Blackjack Ranch Vineyards & Winery

About

Blackjack Ranch a Five-Star rating for the production of Bordeaux varietals, specifically Billy Goat Hill Merlot and for Harmonie. Our chardonnays are from some of the finest regions.

Location Description

Located on the west side of Alamo Pintado Road, between Los Olivos and Ballard, California.

Features

  • We are one of only two wineries outside Napa/Sonoma to achieve his highest ranking.

Additional Information

  • Meeting / Conference Facilities:
  • Caves:
  • Wedding Facilities:
  • Picnic Facilities:
  • Dog Friendly:
  • Winery Tours:
  • Wine Tasting:
  • Art or Architecture:
  • Organic / Biodynamic:
  • Awards:
  • Wine Club:
  • Lodging / Bed & Breakfast:

History

In 1873, the California Legislature enacted Penal Code 330 which outlawed the game of "21" throughout the state. Although this statute is still in effect, Native American Indian casinos currently play "21" under authority from the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. No such luck for the 237 legal card rooms and casinos throughout California owned by non-Native American Indians, so in 1989, I invented, patented, copyrighted, and trademarked "California Blackjack". My game is played to "22" points and a Natural is two aces, rather than ace, ten-card. House banked games are illegal in California so players compete against each other, instead of the casino itself. California Blackjack has been licensed to card clubs and casinos throughout California since 1990 and has generated hundreds of casino jobs, over $4 million annually for municipalities where the game is played, and tens of millions in revenue for the casinos.

The success of the Blackjack game enabled me to pursue my lifelong dream of planting a vineyard and building a winery as a sole proprietorship, hence, Blackjack Ranch.

It is my goal to produce wines at Blackjack Ranch that will be both pleasurable and memorable. The Ranch is planted with Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay. Rootstocks were selected primarily for low yields. The topography ranges from level to treacherously steep rolling hillsides with blocks such as Billy Goat Hill, Suicide Hill, and Hamburger's Hill (named after a Black Angus with which that hill is shared). Blackjack Ranch began production in 1997 with the 1997 Harmonie and the 1997 Chardonnay Reserve. Both of our first two releases were awarded 90 point scores from Robert Parker in The Wine Advocate. We are not aware of any other winery that has ever debuted with a red and a white both scoring 90 or better.

We have welcomed visitors to our Tasting Room since it opened on December 31, 1999.

Reviews

2 Reviews
Marty Mueller Marty Mueller
Palm Springs
Great Day Tasting at a Wonderful Winery

I have known about Blackjack Ranch for several years, but finally got a chance to taste there this week. The site has an outstanding setup for outdoors tasting. The covered patio, the shaded picnic tables and of course the covered gazebo are all perfect settings. The wines i tasted were all fantastic, but my favorite among them was the 2010 Maximus Hillside Reserve Syrah. This wine had a great nose and presented a wonderful full mouth of black fruit. It was balanced and had a nice long finish. Do yourself a favor and go taste this great wine while it is still there. Cheers Alison and Asta in the tasting room - you have a winner!

July 2020

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Solvang, California
Fabulous!

All in all I had a great experience here and would definitely recommend stopping by.

May 2015

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2 Reviews

Hours

Daily 11:00am to 4:30pm

Address

2205 Alamo Pintado Rd
Solvang, California 93463
United States

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