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Kalyra Wineries
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- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
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Bridlewood Estate Winery
- 39 reviews
- Location:
- Santa Ynez, CA
"This was the first big winery I'd ever been to, and I loved it. Lush grounds and gorgeous tasting room. Very nice wine tasting service.…" read more »
40 reviews for Kalyra Wineries
I love Kalyra. Now, I'm not a wine connoisseur, but my friends are. I end up being the Sober Sally because I'm perfectly happy to take one sip (if that) of each tasting and pass my glass to someone who's more into it. Jordan V. knows what I'm talking about, he got a little wobbly last weekend because of me.
Kalyra is the only place that, each time I visit, I cannot resist finishing every glass. And I can't leave without buying at least one bottle (usually the savignon blanc, this last time I also left with a bottle of merlot - and I never even like reds). The atmosphere is fun, not froufy, which I enjoy, but if you want major BEAUTY and relaxation, head to Demetria - it's my favorite for atmosphere, but Kalyra wins by far for the wine.
Their orange muscat is borderline sickeningly sweet, but in the best possible way. I wanted to pour it over ice cream. Dunno if that's even done, but I don't care!
Of the four wineries we visited, I would have to say that this one was my favorite. The guys working were very cool. The decor had a surfer style motif. They also had a bunch of cool baskets, placemats, and bags that were made in Nepal from recycled plastic bags. They were really cool.
Anyhow, Kalyra had some interesting sweet wines. One of my favorites was a Black Muscat that had a little kick to its sweetness. The other was the MC2(squared). They also had these awesome little bread stick chips that you could nosh on while tasting.
My fear with going wine tasting was that we would feel a bit out of place not being wine connoisseurs, but Kalyra was an excellent first place to visit because it was not at all stuffy nor was it intimidating.
i was not wow'd by the wine, but i did love:
1. super friendly counter peeps. they were not pretentious or snooty in any way. they were even fun!
2. 11 tastings for $11 and you kept the glass (which had a nice platinum etching of their logo, my fave of all that i acquired on this trip).
3. the view from the tasting room is amazing!!!
this was the perfect winery to end our trip
Different grapes and wines with a unique taste.
So glad we stopped in and cant wait to go back.
Very laid back and friendly atmosphere, check them out!
great wines. especially the portuguese style red. cute servers too.
We've only been to three wineries, but this is our favorite! It's smaller and more intimate than other wineries in the area, but it still has a beautiful interior and a cozy feel. The tastings are $10 and they have complimentary breadsticks to cleanse your palette between tastings. They had a good selection of red, white, and dessert wines, all which were really good and different from each other. The servers were nice for the most part, but I think one of them didn't like me. He kept thinking that I was lying about not being served the last round, since I was a round behind. When I told him otherwise, he acted skeptical and gave me a small serving. Boo on him. Yay for the rest of Kalyra.
I don't go wine tasting that often but have gone a few times before. This place wasn't bad, but nothing to rave about either. The servers were nice but too busy to really attend to you with information or take questions. They just sorta pour... I'm here to taste, not neccesarily drink. If that's all I wanted I could have gone to a local bar in town.
They had quite a few groups situated around the bar and only 2 servers, one of which was also running around restocking. It was the end of their day though, so maybe that's an excuse for the inattentiveness. They weren't bad, and the crowd wasn't roudy, but not what I am looking for when I go wine tasting.
It is interesting that they filmed Sideways there. We didn't even know that till we got there... but maybe it's too touristy now and they need more servers to handle the crowd.
As for the wines that we tasted, $10 gave us 8 wines, 3 whites, 3 reds, and 2 desserts. I think all were so-so. I did like their muscat which smelled like lychee and tasted like berries. It's definately a sweeter dessert wine. I bought some of that for a friend who like sweet wines but that's about it.
On the plus side they have this CUTE golden retriever called Maddy (if I remember correct) who's so adorable. Quite a diva. She lays out in the middle of the floor or on the porch and when someone comes to take a picture she turns her head away. :)
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This place is the one where Sandra Oh makes her appearance as a wine-pourer in the movie, "Sideways." Likewise, there are photos of the movie as well as the movie poster on the wall. The place has a nice, easy-going sufer-style decor and a nice view out to the vineyards. When I was there, I got about 8 tastings (plus one complimentary) for about $10. The wines had a good variety, but I really enjoyed the friendliness and the relaxed atmosphere of the place most of all. If you're a fan of the movie, it's one of the more recognizable wineries out here.
