Move over Napa – it’s all about Santa Barbara

Forget the famed vineyards of Napa Valley; any wine buff in the know will tell you that lesser-known Santa Barbara is the jewel in California’s viticultural crown.

Officially dubbed the ‘American Riviera’ by the tourist board (and local resident Meghan Markle), Santa Barbara is a welcome retreat from the chaos of LA, just a couple of hours’ drive north on Highway 101. In addition to its surfy vibes, 300 days of sunshine a year and rich cultural heritage, the region was voted the world’s top wine country by Wine Enthusiast magazine in 2021.

Throw in the recent 20th anniversary of cult movie Sideways – which put the area’s pinot noir firmly on the winemaking map – and a visit was long overdue.

Landing at Santa Barbara’s dinky regional airport via an Alaska Airlines flight was an unexpected delight, with the city’s Spanish colonial legacy instantly visible in its white stucco walls and red tiled roof. The Spaniards first arrived here in the 18th century, but while an earthquake reduced much of the city to rubble in 1925, a painstaking rebuild followed low-rise Mediterranean aesthetics to ensure a Moorish-style charm.

Finding our feet on day one, we boarded the original Santa Barbara Trolley Bus for a 90-minute tour of sights such as the old county courthouse and Santa Barbara Mission dating from 1786, plus the sweeping sands of Butterfly Beach a little further along the coast.

The Old Mission Santa Barbara. (Photo: Jay Sinclair via Visit Santa Barbara)[Missing Credit]

Bordering on the chichi resort of Montecito, this is where the likes of Prince Harry and Meghan, Gwyneth Paltrow and Oprah Winfrey have homes, high up in the green hills. A glimpse of the busy working harbour during the tour left us wanting to know more about the city’s seafaring history, so after pick-me-up Reuben sandwiches from Joe’s Café, the oldest joint in town, we hired a four-wheeler from Wheel Fun Rentals and pedalled out to the Maritime Museum. Inside there are plenty of interactive exhibits for all ages, including the chance to (virtually) steer a ship through the notoriously choppy Santa Barbara straits.

Elsewhere, we enjoyed a leisurely stroll along State Street, which serves as downtown Santa Barbara’s beating heart. With a nine-block pedestrianised zone dotted with palm trees and lined with shops, cafés and bars, it resembles an authentic Spanish rambla. State Street is also home to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, which is small but worth a visit for works by Monet and Van Gogh.

State Street Promenade, Santa Barbara. (Photo: Blake Bronstad via Visit Santa Barbara)[Missing Credit]

With the autumnal sun already setting, it finally felt like an acceptable hour to plunder the pinot. We made our way to the ‘Funk Zone,’ a vibrant quarter crammed with galleries, indie boutiques and restaurants, as well as a collection of tasting rooms showcasing local wines.

Having been urged to check out the rustic Santa Barbara Wine Collective, we duly pulled up a couple of barstools and got stuck in. As a collective, its wines are sourced from a range of vineyards in the surrounding valleys, including Santa Ynez, Los Olivos and Los Alamos, and we savoured every drop of our friendly bartender’s recommendations, including a red fruit-laden Dragonette pinot from the Santa Rita Hills.

Santa Barbara Wine Collective. (Photo: Rob Stark via Visit Santa Barbara)[Missing Credit]

As is customary in California, dinner is eaten early in Santa Barbara, so we struck out for The Lark just around the corner. Named after one of the overnight trains that once rattled up and down the Southern Pacific Railroad, it was nearly full at 6pm, and we quickly realised why.

Executive Chef Jason Paluska’s menu spans farm, ocean and ranch, and nibbles of brown butter cornbread and ginger and coriander popcorn stoked the appetite nicely. For our mains, we opted for a just-seared tuna risotto and tender confit lamb belly with pomegranate. Happily fed, we finished with a zesty passionfruit lime leaf sorbet and ambled slowly along East Beach to our base at the Mar Monte Hotel, part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection. 

With whitewashed walls and red tiles that complement the city’s ubiquitous Spanish styling, the relaxed hotel sits just one street back from the sandy beach. An enormous, comfy bed made for blissfully uninterrupted sleep, and while sipping tea on the balcony next morning we gazed out to sea and marvelled at the cloudless October sky.

The next stop on our journey was Los Alamos, deep into wine country.

Skyview Motel, Los Alamos, California. (Photo: Skyview)Sydney Brown / @sydneyrbrown

An hour away by car, we checked into the fabulously fun Skyview Motel, perched above the tiny ranch town. It started life as a classic roadside joint, and though retaining much of its retro charm, all 33 rooms have been given a luxury refurb. The owners’ commitment to boutique chic is reflected through neutral colour palettes, dreamy beds and curated minibars, while the best rooms have indoor fireplaces and private patios.

With temperatures often nudging 80 degrees by day, a dip in the restored 1950s pool is a must, but equally welcome are the blazing communal firepits at night, when the thermometer can plummet close to freezing.

On-site restaurant Norman’s – a playful nod to the infamous Bates Motel – serves up hearty dishes as well as a decent house rosé made with grapes plucked from the adjacent slopes.

Skyview, Los Alamos. (Photo: Skyview)[Missing Credit]

There are plenty of other dining options a 10-minute stroll away in Los Alamos itself, including Pico, a former general store dating from the 1880s. Its generous plates are made for sharing, and the avocado crudo with spiced tuna tartare and roast beet salad both zinged with flavour. Pico also showcases the excellent Lumen Wines, with a pinot from the Santa Maria Valley proving to be a luscious, jammy winner.

There is compelling evidence behind Santa Barbara’s status as a wine wonder, which thanks to my husband recently acquiring his sommelier-grade WSET qualification, was keenly pointed out to me. In a nutshell, the topography of the region means its valleys run east to west (sideways, you see!), rather than north to south, allowing the cooling Pacific winds to temper the otherwise fiery climate.

As a result, its two most successful varietals, chardonnay and pinot noir, are continuing to grow in popularity and prestige. Our quest to pay homage to Sideways continued with a visit to the Hitching Post tasting room in Buellton, one of the film’s key locations.

The flagship Highliner pinot was readily guzzled by its central protagonists Miles and Jack, and was so silky smooth that we tried – and failed – to order a case to ship home. (A no-go for US customs, apparently). But before leaving, we dropped in at the Hitching Post 2 next door, where you can recreate another of the film’s scenes by bagging a stool at the cosy wooden bar.

Vineyard Santa Ynez. (Photo: Jay Sinclair via Visit Santa Barbara)[Missing Credit]

With just enough time for one last pitstop, a short detour took us to the brilliantly-named Lompoc Wine Ghetto, a jumble of more than 20 small-batch wineries and tasting rooms in an industrial warehouse complex. A tipoff led us to the Flying Goat Cellars, whose cherry-licious vintages brought our pinot pilgrimage to a fitting end.

Reflecting on our trip over a glass of distinctly average merlot on the long flight home, we decided that Santa Barbara will do just fine if it remains in the shadows of its well-trodden Napa neighbour. There’s only so much of the good stuff to go round, after all... L’chaim!

Rates at the Hyatt Mar Monte Hotel start at around £204, room only. Rates at Skyview Motel are from £170, room only.

For more information see www.SantaBarbaraCA.com.