Hearst Ranch Winery

We stopped at Hearst Ranch Winery for some wine tasting and had a wonderful time. Although they recommend making reservations, they were able to accommodate us, and we were seated outside with a beautiful view of the ocean.

Our server was very friendly and made the experience even better. We chose the $45 Legacy Tasting, which included a flight of four wines. The 2021 Carpoforo Zinfandel was our favorite, and we ended up purchasing two bottles to take home.

Overall, it was a great experience with excellent wine and stunning views. Highly recommend stopping by if you’re in the area!

Great place for lunch and wine tasting. Had wonderful quick service. Made reservations ahead of time (doesn't cost any money) and preordered our lunch. The sandwiches were fantastic and they were ready as soon as we arrived. It was perfect. We asked to taste a couple of wines that we wanted to purchase and they added to our tasting session, no fuss.

The venue is perfect as well. We sat outside with our meals and wine tasted, all while hearing the waves crash along the shore. Beautiful.

Parking inside the gate for the tasting room is limited but plenty of parking near the general store and along the side of the road.

Hearst Castle Ranch Winery🍷🥂

Nestled along the stunning coast, Hearst Castle Winery offers an unforgettable wine-tasting experience, perfectly complemented by breathtaking ocean views, earthy gardens, beautiful trees.

The Chardonnay Steel Barrel is a standout, maintaining a beautiful bouquet of crisp citrus while eliminating the typical buttery essence. It's refreshing and light, ideal for those who appreciate a more delicate, clean style of Chardonnay.

The Rosé blend, featuring Grenache, Tempranillo, and Malbec, is a delightful, fruity option—refreshing and perfect for a casual lunch or an afternoon of good conversation. It’s the kind of wine that pairs well with sunny days and lively discussions.

For those seeking something with more depth, the Malbec offers robust dark red fruit flavors that make it a delicious choice to enjoy with a hearty meal, such as tri-tip or steak sandwiches.

At $35 per person for the wine tasting, the experience is well worth it, especially since the fee is waived with the purchase of just two bottles. The winery also offers a simple but satisfying lunch menu featuring gourmet sandwiches—an absolute highlight. These are hands down the best sandwiches I have ever had. Each one is a rainbow of flavors, crafted with fresh meats, crisp produce, freshly baked breads, and tasty combinations like chicken and bacon. The Cubano sandwich stands out as a juicy masterpiece, with shredded, perfectly spiced meat that melts in your mouth. Every bite is a treat!

The service truly elevates the experience. Karen, the cashier at the Seaside store, was absolutely wonderful. She suggested pairing our gourmet sandwiches with the wine tasting, which was an ideal recommendation. Teresa, our wine concierge, took the tasting experience to the next level. She explained each wine with passion and knowledge, making the tasting session both educational and enjoyable.

The ocean views are nothing short of breathtaking, providing a serene and beautiful backdrop to your wine tasting. The gardens are alive with butterflies and vibrant plant life, adding to the earthy, tranquil feel of the place.

Overall, Hearst Castle Winery does not disappoint. Fantastic wines, unforgettable sandwiches, great service, and stunning views make this a must-visit destination. Cheers to an amazing experience!🍷🍷🍷

We had the worst service last week at Hearst Ranch Winery in San Simeon. They now have unfriendly tasting policies. We were a group of three couples who are members, and three couples who were not. We were told that we would need to seated as a group of 12, only 4 complementary tastings, and the other 8 tastings would be $45 each with a mandatory 20% tip. My response was that we would take two tables of 6 instead, since each member is entitled to 4 tastings (which would have covered our group). Even though the winery was less than 20% full, they sat us as far away from each other as possible. They were passive aggressive and rude about it, plus they would only comp 4 tastings per table, despite us being members. Additionally, one can no longer buy a glass or bottle of wine to share at the table (even though we spent $250 on their food for lunch).

Hopefully there will be some changes coming.

I was just refused a wine tasting at 4:05 pm Sunday afternoon. I will have to rethink my membership and stop buying wine from them.