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I desperately wanted to like the place because of its Sideways fame and the ranch dog roaming freely around the winery, but I felt shafted.
First of all, I'm far from a seasoned wine connoisseur, but I do have a decent palate. I forgot which ones were stored in steel barrels, but many of the wines had a metallic taste. Very unpleasant. However, there was one red that I particularly enjoyed, it's written on a piece of scratch paper somewhere. Sorry!
Secondly, I REALLY despise bringing up the race card because I feel like it shouldn't be an issue in this day and age, but incidents like this need to be shared. I came with a small party of five and we were scooted away from the main bar to the empty side bar. Ok, that's fine, I saw that the main bar was semi-crowded. But anyway on to the kicker, our server rushed through our tastings giving us about 45 seconds for each pouring. All in all we spent about 5 minutes going through 8 wines. WTF?! Also, when we tried to make conversation regarding the wine she rushed through her answers (if she even knew them) and would rotate the wine label towards us to signal she wanted us to hurry up. We didn't want an effin' biblical explanation of how wine was created. I don't know what they had against us!
:(
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I love Kalyra, and have been going here since they opened - and BEFORE Sideways!
Kalyra has a great series of wines, and some from Ken Brown's as well (Ken is the winemaker). Quite a variety of whites, reds, reisling, and even dessert wines.
The location is gorgeous, with a big front deck and picnic area.
ONE WARNING!!: there is a tendancy for this place to fill up and become a party with a lot of young people, bachelorette parties, etc. later in the day.
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No, you won't find Sandra Oh here (of Sideways fame) but you will find some pretty tasty dessert wines in this Aussie-themed winery. I didn't particularly care for their table wines, probably because I was too plastered the last time I went.
They poured two dessert wines--an orange muscat and a 20 year old tawny muscat port. Their orange muscat is unique and has citrus notes, high residual sugar, and no unpleasant aftertaste like some muscats. Their port is pretty decent--strong raisin notes, tastes aged--not outstanding but decent, especially for the price. If you've had dessert wines you know how expensive they are--at least $20 bucks for a half bottle, and it's usually not even all that drinkable. But here the price was $15 for the orange muscat and $18 for the port, which was pretty well priced for dessert wines. They also have other dessert wines available (such as their Sticky Wicket and Eiswein, which were a bit pricier, but they weren't open for tasting.
Loved their dessert wines so much that I ended up joining their wine club on my last visit--and got 35% off the case that I bought. And I have four shipments to look forward to in 2009--25% off the regular price. Now that's a sweet deal!
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Wow. I scanned some of the reviews for this place, and there's definitely a love-hate thing going on. I pretty much loved it. The counter staff was friendly, helpful and answered any wine geeky questions we threw their way, but was decidedly not snobby or stuffy like some of the staff at a few big name Napa wineries I visited last year. Australian accents give the place a unique personality. Brought home some strange aboriginal paointed gourds that the kids loved. Boght three different wines. For those who hated their wines, they have like 20 different wines available. Are you saying you couldn't find a single one you like? Go have a beer.
I love my friend for planning a thoughtful day of picnicking and wine tasting for my birthday--I do not love Kalyra. I second everything Angie said, except for the part about enjoying one of the wines, because unfortunately the spittoon enjoyed them more than I did. I could've forgiven that very crucial factor if the server provided a pleasant experience, but she failed. It all came down to being with good company at a place that was filmed in a cool movie. That's all.
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This was one of the first wineries before we went to Sunstone.
Kalyra pronounce cal-eye-ra means a wild and pleasant place.
The nice thing with this winery is you get to keep your glass with your tasting. Plus for the price you are getting a great deal with the amount of tasting you get to do.
The Pinot Grigio is crisp and sweet. The Unwooded Chardonnay is crisp, tasty and non buttery due to it's storage in steel barrels.
