Ballard Canyon and its Syrah: what the record says, and where to taste it

Ballard Canyon is an American Viticultural Area at the centre of the Santa Ynez Valley, west of the small town of Ballard. Its name often comes up alongside Syrah. Here is what the federal record actually says about that, and where you can taste wine from the canyon.

What the AVA is

The federal government established Ballard Canyon as an AVA effective November 1, 2013. Its legal boundary is in the Code of Federal Regulations at 27 CFR 9.230. It covers about 7,800 acres and sits entirely inside the Santa Ynez Valley AVA, which is in turn inside the larger Central Coast AVA.

The name comes from the place itself. Federal maps mark a valley called Ballard Canyon, and a road, Ballard Canyon Road, runs north and south through the eastern part of the area. According to the petition, people who live there say a property is "in Ballard Canyon" when it is reached from that road or its side streets.

The rulemaking describes three things that set the area apart: wind, temperature and soil.

• Wind. Hills running north to south shelter the canyon from the strongest winds off the Pacific.
• Temperature. In the petition's weather data, the area runs warmer by day and cooler at night than its neighbours to the west, north and south. It is warmer than the Sta. Rita Hills to the west and cooler than Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara to the east.
• Soil. More than 95 percent of the area is a single soil association, made up of well-drained sands and clay loams.

For the boundary on a map and every listing in the area, see the Ballard Canyon page.

Why Syrah

The Syrah link is in the record itself. When the petition was filed, it counted about 565 acres of commercial vineyard across 10 vineyards inside the proposed boundary, and it named Syrah as the main grape grown there. The proposed rule connected that to heat: the area builds up enough warmth over the growing season to suit warm-weather grapes "such as Syrah."

That describes the canyon when the petition was written. We do not have a newer count of what is planted, so we will not give one.

What we can say is what the places we list name among their wines. Of the 17 places in Ballard Canyon or pouring its wine, 15 list Syrah. Grenache comes next with 12, then Pinot Noir with 11. Most of these places pour wine from more than one AVA, so a grape on their list is not always grown in the canyon.

Inside the canyon

We list two places with an estate in Ballard Canyon. Neither keeps regular open hours, so plan ahead:

• Rusack Vineyards, 1819 Ballard Canyon Road, Solvang: tastings by appointment only. Ask for a time through the winery.
• Piazza Family Wines: private tastings at its estate vineyard in Ballard Canyon, by appointment. The winery also has a tasting room in Los Olivos (below).

Pouring Ballard Canyon wine, nearby

You do not need an appointment to taste wine from the canyon. Fifteen more places we list pour wine from Ballard Canyon, most of them in nearby towns. Hours below are as each place posts them. Check the listing before you set out.

Los Olivos

• Saarloos + Sons, Grand Avenue: daily 11am–5pm. Walk-ins welcome.
• Tensley Wines, Grand Avenue: daily 11am–5pm.
• Beckmen Vineyards, Ontiveros Road: daily 11am–5pm. A reservation is recommended.
• Horizon Cellars, Grand Avenue: Thursday to Monday 12pm–5pm.
• Piazza Family Wines, Los Olivos, Alamo Pintado Avenue: Thursday to Monday 12pm–6pm. A reservation is recommended.
• tercero wines, Alamo Pintado Avenue: Thursday to Monday 11am–5pm. A reservation is recommended.
• Stolpman Vineyards, Alamo Pintado Avenue: a reservation is recommended. We do not hold its hours yet, so check with the winery.

Solvang

• Kaena at The Ranch, Highway 246: daily 11am–5pm. Walk-ins welcome.
• Cordon of Santa Barbara, Mission Drive: 12pm–6pm, closed Tuesday.

Buellton

• Tomi Cellars, Industrial Way: Thursday to Monday 11:30am–5:30pm. A reservation is recommended.
• the Central Coast Group Project, Industrial Way: by appointment.

Further afield

• Clementine Carter Wines, Los Alamos: open every day except Tuesday, to 7pm Thursday to Saturday. Walk-ins welcome.
• Skyenna Wines, Santa Barbara: daily, until 8pm.
• Montemar Winery, Lompoc: Friday to Sunday.
• Transcendence Wines, Lompoc: Wednesday to Saturday afternoons, and by appointment. Walk-ins welcome.

"Pours wine from Ballard Canyon" means the place's own sources show wine from the AVA. It does not mean every wine on the list is from there. Ask in the room which bottles are.

Put it on one page

Syrah in Ballard Canyon shows every place in the canyon or pouring its wine that lists Syrah, with hours and booking rules. For a day out, add a few of them to My day. The planner checks each stop against its posted hours for the date you pick.

A note for the drive: Saarloos + Sons, Tensley and Horizon Cellars are all on Grand Avenue in Los Olivos, so three stops above are a short walk apart. Our Los Olivos on foot plan covers that street.

Every hour and policy above comes from the source linked on each listing. The AVA facts come from the federal rulemaking listed below.