Review for wine tasting (4/5 stars)
Tends to fall in the costlier side compared to various wineries in the area. But the wine is very good. I had been going to Hearst for wine tasting for a few years. I would recommend a visit if you are in the area. 4/5 stars

Review for the wine club (2/5 stars)

(I don't tend to leave a long review. But to justify the score, I feel it needs an explanation. If you are looking to join their wine club, read on)

After a few visits to Hearst wine for tasting, I decided to join their wine club. First bottles I picked up while I had been there for wine tasting. A few months later I got an email that the new release will be shipping out. I was advised on the phone to have it shipped elsewhere if I wasn't going to be home. The rep asked if there is a UPS nearby so I elected to have the wine shipped to a UPS store near my home. The rep confirmed it will be shipped to the UPS store. Well, Hearst didn't make the address change and had the bottles shipped to my house on a hot day. And subsequently the box wasn't delivered.

When I phoned Hearst with this concern, they assured me the wines were on ice and they should be fine. And they will make the label change and box will be at the UPS store the following day. The following day I picked up the ONE box with 9 bottles following day and brought them home. When I opened the box there was NO ice in it and the bottles were hot to the touch. I had to make multiple phone calls and multiple emails before I finally got to a rep.

The rep assured me that the replacement wine will be on ice and shipped to the same UPS store. A day later I went to pick them up. There were two smaller boxes waiting for me. But to my surprise, UPS charged me $10/box for a total of $20 for shipped to store boxes (this is of course on top of $50 I paid for shipping fee). Hearst later told me they had no idea that UPS charged fees for boxes shipped directly to store. (note: the first shipment that was delayed wasn't charged this because it wasn't shipped directly to the store in the first place)

I felt this additional fee wasn't warranted and frankly if they did their job right the first place, I'd have paid $10 for the one initial box of wine.

Hearst however felt otherwise and told me it's not their responsibility. Ultimately they did not reimburse for any part of this additional fee.

Ultimately I cancelled the membership. It wasn't the $20 shipping fee I had to pay. It was rather the way the manner was handled by the customer service. I strongly felt that they came very short of my expectations.

So the take away:

1. Don't have the bottles shipped to UPS store even if they advise it. This is exactly what they advised me (apparently Hearst didn't know UPS stores charge box holding fee. They are saying they will advise their clients to be shipped to UPS 'access points' which doesn't charge holding fee. This would have been great if they told me this before. I suppose they learned something thanks to me.)

2. Wine is good but not good enough for the inconvenience they caused me.

3. Price with shipping was around $50/bottle for the red wines I chose under my membership offerings. While good wine, I can get pretty darn good wine else where at this price point. I'm probably going back my local Costco.

4. Customer service is not the fastest and the most prompt (your experience will probably vary, hopefully for the better).

Even though the tasting room/area was empty, we were turned away because we didn’t have a reservation.

We went with friends and had a tasting. The location is the highlight here-right on the water. Our server was nice.

I'd like to tell you to steer clear of this place because I want to enjoy the splendor all to myself. However, that would be selfish and that's just not me. I want the world to know about Hearst Ranch Wines. The San Simeon tasting room is second to none. The view cannot be matched at any other winery in the entire United States. The faint whiffs of eucalyptus and surf is unmatched. Although the wines speak for themselves, the wine stewards are highly knowledgeable and experienced. There are rules that some might balk at but they're in place for a reason. If you are not a member, you are only allowed to experience the fine wines through a tasting session. They want you to experience the full spectrum of their wines. As members, we are allowed to purchase by the bottle, however, with our membership why not enjoy the benefit of complimentary tastings (4 guests). We have always been partial to reds, yet through the tastings, we discovered that their whites are brisk and enjoyable on warm summer evenings. Outside food is not allowed, but there is a delightful 'food truck' across the street at Sebastians that will deliver to your table. Food with your wine creates a completely different experience. Wine should be enjoyed with food, and even the simple garlic fries made a world of difference in our tasting experience. We live about 2.5 hours away and membership was a no brainer. We can buzz over for a day trip, enjoy a light bite from the Cruiser with our free tasting, soak in the scenery and atmosphere, grab a bite for dinner downtown Cambria then head home in time for bed.

