Saddlerock Ranch
Saddlerock Ranch offers a fantastic Malibu Winery Tour. Located an hour drive from downtown Los Angeles and 20 minutes from Malibu, this makes the perfect day trip while in California. This family-run property is located amidst the Santa Monica Mountains and offers a unique growing climate for grapes. The 200,000 acre farm is also used for raising sheep & cattle, as well as hosting events such as weddings. For those arriving by car, there is free parking onsite and access to a restroom & gift shop.
Malibu Winery Tours
There are 3 types of tours you can take involving wine at Saddlerock Ranch: a Wine Hike*, a 4×4 tour or a VW Bus Tour*. We chose the wine hike, which is a guided 2.5 mile walk around the property, that includes sampling 2 of their wines. This is the most affordable option and costs $49 per person. The 4×4 tour is a similar experience, but you are driven around the property in their off-road 4×4 vehicles. It also includes charcuterie with the wine tastings. This tour is 2 hours long and costs $425 per 4×4. Lastly, their VW Bus Tour* takes a group of up to 6 guests in a vintage VW for 3 hours around to some local vineyards to sample Malibu’s best wines! This will cost $625 and is best for families or bachelorette groups traveling together looking for a unique experience.
Malibu Wine Hike
We had a fantastic guide for our 2 hour wine-hike*. He told us stories about the property, pointed out unique rock formations and taught us about the wine-production that happens on the ranch. It’s important to note that there is very limited shade on the hike so plan accordingly (hat, sunscreen, water, etc). Halfway through the hike, we stopped to rest and our guide surprised us with some frosé due to the heat! We then had the option to get one of our cans of wine to drink for the remainder of our hike, or save both for when we got back to the ranch.
Cave of the Four Horsemen
A unique (and unexpected) highlight from our tour was visiting the Cave of the Four Horseman, which is home to pictographs painted by the Chumash Native Americans. The horsemen portrayed in paintings are considered to be Gaspar de Portola & his exploring party, which traveled through the area in 1769–70. These paintings have become very rare due to erosion from weather but one of the most well preserved examples can be found here!
Malibu Winery Tour Review
We didn’t know what to expect when booking our Malibu Winery Tour* but it turned out to be one of the best parts of our trip to Los Angeles! The delicious wines culminating with the incredible views of the surrounding landscape made for the perfect afternoon in Malibu.
