The Stonehouse
3,500 Bottles Deep in Wine Country Paradise
Montecito · Santa Barbara · Californian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 5, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list at The Stonehouse lands on the table with the quiet confidence of a place that's held a Wine Spectator Grand Award since 2014 — and has no reason to prove anything to anyone. Nearly 3,500 selections across Burgundy, California, Rhône, Italy, and France, tucked inside a creekside stone house with a wood-burning fireplace. The room earns the list.
Selection Deep Dive
This is a serious cellar. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Leroy anchor an exceptional Burgundy section, with Domaine Ramonet and Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé filling out the depth you'd expect at this level. California gets equal billing — Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, Sine Qua Non, Kistler, and Marcassin represent the serious end, while Ridge Monte Bello and Au Bon Climat bring intellectual weight to the domestic side. The Rhône is no afterthought either: Domaine Jean-Louis Chave and Château Rayas are the kind of names that make wine nerds audibly exhale. Gaps are hard to find, though the sticker prices on the blue-chip stuff will make you feel them in your chest.
By the Glass
With 20 to 30 pours on rotation, the by-the-glass program punches well above what most California resort restaurants bother with. Expect solid representation across styles and regions rather than the usual Napa Cab plus two whites formula. The sommelier team — Jennifer Pyle, Michael Bremser, and Micah Espudo — actively manages this section, so it's worth asking what's open rather than just reading the menu.
Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir — $60
In a list full of four-figure bottles, Au Bon Climat is the honest local hero — Santa Barbara-grown Pinot from one of the Central Coast's most respected producers. At the entry price point, it's the clearest path to drinking well without financing a mortgage.
Ridge Monte Bello
Most tables here are chasing DRC or Harlan, which means Monte Bello sometimes gets overlooked. That's a mistake. This is one of the most age-worthy Cabernet-based blends made in California, with decades of track record and a fraction of the cultural noise around Napa cult wines. Order it with intention.
Phelps Insignia
A great wine, full stop — but Insignia is widely distributed, appears on nearly every upscale California list, and carries a markup that reflects its trophy status more than the actual contents of the bottle. You can do better on this list for the same spend.
Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage + Steak Diane
Chave's Hermitage is Syrah at its most serious — savory, structured, with that Northern Rhône iron-and-olive backbone. The Steak Diane's pan sauce, brandy, and cream meet that structure head-on without either element backing down. This is the pairing you come back to tell people about.
🔥 The Bottom Line
The Stonehouse is the real deal — a Grand Award list in a setting that actually matches the ambition, with a sommelier team that knows every bottle in the cellar. Prices are high across the board, but for a special occasion in Santa Barbara, there's nowhere else to be.
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