The Riesling is a german style, a little tart and has low sugar.
The Merlot has a nice aroma, you can taste blackberry right off the bat and has good legs. It also has a slight peppery flavor and the overall taste is ok.
Cabernet is dry and spicy. The Barossa Valley Shiraz has a nice fruity medium flavor with a great aroma.
The Orange Muscat has a wonderful smell and nice citrus taste. One of my favorite muscats I had. It has no after taste like some sweeter muscats. The 20 year old muscat tawny port has a strong sugary plum and large legs. It wasn't one of my favorite ports I've had.
We had the pleasure of tasting Nebilo which was not on the list. It had a light tasty flavor and lightly colored.
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A total perversion of what wine tasting is supposed to be. Steel fermented whites that attempted to appeal to the Boones Farm crowd. Generally any place where newly 21 year old girls like to shake their boobs at their douche bag boyfriend wearing a polo shirt with the collar popped is not a place I want to hang out. If you want to pretend like you still go to UCSB than pony up to the bar.
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Despite the low reviews I actually loved Kalyra. . . not a stuffy winery where people pretend to know wine. I always say to each their own and if you don't like one try another. I personally have a sweet tooth from Hell and loved their muscats and ports. The vibe is very friendly and staff was awesome. We went here on our second leg of wine tasting for the crazy bachlorette party and all of us were on different wines and our bartender knew exactly what we were tasting despite the HUGE crowd at the bar. She found out about my sweet tooth and got me to try a few others not on the list. I also found out they have a dessert only option on their wine club which I quickly signed up for. 4 deliveries through the year at 2 bottles a delivery. SUPER in expensive. The place is not stuffy or unapproachable. . .a great place to relax, try some different wines and not spend an arm and a leg.
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PASS THE SPIT BUCKET
Newsflash - Just because this place was in Sideways, does not make it a good winery. I always drink all the wine I'm served during a tasting...ALWAYS...but for for the first time in my life Kalyra had me searching for the spit bucket. It was actually painful making it through to the end of the tasting and enduring the never ending onslaught of acidic, metallic, are-you-sure-this-isn't-Boone's varietals.
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This place is my speed! see my review of Bridalwood and consider this place a 180!
This place is soooo not pretentious and thank goodness for that.
One thing that i could see making a difference is that i was with members of their wine club- this might account for how accomadating they were. but on with the review-
The wines were just as good as the other wineries and they were more unique. I have never had a tasting experience where every wine knocked my socks off, you just cant expect that. so what do you have to expect? Nice people, a fun learning experience and a slight buzz o.O tee hee
the merchandise they sell here is not staring at you while you are tasting, its in a side room which is set up very nice and i noticed they sell some pretty cool bowls which are made by women in some country (i was a few wines in so i cant remember which country) where its hard to make a living so they do fair trade with them. That says alot about this place it seems to have a conscience.
they have this hut in the tasting room which had a nice spread of fruit and some crackers on it. and my dad wants a tiki hut so i asked them where they got it and they got the card of the company for me. This is how they were the whole time, really nice and helpful and engaging.
and like i said, i liked some of the wines and some i didnt...just like any wine tasting.
i cant wait to go back and party with Kalyra again.
I wasn't too impressed with the interior. My husband tasted some wines and even bought a bottle so I guess he was happy.
I was very happy with their dog-friendly picnic area. While my husband tasted wine, I took my dog to the side (dog friendly, grassy) area and met 5 dogs. Apparently, they all live on or near the property. My dog had an awesome time with them. Hey, if a place is cool with dogs, I'm cool with it.
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Sideways...what? Just because Sandrah Oh worked here in the movie does not mean this is a must place to stop. I also found the wines to be at the bottom of the barrel in terms of quality for this area. The service was good in the fact that they were attentive, but not good in the fact that the girl serving us had no clue about wine. In fact I think she was stoned.
Yeah it was in the movie, yeah that's why I stopped here. But Sandrah Oh and a film credit can't make your wine any better.
