Sunstone Winery

When the Rice family moved in 1989 from Santa Barbara to a peaceful 52-acre Santa Ynez ranch to grow wine grapes, little did they know that they would be stewards to the first organic vineyard estate in Santa Barbara County.

Fred and Linda, along with their children, Bion, Ashley, and Brittany, originally chose the terraced site overlooking the Santa Ynez River.

Named after the exposed sun-dappled shale and stones of the vineyard estate, Sunstone is the premiere destination winery on the California Central Coast, located just 35-minutes north of Santa Barbara, locals many times over have honored Sunstone by the Santa Barbara Independent reader poll as “Santa Barbara’s Favorite Red Wine” and “Best Santa Ynez Valley Tasting Room”.

When Linda and Fred began to build the Sunstone Villa on the hillside above Sunstone Winery in 1999, they intended it to be an extension of the principles upon which they’d built their life together.  A private residence, the Villa is an 8,500 square foot old world architectural masterpiece in French chateau style where Sunstone owners invite Wine Club members to experience the Sunstone lifestyle in an intimate setting. The Villa has five master suites, each with private entrances and a view of the Santa Ynez mountains and the Sunstone vineyards.