Most wineries try to sound serious. Saarloos + Sons tries to sound like a family dinner, loud, warm, a little irreverent, and built entirely around the people at the table. The Saarloos family has farmed the Santa Ynez Valley for generations, and when they turned to wine, they made it deeply personal.

The family on the label

At Saarloos, the wines are named for the people who matter. Mom is a Grenache Blanc, Dad is a Mourvedre, Family is a Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre blend, and Cash’s Crush is a rose named for one of the kids. The estate grows Syrah on terraced hillside blocks with names like High Hill and Little Boy Terrace, alongside Grenache, Mourvedre, the white Rhones, Sauvignon Blanc, and Bordeaux varieties. It is a Rhone and Bordeaux estate with a farmer’s heart and a storyteller’s labels.

Two things have made Saarloos a destination beyond the wine. The first is the wine-and-cupcake tasting, a genuinely joyful pairing experience that has become a Los Olivos institution. The second is a quiet point of pride: Saarloos makes the official wine of the Reagan Ranch, Ronald Reagan’s beloved Rancho del Cielo in the mountains above Santa Barbara.

Put the people you love on the bottle, and the wine starts to mean something more.

The wines, and the cupcakes

The estate reds, led by terraced-block Syrah and Grenache, are rich and warm-hearted, made for the grill. The whites, the Grenache Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc, are bright and food-friendly. And then there are the cupcakes. Pairing wine with dessert is the trickiest move in the book, because a wine has to be at least as sweet as the cake or it turns thin and sour next to it. Saarloos plays both sides, matching sweet with sweet or cutting a rich cupcake with a brut sparkling or a dry rose. It is a delicious, hands-on lesson in how pairing actually works.

What to drink it with

The estate Syrah is built for Santa Maria style tri-tip or grilled lamb, where the wine’s pepper and dark fruit meet the char. The Grenache loves roast pork or duck, and the Grenache Blanc, full and aromatic, is a natural with roast chicken or a creamy pasta. And the cupcake pairing, of course, is its own kind of dessert.

Plan your visit

Saarloos pours in the heart of Los Olivos, a short walk from the town’s central flagpole and a couple dozen other tasting rooms. Come for the wine, stay for the cupcakes, and expect to be treated like family.

Frequently asked questions