left: downtown Santa Barbara on a cloudier day.
I was recently in L.A. for my brother’s graduation and decided to make the most of my trip to Southern California by exploring a few wineries. It was a multi-generational female trip (not that the males weren’t invited but they were busy moving and we would’ve been in the way anyway… at least that’s what I tell myself).  We were pressed for time so we decided to make the approximately two hour drive to downtown Santa Barbara instead of heading further north to the vineyards in Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Rita Hills. 

Au Bon Climat (below) and Margerum Wine Company (right) were two tasting rooms we visited.

It is not quite the same ambiance tasting in a ‘concrete jungle’ as it is amongst rows upon endless rows of vines, but if the wine is good, that’s all that matters.  And the wine was good. 

This wine region has a few pockets of heat, however, like the Willamette Valley; there is a mostly cooler climate due to ocean breezes off the Pacific. I loved the cooler climate Syrah I encountered and was very pleasantly impressed with quite a few of the Pinot Noirs I tasted. 

True some of the Pinots tended to be a bit heavier and a bit bolder but they still showcased underlying earthiness and peppery spice, a trait I seek out.

It’s always good to get out of your own backyard and discover new wines and wineries when you have the chance. I, however, feel lucky that my backyard is the Willamette Valley and it feels good to be home.