Rick Longoria is one of the names you cannot tell the story of Santa Barbara wine without. He has been working these vineyards since 1976 and bottling under his own label since 1982, back when the county was still proving it belonged on the world map. The wines, led by Pinot Noir from the Sta. Rita Hills, carry four decades of hard-won knowledge, and the family that runs the label today keeps every bit of that standard.

A founding name in Santa Barbara wine

Rick Longoria got his start in 1976 as the first cellar foreman at Firestone Vineyard, one of the county earliest wineries, in an era when almost no one believed Santa Barbara could make serious wine. He went on to become the winemaker at J. Carey Cellars, and in 1982, confident in his skills and in the quality of the county best vineyards, he and his wife Diana launched their own label with 500 cases of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley.

He had a hunch that Pinot Noir and Chardonnay would become the signature grapes of this new region, and he wanted to be part of the movement. He was right, and he helped make it happen. Over the decades Longoria became a fixture of the Santa Barbara wine community, the kind of steady, principled producer that newer wineries measure themselves against.

Pinot Noir, and a restless curiosity

The heart of the Longoria range is Pinot Noir, above all from the Fe Ciega Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills, a cool, wind-scoured site that gives wines of real perfume and structure. Chardonnay sits right alongside it, in the bright, balanced style Rick has championed for forty years.

But Longoria has never been a one-note producer. The lineup roams into Spanish and Italian grapes like Albarino, Tempranillo, Mencia, and Nebbiolo, and includes the beloved Blues Cuvee, a Cabernet Franc-based red named for Rick love of the music. It is the portfolio of a winemaker who has earned the freedom to follow his curiosity.

A family legacy, carried forward

In 2022 Brooke and Lindsey took the reins from Rick and Diana, keeping Longoria a family-run winery devoted to the artistry that built its name. You can taste the wines in two places: the original tasting room in Lompoc, set in the historic JM Club building beside the production facility, and a second room on State Street in downtown Santa Barbara.

Visiting either is a chance to drink a piece of the county history, poured by people who treat it with the care it deserves.

What to pour it with

Longoria Pinot Noir is a classic food red, all bright acidity and supple tannin, which makes it a natural with duck, salmon, pork, and mushroom dishes. Its acid cuts through fat and its savory, red-fruited character echoes anything earthy on the plate. The Chardonnay loves richer fare: roast chicken, crab, scallops, and dishes in butter or cream, where its acidity keeps the richness in check.

The more adventurous bottles open up new tables. Albarino is a brilliant match for oysters and grilled fish, Tempranillo and the Blues Cuvee want grilled lamb, steak, and charcuterie, and a little salt on any of these plates will round the wine and lift its fruit. This is a portfolio built to span an entire dinner.

Longoria Wines: common questions