As California’s wine industry grapples with shrinking vineyard acreage, slowing tasting room traffic, and changing consumer habits, Santa Barbara County may be better positioned than some of the state’s marquee wine regions to navigate what lies ahead.
A new report found that while direct-to-consumer sales were critical for premium wineries, success increasingly depends on how wineries engage with customers rather than heavily relying on tasting room traffic.
Santa Barbara wineries occupy an interesting position, according to the 2026 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Report, released by Silicon Valley Bank’s Wine Division.
The study is based on responses from 450 family-owned wineries.
Direct-to-consumer Sales
According to the report, Santa Barbara wineries derived 62% of their sales from direct-to-consumer channels.
The figure was higher than Sonoma, where direct-to-consumer sales represented 57% of revenue, but lower than Napa’s 66%.
Meanwhile, Paso Robles wineries reported the highest reliance among California regions surveyed, at 70%.
The numbers don’t necessarily mean Santa Barbara wineries are outperforming their counterparts farther north. But they suggest the region sits between Napa’s luxury-heavy model and Sonoma’s broader production base.
Across all respondents, direct-to-consumer sales accounted for 72% of total revenue in fiscal year 2025, with wine clubs contributing 28.6%, and tasting rooms representing 27.4% of revenue, according to the report.
Internet sales represented only 6.1% of revenue, indicating that the surge in online wine purchasing during the pandemic did not evolve into a significant shift for the industry.
At the same time, the industry’s primary customer acquisition tool appears to be weakening.
Declining Tasting Room Traffic
Using reservation data from Commerce7, Silicon Valley Bank found tasting room visitation continues to trend downward.
The trailing 12-month reservation growth rate averaged negative 2.12%, with no sustained signs of recovery.
The decline is uniform across all regions, and not isolated to any winery type or region, reflecting a broader change in consumer behavior and engagement with the category, the report said.
The wineries navigating those headwinds most successfully appear to share a common trait.
Winery Performance
Top-performing wineries grew revenue by 22%, while bottom-quartile wineries saw revenue decline by 13%, according to the study. The median winery reported no growth.
The difference wasn’t the tactics themselves but the philosophy behind them.
Higher-performing wineries tended to focus outward, emphasizing customer relationships, personalized experiences, and reaching consumers where they live.
Lower-performing wineries were more likely to focus inward on operational efficiencies and cost-cutting measures.
Many successful wineries reported hosting traveling wine club events, participating in community gatherings, conducting off-site tastings and creating smaller experiences designed to deepen connections with consumers.
Others cited spending more time in key customer markets, instead of waiting for visitors to arrive at their wineries.
Broader Challenges
The latest wine report comes at a time when California’s wine industry faces broader structural challenges.
A separate report recently found California’s total wine grape acreage fell again in 2025, reflecting ongoing efforts to match supply in line with softening demand.
Even within Santa Barbara County, questions about how best to navigate the changing environment have become a source of debate.
A recent lawsuit involving the county’s Wine Improvement District underscores the opposing views among local wineries about where resources should be directed during a transitory phase.
Santa Barbara’s wineries may not have all the answers. However, as wineries across the state explore ways to stay profitable, the region’s approach could offer some clues about how to better connect with consumers.
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