I had seen a bunch of bad reviews lately but as the place seemed beautiful and it’s the only winery in this region that we were around, I decided to go anyway…. And I regret.
The attention of the first two ladies were actually very nice, they were very kind and receptive. When we seated at our table, the experience went down.
The lady that attend us was in a hurry always and didn’t talk more than the extremely necessary. In other tables I saw that she explained more and gave more attention. She didn’t ask which one of the flights I would want, just presumed that I was going on the cheaper one and already brought the wines. From one wine to another, a lifetime passed, with no attention and we couldn’t even see her. The wines were good though. The sun started to get me and I asked if we could chance to one of the (many) other tables in the shadows, she didn’t like and said she would try to change our sunshade to help a little. In the end, she took the wrong wine I ordered to buy and again took ages to change it. And to finish, she took the difference of the money we paid as a tip without asking, she just kept it and I was so tired and stressed about the whole experience that I went home. The place is beautiful but it doesn’t compensate the rest.

I recently visited Hearst Ranch Winery, and unfortunately, it was a disappointing experience. The customer service was rude from the moment we arrived, setting a negative tone for our visit. We had made a reservation that allowed us 90 minutes, but we were rushed through the tasting in just 45 minutes, which made us feel unwelcome and undervalued as customers.

Additionally, we were disappointed to learn that their policy only allows tastings and not the option to enjoy a full glass of wine. This felt restrictive and didn’t allow us to fully appreciate the wines at our own pace.

To make matters worse, the staff didn’t bother to educate us on the wines we were being served, despite this being a part of the experience we had expected. One of the highlights of a wine tasting is learning about the different wines, their characteristics, and the winery's story, which was completely missing from our visit.

Overall, the rushed and unfriendly service, the limiting policy, and the lack of the promised wine education made for an unpleasant visit. I expected much more from a winery of this reputation, and I’m sorry to say I won’t be returning.

Firstly you definitely need reservations now. A very upscale secluded area to taste and drink their wines and choice food items. Outside you can have a private table spaced generously amongst the large trees and a perfect view of the hearst harbor and pier.

Incredible views. Ocean Beach front. Wonderful set up. Comfortable furniture and setting. Great wines! Love this place and it's history. The general store is great too!

Sits on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful view. Very good wines. I especially like the Malbec

Our past visits to the San Simeon/Cambria area always included a visit to Hearst Ranch Winery, to enjoy the great wine and food, as we enjoyed a stunning view right by the ocean. We are from the East coast and made a reservation by phone in the beginning of May, looking forward to the same great experience in July. Upon arriving, we were succinctly informed that the business model has changed. The winery is now a “tasting only” experience, and visitors are not allowed to order a bottle of wine to drink on the premises, unless you become a member. While the winery still offers the great oceanside seating, no food is offered on the premises, wine cannot be ordered by the glass, and the great hall felt rather empty, as most retail has been removed and replaced with high tables. The only option to enjoy wine on the premises, is to order a $35/per person tasting. Patrons now need to purchase food across the street at the Sebastian’s General Store (about a three-minute walk), then bring it over to the winery. A minor note on the confirmation e-mail: it stated that the tasting was $28, and that the cruiser food truck was available Monday through Friday, 11 AM through 3 PM; we were told when arriving that the tasting was $35, and there was no cruiser food truck. The winery did honor the $28 price, but the information is not consistent. All this information is on the website, but subtly implied, versus clearly stated after clicking the “Visit” link at the bottom of the page. The server who brought by the tastings was very friendly, kind, and helpful, but the rest of the staff less so. Hopefully this is a transitory stage, and HRW can offer a great overall experience for visitors, once again soon.