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Kalyra is fun to go to with out of towners but if you're looking to buy bottles of wine, you can find better quality red table wines for 1/3 of the price at trader joe's and local supermarkets. Kalyra charges $20-$35 per bottle for their Syrahs and Sangiovese, but the taste does not justify the charge. I always liked their black muscat and tawny port, which I do think are worth the $10-12 they charge.
I'm not sure if I like this place more for its relaxed style and simple blends or for the fact that it annoys pretentious wine snobs. ;-) Forget the Sideways angle... soak up the cool Aussie surfer theme and enjoy a few glasses on the deck outside.
Kalyra made me a dessert wine believer. Be ready for a fun tasting.
I really enjoyed this place... I drink wine, but am not a snobby wine connoisseur. My wife and I had just come from another wine tasting that was just drab and not a lot of fun. I liked the laid back atmosphere and got good service for our tasting. It may not have been the best assortment of wines, but it was decent and we really liked the Riesling they had though we normally don't like them that much. We popped a bottle and hung out on the deck for a bit and relaxed.
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We were in the area and heard Kalyra was known for their Zins and dessert wines so we decided to give it a try 30 minutes before closing time...
MISTAKE!
Total mob scene- I felt like I was at a bar, it was 4 people deep just to get to the counter! My boyfriend and I were able to have 2 tastings, however when we noticed the s-t-r-e-t-c-h hummer limo driving up the path we decided to high tail it outta there and bought a bottle to enjoy outside on the grass.
So overall the wine was alriiight, servers friendly, but WAY too crowded for us.
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Winery #4 on our Sideways trip. I had a lot of fun here. The tasting room had an Australian theme to it. The pourers were young 20-somethings that had a lot of personalty and were very chatty. There was music playing and and upbeat vibe to the place.
The tasting fee was $7 and we got to taste 8 wines. I thought the pours were on the generous side and each glass took about 7-8 sips to finish. Kalyra gets bonus points for having two dessert wines on the tasting menu.
We tasted a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot Rose, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, and Orange Muscat, and Syrah Port. The Orange Muscat ($14.50/375ml) was especially delicious and we brought home a bottle of that.
The winery has a large deck overlooking the vineyard and is only a 10 minute drive from Solvang. Kalyra has a very casual, down to earth feel to it and is great for people who don't take themselves too seriously.
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I used to enjoy going to Kalyra, before the remodel and the movie Sideways. The front porch and wine events were great.
But the addition of the big bar, and then the movie ... it is now a crowd of twentysomethings all hanging out. I bypass this location now ...
UPDATE (October 17, 2007): Was there for the Harvest Festival, and the wines this year are GREAT! (and a lot of them were very weak this year). NOTE: The vintners highly recommend getting there early to beat the "party" onslaught later in the day.
Another aspect I forgot about, was the Kalyra "Wine Thieves" wine club. This club has great selections they ship, but also wine events out at the winery. If you can get back to the region, very worth the visit.
UPDATE: April 22, 2008 - This past weekend was the Vintner's Festival in SYV. A cool, but nice weekend.
The wines this time were good. Taste varied from type to type. (not a fan of the whites done in Stainless Steel tanks ...) Still a big following, and best to hit early in the day.
A good winery with decent service. I'm glad that I visited this winery as I saw Sideways twice and wanted to see some of the local landmarks. That's about as good as it got.
The ambiance is more suited for a college bar than a suitable wine tasting. Staff provided good, but unexceptional service.
The most memorable part of my visit was the air dryer in the washroom. Man, that thing was like a jet engine! Trust me, you've never put your hands under anything that strong.
No sight of Sandra Oh. This venue is north of Santa Barbara. Less than 2 hours from LA. I'm not an expert in wine. But, this is my kind of place. Unpretentious, relaxed and cool. Everyone's in t-shirt and sneakers. But the best is Mattie, the star of Winedogs. She along with Daisy, a droopy-eyed Basset Hound, and a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Holly are free to roam around the winery.
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The best wines are definitely not in Santa Ynez. Go to Foxen if you have the time. My friends and I did a day trip from LA and we got a late start so we decided to stop in Santa Ynez. Kalyra was our third stop and it was a great place to end the day.
