Santa Barbara
Wine Country

Santa Barbara Wine Country is one of the hot wine travel destinations says the Wine Enthusiast magazine and website. Santa Barbara’s wineries and vineyards rate alongside those of Napa Valley as an exciting wine destination to visit.

Santa Barbara Wine Country Vineyards

Three USA wine destinations made Wine Enthusiast's Top Ten list, the other one alongside Santa Barbara and Napa Valley being Virginia, on the east coast. The other top seven destinations around the world are:

The Champagne Region in France (of course!)
The Veneto Region in Italy, taking in Venice
The Central Otago Wine Region in New Zealand
The Colchagua Valley in Chile
Priorat-Cambrils in Spain
Tokaj-Hegyalja in Hungary
The Mosel Valley in Germany

Well, as a list we’d say that is far from being the Usual Suspects. In the United States you might expect to find places like Sonoma, Paso Robles and Oregon ahead of wines from Santa Barbara and Virginia. You might also expect to find more than one wine travel region from France, in addition to Champagne - and why is there nowhere from Australia?

Well, lists like this are meant to stir up publicity for whoever produces the list, but they do also make you think - and its certainly good news for the vineyards and wineries of Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara Wine Country

So why is Santa Barbara such a great place to visit for the wine traveler? “That’s thanks in equal parts to its Hollywood-style glamour, palm tree-fringed sandy beaches, fashionable resorts, great cuisine, endless shopping and one of the most beautiful wine regions in California,” says Wine Enthusiast magazine.

Tour of Santa Barbara Wine Country

Right in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara you can tour this Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail.

Santa Barbara Wine Country Wine Varieties

Wine Enthusiast says that these are the prominent wine varieties that are the best wines to look for in Santa Barbara: “Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah feature in the cool parts of the valley, while Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Rhône varieties dominate the warm areas.”

If you want to read what Wine Enthusiast has to say about Santa Barbara wine country, click here.

Where to Stay in Santa Barbara

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Santa Barbara Italian Restaurant
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Santa Barbara whale watching cruises in southern California can be booked through Condor Express, with whale watching trips leaving from the harbor.
Santa Barbara Historical Museum
The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is one of the best things to do in Santa Barbara, California, on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Franciscan Inn Santa Barbara
The historic Franciscan Inn in Santa Barbara, California, near the Pacific Coast Highway, is in a quiet location near the beach ideal for those driving PCH.
Santa Barbara Guidebook
The Santa Barbara Guidebook from Moon Handbooks also covers California’s Central Coast with Ventura, San Luis Obispo, wine country, and Hearst Castle.