Grassini Family Vineyards ToDoTC.com To Do in the Twin Cities Wine

	Grassini Family Vineyards Date: July 3, 2026 5775 Genuine Risk Rd Santa Ynez, CA Phone: (805) 697-5087 www.grassinifamilyvineyards.com

Grassini Vineyard

Santa Ynez Estate Vineyard & Winery:
5775 Genuine Risk Rd, Santa Ynez, CA

https://www.grassinifamilyvineyards.com/

A week before we were to go to Santa Barbara, we only had two wineries we were to tour on two days. So, we went we sent the word out to friends, relatives and to the wine experts we talk with weekly. I have a cousin who is well placed in LA. When I say well placed, Rick is dating one of the most beautiful new Anchorpeople in the world. He can open doors.

Anyway, Rick has clients in the Santa Barbara that own wineries. He recommended two wineries. One we went to our first day who’s people don’t read their email. That was kind of a bust. But on day two he recommended Grassini Winery. We have toured a lot of wineries in the past ten years. In places like: Napa, Sonoma, Passo, Williamette and local Minnesota Wineries. Grassini Vineyard would have been in the top ten of that group.

Like the Fess Parker the previous day, Grassini entered the winery business with money. If you remember back to the 1980s with the broadcast shows like Falcon Crest and the mansions they lived in, this was of that type of people. And that was the type of house they lived in.

Unlike Stolpman this winery read our emails. When we got to the electronic gate, ten minutes early, Lombardy Time, we stated we were Dennis & Ellen from the Twin Cities we heard GREAT! We have been expecting you. The gates opened and we proceeded in.  They said we’ll meet you at the pond.

Some days it amazes me I can find my way out of the grouse woods. In this place that looked like it came out of a Clint Eastwood spaghetti Western we walked around for five minutes to find “The Pond” the only pond we saw in Southern California. Finally, after watching what we found out later was the Grassini Golden Retriever play in the pond, we were seated by The Pond.

The server brought us up the wine reading material and poured E&I a Sav Blanc. We are NOT Sav Blanc fans but found out at Fess Parker the Chardonnay we usually think as bitter can take on a different taste in different regions. So at least they deserve that we take a sip. And it wasn’t bad.

We sat next to a pair of beautiful Rhodesian Ridgebacks. We have owned Vizslas for thirty years and the look like each other but the Ridgebacks hunt Lions, my Vizslas pheasants. But we saw more Ridgebacks than any other dog. Maybe because both breeds are good in heat.

In our short period of time our seating in the regular wine tasting crowd was disturbed by one of the winery owners. Instead of watching the Golden play at The Pond we were being taken on the Executive Tour personally by an owner. At this point I don’t know how any part of the tour would be anything but fantastic, and Grassini Vineyards did not let us down, we kind of felt like royalty.

Dean McKillen the Estate Director introduced himself as the son in law of the owner and founder of the estate. (Deans business card is in the pictures below). He spoke with an Irish twinge and was very down to earth and just bubbled enthusiasm. He said Rick your cousin told us about you and how you were going to write an article about our winery, and we are thrilled to show you our place and let you taste anything you desire and open any door you desire to see. Talk about an intro.

So, Dean took us to his John Deere two-bench-seater four wheeler. Exactly like the great Dog Writer Dave Duffey in WI did years ago. Anyway, it is the Cadillac work horse of all agricultural vehicles. Dean said can I take you to the TOP of the property and show you the place. My farm-lady wife and I said, “sure let’s go for a ride.” I don’t know if I could have CLIMBED on all fours to the level we went with steep slopes, but wine loves land nothing else grows on and we were here to learn about and tell you about the vineyards, Drive on!

We learned on the way up the 105-acre property was bought in the 1980s. After the previous owner subdivided the original estate in the 70s. They started planting grapes from University Cal Davis the Wine University to the world. Plants cost $5 each and are planted and spaced by hand.  They plant at the rate of 3000 vines per acre or $15K an acre. After the grapes were planted $60K of bird netting was bought to insure their investment.

