Piazza Family Wines

Piazza Family Wines connects two sides of Santa Barbara County, California: Syrah, Grenache, Graciano, and Italian varieties from Bella Vista Vineyard in the Ballard Canyon American Viticultural Area (AVA), and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Mt. Carmel Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. Owners Ron and Nancy Piazza’s farming roots reach back to their hand-planting of Mt. Carmel in the early 1980s through a partnership with Carmelite nuns.

Founding winemaker Gretchen Voelcker oversees both estates, using native yeasts for fermentation and aging primarily in neutral oak—barrels that contribute less overt oak flavor. Bella Vista is certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers. Its Graciano supplies an especially good conversation starter: the grape owes its place here to a nursery mix-up involving vines originally identified as Mourvèdre. Alongside Sangiovese and Montepulciano, it gives the estate range beyond the area's familiar Syrah.

The downtown Los Olivos tasting room at 2445 Alamo Pintado Avenue offers guided tastings plus wines by the glass or bottle, Thursday through Monday from noon to 6 p.m. Reservations are encouraged; walk-ins are welcome as space allows, along with children and well-behaved dogs. For visitors more interested in the farming, private Bella Vista tastings take place among the vines by appointment, with occasional older-vintage wines unavailable downtown. The estate address comes with the booking.