Tag: santa ynez valley

The stunning Santa Ynez Valley, about 125 miles north of Los Angeles, is a road tripper's dream with barely traveled rural routes leading from town, to village, to winery. Here are six roads you'll want to cruise down.

Alamo Pintado Road
The short drive from Los Olivos to Solvang has something for everyone, from a lavender farm and several wineries with tasting rooms to miniature horses to admire from the road and a playground. The charming hamlet of Ballard lies just off Alamo Pintado. For window shopping, wine tasting, and a meal, take a stroll through Solvang or—just a few miles east—downtown Santa Ynez.

Nestled under California pepper trees on a property that was once a dairy farm, Lincourt Vineyards retains the rural charm and simplicity of an earlier era. The winery was founded in 1996 by Bill Foley who was inspired by the winegrowing potential of the Santa Ynez Valley and the Sta. Rita Hills in particular, which has since become one of California’s premier cool-climate viticultural regions. Sta. Rita Hills is also one of the state’s smaller AVAs, with 99 percent of its territory falling within the larger Santa Ynez Valley.

Tucked away in the hills of Santa Ynez Valley, Pence Ranch is a small artisanal winery dedicated to producing world-class wines that highlight the unique complexity of Santa Barbara terroir.

Proprietor Blair Pence founded the winery out of his longtime passion for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, particularly those produced in Burgundy, France. He traveled there often to learn how the region’s renowned wines are created, and then began searching for a suitable site to cultivate cool climate grapes of his own. In 2004, he finally found the perfect property: a 200-acre ranch on the western edge of Santa Barbara County.

Sanger Family of Wines invites guests to fully savor the Mediterranean lifestyle as they discover three distinctive wine brands, all born on California’s Central Coast. In late 2013, Bill and Jan Sanger, proprietors of Marianello, welcomed Consilience and Tre Anelli into the Sanger Family of Wines—creating an exciting portfolio inspired by the wines of Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal. The releases from all three labels are under the direction of Winemaker Brett Escalera.

It’s a glorious descent from the Santa Ynez Mountain range in California into the long, fertile Santa Ynez Valley. For wine tourists coming from the city of Santa Barbara, the first vista view is so stunning, they often pull off the road to take it all in. The Santa Ynez Valley is Santa Barbara County’s largest AVA region covering 76,000 acres with more than 100 wineries and tasting rooms to discover.

It’s about as authentic Wild West as you’ll find these days, with lone cattle grazing on golden hills; silent, narrow country lanes; and farmers wearing cowboy hats in the fields.

The epitome of entrepreneurial spirit and family tradition, Firestone Vineyard was the first major estate winery founded in the Santa Ynez Valley. It was established in 1972 by Leonard and Brooks Firestone, the son and grandson of legendary tire innovator Harvey Firestone. Through the years, Firestone became a Santa Barbara County icon, producing a splendid portfolio of world class wines.

In 2007, when the family decided to sell the winery to focus on other family businesses, they turned to a friend and fellow Santa Ynez Valley winery owner, Vintner Bill Foley, to further the Firestone winemaking tradition.

Ten years ago, a small independent movie called "Sideways" was filmed in the Santa Ynez Valley and was released to rave reviews. The film, which tells the story of two old friends on a wine country getaway, garnered five Academy Award nominations and one win, for the adapted screenplay by writers Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor. It appeared on many "best" lists, launched or resurrected the careers of its actors, and had a measurable effect on the popularity of two wine varietals across the United States.