Recently to help with the bird theft issues the winery has purchased moving lasers at $10K each to scare the birds away. Next time you look at that $30 bottle of wine realize all the investments it took to bring that bottle to you. But then the winery will also make a few schillings a year hosting fairytale weddings at $50K for the day. Dean agreed as we have seen many at wineries Fairytale weddings can be stressful.

We stopped at the TOP of the winery and surveyed the area. It seriously looked like a few you would see from an airplane. But the Santa Barbara wine region grapes liked the high altitude to get the ocean breeze to give the grapes perfect growing temperatures.

Finished with the peak where we could easily see ten miles, we were taken to processing building. Equally at very high heights. But this building had an entertaining area with an apartment and a table and kitchen for feasts.

When most people talk about old wood we speak of old barn wood. Like once surrounded our fireplace when we bought our house, since replaced. But the Grassini family is not like most of us. The entertaining table and room at heights falcons sour was made from ancient wood recovered from sunken river boats made for the gold miners of 49ers on the Columbia River supplied by Tom their builder from Texas. The room looked like something out of the Arthur and Knights of the Round Table. The processing center and entertaining area was finished in 2010.

The owner wanted his stone house in that area at hilltop, but the builder said he was pushing the limits of engineering, and a ground level location would be more doable. Not many houses get built with one FOOT walls.

We toured the toured the barrels rooms. Grassini buys French Oak to hold their wines for 2-3 years for $1500 each. We sat at the family dinner table which would be occupied by the Grassinis Family Larry and Sharon and four daughters thus the 5G five girls on their logo. Dean married Katie the winery CEO the oldest of the daughters. They have been married for ten years.

When Grassini started their winery, they wanted their valley to have their own AVA (American Viticultural Association) Zone. The reason was then the grapes grown by them and their neighbors might be different than any other AVA also called DOC area of the world. And just as people buy certain: pop, petro, clothes ect, because of the common weather and terrain they may create a special area people might ask for like: Napa, Sonoma, Williamette.

The most difficult hurdle in naming the region was getting approval of the name. The name that was chosen was Happy Valley and name that was not yet used. Why Happy Valley? It’s what everyone called the valley. Why? No one knew. So, the five families that started the Happy Valley AVA ingeniously went to the schools. They sent home a flyer to the kids asking their families why it was called Happy Valley? Turns out Grandpa heard it was back during the prohibition times when the moonshiners were there, and it was the place to go to get Happy!  Sold! The Feds approved the name, and the wineries laughed all the way to the bank!   So Happy Valley AVA it is.

To make a wine great you need to do a dozen things. Which dozen and to what extent will be found in the glass. But the point is the attention to details. When E & I sat down at the tasting room we had placemats in front of us. Those placemats said welcome Dennis & Ellen. I know it’s a 5-minute thing, but in a hundred vineries visits it has never happened to us before. It spoke volumes. It told us no minor detail in what they do is not important.

So, we proceeded to taste their wines. They were some of the best we had ever had. We started with E’s favorite 2021 Estate Cab Sav. E would have ordered a case on the spot.  If we had a way to get a case home. No, we do NOT more or Airplane wine, would you send Eggs are art that way, we’ll pass, wine is a living thing. Wine needs to be moved correctly to

We drank
2025 HAPPY CANYON SAUVIGNON BLANC $35/Bottle
2022 RESERVE SAUVIGNON BLANC $50/Bottle
2022 MALBEC $105/Bottle
2022 MERLOT $125/Bottle
2020 PETIT VERDOT $125/Bottle
2022 RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON $105/Bottle

As we were tasting these great wines we asked what made their wines great, other than their obvious TLC. Dean said: they were single source grapes, sustainable, family owned and hand crafted. Their wines are expensive but not more so than any other great beverage. They supply grapes to both Dragonette and Duckhorn so they are recognized for their quality.

Right now, Grassini does not have a distributor in the Twin Cities of MN one of the worlds Wine Meccas. We will make some calls and e-mails to some friends to change that.

Grassini Vineyards really impressed us. We will talk to the local distributors to get them available in the Twin Cities. And Thank You Dean and the winery for everything.

Contact us Dennis@ToDoTC.com