Santa Barbara Wine Tasting
Welcome to Santa Barbara Wine Tasting
I am a Santa Barbara native and wine enthusiast eager to introduce more people to the wonderful world of Santa Barbara wine tasting in the tasting rooms within the city itself and the four surrounding AVAs, or wine appellations, in Santa Barbara’s wine country: Santa Ynez Valley, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley.
Napa Valley and Sonoma are still the two best known wine growing regions in California, but along with the quality of its wine, the reputation of Santa Barbara wine tasting keeps growing. Nowadays, some of the best Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah in California is made in the Santa Barbara Wine Country.
Chardonnay is one reason that Santa Barbara wine tasting is gaining in popularity among both wine lovers and serious critics. Steve Heimoff, the West Coast editor of Wine Enthusiast magazine, writes in a blog post entitled Tasting Santa Barbara County Chardonnay that, “Santa Barbara County is one of California’s great Chardonnay areas and a case can be made that it is the greatest.” He especially recommends Chardonnays crafted in the Santa Maria Valley and Santa Rita Hills AVAs, both of which are blessed with cool microclimates favorable for growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. By the way, here’s a good wine buying tip from Mr. Heimoff: “…both 2007 and 2008 were very great years for Chardonnay in Santa Barbara County.”
As for Pinot Noir, I recommend those made by the internationally acclaimed wine maker Jim Clendenen at his Santa Maria Valley winery, Au Bon Climat, which is also highly reputed for its other Burgundian varietals: Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. The Au Bon Climat Winery is only open to the public twice a year, but they now have the recently opened Au Bon Climat “Tasting Room and Wine Library” in downtown Santa Barbara.
More generally, I recommend Pinot Noirs made from grapes grown in the Bien Nacido Vineyards. Over 20 wineries in Santa Barbara County make wines from grapes sourced from this prestigious vineyard, and Bien Nacido Vineyards is a name that you will see on the label of many an award-winning wine, including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and cool climate Syrah. Just as an example, the Wine Advocate‘s Robert Parker Jr. gave a score of 96 to Jaffurs Syrah Santa Barbara County, Bien Nacido Vineyard 2007. Speaking of Jaffurs, if you’d like to taste some truly great Rhone varietals made in Santa Barbara City, I highly recommend visiting the Jaffurs Cellars tasting room, which is located downtown, not too far from State Street. Simply stated, Jaffurs is the best winery located within the Santa Barbara city limits.
The largest of Santa Barbara County’s AVAs, Santa Ynez Valley, also has the highest concentration of wineries, so it’s a great region for Santa Barbara wine tasting. For a combination of local color and good wine, I recommend Fess Parker Winery, opened by the Fess Parker, the recently deceased actor who is best known for his television depictions of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. Both their red and white wines are excellent, and you can take home a free tasting glass embossed with a coonskin cap etching.
Actually, that suggestion barely scratches the surface of what Santa Barbara wine tasting has to offer. Thanks to the diversity of microclimates the region boasts, its wine makers have been able to succeed with a wide range of grapes and wine making styles. In other words, it’s an area in which you can sample a wide variety of wines. Besides local variations on three of Frances most famous wine-making regions: Burgundy; Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley; Italian varietals such as Barbera, Sangiovese, Primativo and Pinot Grigio are also available for your tasting pleasure, and some area wineries produce tasty Tempranillo and other Spanish style wines.
To sum up, if your vacation plans or dreams include going on a wine tasting tour, you definitely should consider a Santa Barbara wine tasting tour as one of your best options. With over 100 wineries, 21,00 acres of vineyards, sunny weather, gorgeous scenery, first class restaurants, local color and a sumptuous diversity of varietals, blends and wine making styles, Santa Barbara’s wine country offers every wine enthusiast, from the novice to the connoisseur, an unforgettable wine tasting experience.
In the video below, Alma Rosa Winery owner Richard Sanford talks about the wines he creates in the Santa Rita Hills appellation. This is the first winery that Miles and Jack, the protagonists in the movie Sideways, stopped in at on their Santa Barbara wine tasting tour. The video runs to almost 10 minutes, but I recommend taking the time to watch it–you’ll learn a lot about Santa Barbara wine tasting and wine in general.
I absolutely love wine tasting in Santa Barbara. So many places to choose from and so many wonderful people to meet, it all never gets old. What does get old is dishing out the big bucks to stay in a nice hotel in Santa Barbara. After countless trips, I finally listened to some friendly advice and stayed at The South Coast Inn in Santa Barbara (http://www.santa-barbara-hotel.com/), and boy was I delighted! Not only were the rooms beautiful and spacious, but the service was exceptional! I was able to not worry about my hotel expenses, and focus on what’s important, all that exceptional wine I had yet to try!
Hello, I recently uncovered your website from ask.com and checked out several of your various other articles. They are awesome. Pls keep them coming!! Sincerely, Francine Kamler.
I absolutely love Lafond Winery on Santa Rosa Road. Hit Lafond and Alma Rosa in one trip. Pierre Lafond started Santa Barbara Winery, SB’s oldest winery, in 1962.
Thank you very much for the site and for all the work that you have put into it. You are an inspiration to me for my site. I will send you a message as well.
this is a phenomenal website/blog. There needs to be a proper appreciation that is Santa Barbara wine tasting. A great experience and one I feel anyone who has an interest in wine should take. The selection Santa Barbara offers is wide and the different vineyards are all special in their own way. Personal favorites would have to be the Hitching Post and Santa Barbara Winery. The SB Pinot is amazing (of course!) I cannot wait for next harvest season-i’ll be there drinking away! I love to stay at the South Coast Inn. Elegance at its utmost and close by-great location if you are on your way to Santa Ynez!
I love and miss Santa Barbara. The local wine and friends and I have had more than a few good times. Santa Ynez Valley is also wonderful for an extended wine trip.
I noticed you have a nearly identical blog at http://santabarbarawinetours.org/. I’ll stop over there in a moment. Anyone who’s interested in reading more about Santa Barbara may enjoy my recent article at Hale College http://www.halecollege.com/colors-santa-barbara/.
I’ve traveled down the California Coast during my California Wine tasting Adventures four times and absolutely LOVE Santa Barbara! I especially like Alma Rosa, Saarloos & Sons and Melville. I’m a big fan of Richard Sanford’s wines and enjoyed seeing him on a recent broadcast of The Lip TV’s program The Wine Down, so if you want to see an indepth interview with him check it out!
http://thelip.tv/richard-sanford-of-alma-rosa-winery/
Erik Wait
Wine tasting in Santa Barbara is the best idea you could have for a weekend getaway trip. My wife and I go there at least every 4-6 months and we always have a wonderful time. Really romantic and they really pull out all the stops to make your time there well spent. Great beach walks, biking the wine orchards and a lot of friendly people, I highly recommend it! The Sandman Inn (www.thesandmaninn.com) is perfect if you want to spend more money on your wine then hotel accommodations. Super flexible and cheap!
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