Santa Barbara was the last of our unvisited major “fine wine” regions in California. We had planned to go for several years, but it never quite worked out for us until now. As it turns, the bulk of the wineries are actually in the Santa Ynez Valley, more than 30 miles away. Consequently, we stayed at the county-run Cachuma Lake Campground on the man-made lake closer to the wineries. The campground is quite large and was built in the early 60’s shortly after the man-made lake was created. The campground hasn’t had a major renovation since then and is quite worn, but it has a beauty all its own. The whole area is surrounded by magnificent mountains and is quintessentially California.
Santa Barbara county is home to over 300 wineries and encompasses a variety of micro-climates that allows wineries to produce great wines ranging from Sauvignon Blanc to Pinots to Syrahs. Within a 20 mile radius you can experience “all of France” based on proximity to the Pacific Ocean, prevailing wind direction, elevation, and which side of the east-west San Rafael and Santa Ynez Mountains you’re on. The wineries we focused on were in villages of Los Olivos and Buellton, as well as the rural area of Foxen Canyon.
To summarize, the area is still rural, not outrageously expensive, beautiful, and filled with genuinely humble and wonderful people. The wine quality varied, but several wineries were outstanding and a great value. We tasted at nine wineries and joined three wine clubs. Our tasting summary can be read at Santa Barbara wine wrap-up.
During our week in Cachuma, we visited Santa Barbara, the Farmers Market in Goleta, and Solvang. Santa Barbara is a good size city on the Pacific Ocean. We didn’t spend a lot of time there, but got to the beach, bought some seafood, and visited the cool Funk Zone for shopping and lunch. It definitely has the CA beach vibe. We also made a trip to the excellent Goleta Farmers Market. Like all of the CA Central Valley, the variety and quality of the produce is unmatched. It was worth every mile of the trip there from Cachuma Lake. Finally, we spent a memorable day in Solvang AKA “The Danish Capital of America”. Solvang was established in the early 1900’s by three Danish immigrants and was built with their native architectures and grew to reflect their culture. It later evolved into a tourist attraction to bring business into the area. Today, it’s a large village dominated by shops, bakeries, and restaurants that are all very Danish. It is really a unique and fun place to visit.
One footnote to our SB visit was another stop in Paso Robles. We had plans to go to Yosemite National Park when we left Santa Barbara. I misjudged the weather and the park was still snowed in, so we had to cancel. Paso was on the way to Morgan Hill and is one of our favorite places on the West Coast, so we stopped there for a few days. Naturally, we squeezed in a couple of wine tastings.
