Solvang, CA — January 21, 2013 — Beginning our twelfth year of operation (established Dec. 2001) Stagecoach Co. Wine Tours Inc. has sustained steady growth throughout the years and leads the industry in providing top quality, fun, educational wine tours with very personable and knowledgeable tour hosts in the Santa Ynez Valley(SYV). Eric John Reynolds, a local SYV resident and founder of Stagecoach Wine Tours, has successfully developed a thriving business based on his passion for wine, strong work ethic, and attention to detail. Eric has pride in knowing he was a pioneer in the local wine touring business. Santa Barbara- Stagecoach Co. Wine Tours; was
the first wine tour company in the SYV and has made an impact on the wine industry by bringing in thousands of customers annually through guided tours. Being locally owned Stagecoach Co. represents the SYV Wine Country cultural flare and is at the pulse of the SYV wine industry. With unmatched integrity and insider knowledge
there is no better choice than Stagecoach Co. Wine Tours.
Long time friend and collaborator Tyler Tomblin joined forces with Eric in 2010, due to the heavy demands of a growing business. In order to maintain the level of service and quality, Eric brought Tyler in to help with daily operations and to allow steady growth without taking away from the high quality service, which has become their business philosophy. Eric and Tyler both share a passion for travel. Their best experiences while traveling have been when locals or tour hosts have created amazing experiences because of their love of what they do and where they are. Sharing the same passion for Santa Barbara County’s wine industry and the beauty of the SYV and its history, “We want our customers to come back time after time. We are extremely passionate about what we do! We love creating memorable experiences that have people returning year after year,” says Eric John Reynolds. What really sets these two apart is how much they care about the wine industry they support: wineries, hotels, restaurants, and retail, all of which benefit from clientele coming to the SYV for an amazing time. “We work tirelessly to create experiences people won’t soon forget. This is a not a job it’s a lifestyle,” says Tyler. By collecting information from every tour they offer, Eric and Tyler have amassed a large amount of valuable information to help fine tune their tours as well as generate valuable marketing information. “We hear about people’s experiences and this helps us, we act as a concierge of sorts giving people recommendations on everything from what to do, where to eat, and where to stay.”
Eric and Tyler met in Isla Vista(I.V.), while attending UCSB in the early 1990’s. Eric founded Java Jones Café in 1992, voted #1 coffee house by UCSB for a number of years, and Tyler managed Isla Vista Surf Shop, which he turned into a booming staple of IV life. Throughout the years the two have worked on many entrepreneurial projects as well as being great friends. “Eric has a great business sense and I thoroughly enjoy working with him, he has a great work ethic, high energy and creative spirit,” says Tyler. “I started doing graphic design work for Eric when he owned a store on State Street in Santa Barbara. One afternoon Eric asked me to host a wine tour and my Saturdays have never been the same,” laughs Tyler. Hosting tours for many years Tyler has conducted hundreds of tours and finds deep rewards in educating people about the region he so loves. “We pride ourselves on keeping people safely off the road while having fun and tasting the premium wines Santa Barbara County has to offer, and making life-long connections with the great people we meet along the way.” Tyler also helped Eric in the creation of Cabana Cellars Wine Bar and Tasting Room in Solvang, which was the first wine bar in the SYV, established in 2004. It was sold in 2007 to the new proprietors who renamed it Wandering Dog Wine Bar, and continues to thrive to this day.
Stagecoach Co. is busier than ever. “People are travelling locally due to the economy and Santa Barbara’s wine country is no more than 2 1/2 hours away from most of L.A., it’s an easy get away.” Being the #1 attraction on Trip Advisor for the Santa Ynez Valley, for four consecutive years and winning TripAdvisor’s prestigious award of excellence for two consecutive years (less than 10% of the businesses listed world-wide on TripAdvisor receive this accolade), brings them lots of customers. “We are elated when we get a great review, it means we are doing our job to the best of our abilities!” ”We’ve added to our fleet to keep up with demand and we are expanding our efforts in Santa Barbara and offering new options!” Eric said.
Eric has recently been elected to the Santa Ynez Valley Visitor Association Board of Directors and as members of The Solvang Chamber of Commerce, The Goleta Chamber of Commerce, The Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce and The Santa Barbara Conference and Visitors Bureau they fully support South Coast business and Tourism development.
“We keep our groups small to provide a better experience, the premium wineries that we visit appreciate our efforts.” Stagecoach would also like people to know, that while this is a form of entertainment for people, the wineries are businesses looking to sell wine. “We just like to remind to consider purchases at the wineries we visit,” says Tyler. Stagecoach Wine Tours offer standard group tours as well as private tours. We can accommodate larger corporate groups and we offer hourly transportation services as well.
Eric and Tyler see a bright future, they intend to expand and diversify their operations in the Santa Barbara County tourism industry.
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