Vega Vineyard & Farm

Visiting Vega Vineyard and Farm in Buellton, CA is more than wine tasting; it’s an adventure. Not only will you taste wines made by Steve Clifton (of brands like Palmina, Brewer-Clifton, La Voix, and more), but you’ll eat a delicious lunch, shop for farm-fresh produce to take home, stroll through the gorgeous property AND pet some adorable animals!

Vega Vineyard and Farm is located just outside of Buellton, on one of Santa Ynez Valley’s historic ranches, Rancho de Vega, originally established in 1853. An adobe home was built and grapes were planted. Over time, it was taken over by the Mosby family, who planted 18 acres of wine grapes and changed the name. In 2022, Demetrios and Karen Loizides bought the property, renaming it back to the historic name (which means field in Spanish), and are continuing its farming and hospitality tradition.

They have partnered with Steve Clifton as winemaker, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in local vineyards, winemaking and specifically Italian varieties. He was a founding partner of Brewer-Clifton and also founded the Italian-focused Palmina Winery, both located in Lompoc and the Sta. Rita Hills. He also made single-vineyard Pinot Noir for La Voix, and countless others that may or may not have had his name on the bottle. If you’ve been drinking wine from Santa Barbara County for long, you’ve probably had a wine made by Steve Clifton.

Vega is offering some great Italian wines like Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Sangiovese, Pinot Grigio, and Vermentino, as well as locally-sourced Syrah, Albariño, and Viognier plus Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Sta. Rita Hills. And a sparkling wine is coming soon! (You can even buy some older Mosby wines on the website, made by the previous owners from Estate grapes, and Palmina wines can also be purchased on their website.)

The food was also delightful! We ordered as many things as possible, and especially loved the meatballs, soup, black truffles on our flatbread, and the short rib.

Here’s a rundown of what we ate:

• Soup of the Day; ours was pureed asparagus with crispy onions
• Lamb & Pork Meatballs with chickpea tomato sauce and feta mint tzatziki
• Roasted Golden & Red Beets from the farm with arugula, toasted salty pistachios, goat cheese, and aged sherry vinaigrette
• Margherita Flatbread with shaved black truffles and hand torn basil from the farm, fresh tomato sauce from the farm, and mozzarella
• Vega Wine Braised Short Rib with rainbow chard from the farm, lumber jack cheese polenta, and red wine jus.

We are looking forward to future vintages of wines made from the grapes planed at this historic winery…and the bubbles. But, the wines and food (and experience) are excellent now!