. Winery must produce at least one wine labeled from Santa Barbara County or one of the above mentioned approved AVAs of Santa Barbara County. Click Here to Join as a Winery Associate.
Vineyard Grower | A licensed grower with a vineyard of two or more acres who resides in and conducts business in Santa Barbara County. Click Here to Join as a Grower.
Business Associate | Businesses who wish to help promote and support the wine and grape industry of Santa Barbara County. Click Here to Join as a Business Associate
Hospitality Associate | Businesses (accommodations, tour companies, restaurants, attractions, and wine shops) looking to reach affluent and wine-centric travelers through the Santa Barbara Wine Country brand. Click to Join as a Hospitality Associate