This is Santa Barbara wine country information. We just spent a week in Santa Barbara wine country. We rented a house in the wine town of Los Olivos, which is the center of the entire Santa Barbara wine country. Each morning we awoke to very cool mornings and a thick bank of fog. Apparently, this is why the vines in Santa Barbara have a very long growing season. Slow and steady makes for some terrific wines. We learned these wine tidbits during our week-long stay in Los Olivos. Recommended reading for Santa Barbara wine country travelers: Sipping Santa Barbara – $6.99
Santa Barbara Wine Country Information
There are over 100 wineries in Santa Barbara wine country. There are not a lot of wineries in this large geographic area. That’s a good thing for visitors.
Five AVA or wine appellations make up the region
- Santa Maria Valley
- Los Alamos Valley
- Santa Ynez Valley
- Santa Rita Hills
- Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara
These five growing areas provide a versatile climate for growing grape varieties. The most notable wines produced from the area are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Rhone Style wines like Syrah, Grenache and others. Bordeaux-style grapes are also grown in the warmer areas of the region.
Since the wineries and tasting rooms in the countryside can be very far apart, a number of wineries have elected to have a tasting room in the small towns in Santa Barbara wine country.
Los Olivos leads the way with 27 tasting rooms. There is a scattering of boutique shops and restaurants in the town. The weekends are crowded with visitors coming for the day from local towns and as far away as Los Angeles.
In Lompoc, there is the Wine Ghetto, an industrial warehouse area of 19 tasting rooms.
In Solvang, the famous Danish town, there are also several tasting rooms.
Don’t forget to read Sipping Santa Barbara – $6.99
- Where to dine in Santa Barbara wine country
- Where to lodge in Santa Barbara wine country
- The “Sideways” Movie wine trail
- Buy your picnic lunch here