The tasting is really good value at $7 for 9 wines. I liked the Muscat, maybe because it was the first dessert wine I had tasted that day. My friends are not really aficionados and were tanked by the time we got to Kalyra. The staff was great and we all had a really good time. We stayed until the sun started to set over the vineyard and it was beautiful.
There's a great gift shop with items from nonprofit art foundations from Nepal, Vietnam, Africa, and I can't remember where else. I was able to do some Christmas shopping. Also I got delicious red raspberry licorice from New Zealand. Oceania knows their licorice.
If you're a snob about wine then don't come here, but if you're enjoying the scenery and want to be laid-back then this is a fantastic place.
Of all the wineries I visited my last trip, I was most impressed with this one. Five stars for wine, service and experience. The pours were generous, and the server poured several bottles that weren't on the tasting list. And if you're into desert wines, this is definitely THE place to stop in the area - they have over a half dozen desert wines on their menu. Try the Orange Muscat Special.
Kalyra is very touristy and panders shamelessly to the twentysomething demographic. If you are a hot UCSB chick you can satisfy your tank top needs for a year at this place. BUT... They do have some decent wines, in fact they seem to have the only Gewurztraminer in the entire Santa Ynez valley (Hello? Cambria? Gainey?). My wife and I liked the 2004 Bien Nacido Chardonnay and bought several bottles, if for no other reason then to have an excuse NOT to give our Zaca Mesa's or Cambria's away to visiting friends. Kalyra has its place. It's not bad. Really.
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I really like this place!!! I wasnt excited about going to this place because the reviews said that it was an australian beachy themed place which i thought seemed out of place for the Santa Ynez valley, but our wine tour dropped us off there for lunch. I LOVED IT. They have an awesome chardonnay. They also have great reds, a nice reisling- even though i dont even like reisling. We had lunch outside on the deck where they came out and poured us instead of making us stand at the bar! Also, they had the cutest yellow lab named Maddy, and she was so completely sweet!!! I wanted to take her home with me. The whole place was so relaxing, very chilled out wine spot. Every wine enjoyable and cool tshirts!
We just happened upon this winery on the way back from Santa Barbara. It was the only one still open at 3:30pm on a Sunday. We didn't know it was so famous, but that made it all the more fun. The wine was good, our fellow tasters and employees were very friendly and the pours were generous for the $15 per person fee. I'd definitely go back!
We went here for my Auntie's Birthday. The place is very relaxing and open. I especially like hanging out in the huge deck, just watching the everyone and everything. I did go in to the wine tasting area, and it felt like a bar. (Well, I have never been to a bar before but I think it's something like this.) I was welcome everywhere :D
Wow two bad experiences ... mine was great! We got there right after opening and were the only ones in there with the wine pourer. She was young but friendly and knowledgeable and the wines were great! Also great were the prices, to me (a Northern Californian) I started to find it annoying that all the wineries here have a $7 tasting fee, many up here don't have one or it's much smaller. So at least with Kalyra, their wines are reasonably priced to compensate.
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Great winery, last place I hit on the tour. Awesome port!
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They have quite a stash of scented candles. And I loved it when one pourer shouted to another: 'Eminem! Turn it up!!!'
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Terrible. If this winery were in Napa it'd be bulldozed by now. Mix some Ocean Spray with dish water, bottle it, slap a label on it that says Sangiovese and you can replicate this experience in your own garage. I can only assume that the Yelpers giving this 3 stars or more are completely ignorant of wine, or Kalyra employees, or both (seeing how the former must be a prerequisite for the latter).
Their wine is disgusting and ambiance is cheesy. Drive past this and go to Sunstone!
I was warned that it was touristy before going, but we went on a Wednesday just before it was closing, so we lucked out. There is a sign that says they ID anyone who looks under 25, but didn't card me even though I am clearly 19. It's a good deal price-wise: lots of wine for a little less than other wineries charge for a tasting. The wine itself wasn't very good, however. They provide crackers, which were actually very good during the tasting. The pourer was cute, but not very helpful. She didn't describe or sell the wines at all, and stood silent with her arms crossed most of the time, unless we were talking about Harry Potter (a subject she seized upon). It is my least favorite winery of the area so far.
