| Santa Barbara, located about 90 miles north of Los | | | | Maria Valley. The sheer number of wineries presents |
| Angeles, has been called the most beautiful city on | | | | a conundrum for the visitor: Of all the many wineries |
| the California coast. One of the many attractions this | | | | to chose from, which ones should I visit? |
| picturesque beach town has to offer is the excellent | | | | To narrow things down a bit, Santa Ynez Valley is |
| wineries located in the adjacent Santa Ynez Valley, in | | | | the best of the four appellations for a wine tasting |
| the southern extreme of the Central Coast viticultural | | | | tour because it has the highest concentration of |
| region. | | | | wineries and is located the nearest to the city of |
| This is what the internationally acclaimed wine critic | | | | Santa Barbara--by far the nicest place to stay in the |
| Robert Parker predicted about the future of the the | | | | area. |
| Central Coast wine region in general, and Santa | | | | For a lot of people, the 2004 movie Sideways put |
| Barbara in particular, in a 2004 Food & Wine article: | | | | the Santa Ynez Valley on the map. There is even a |
| Look for wines from California's Central Coast (an | | | | literal "Sideways map," available online or from the |
| enormous region that runs from Contra Costa down | | | | local tourist information office, which guides you to all |
| to Santa Barbara) to take their place alongside the | | | | of the stops that Miles and Jack (the main |
| hallowed bottlings of Napa and Sonoma valleys. No | | | | characters) made on their mad road trip of wine |
| viticultural region in America has demonstrated as | | | | tasting and midlife angst. But, even though the |
| much progress in quality and potential for greatness | | | | Sideways locations made for great theater and |
| as the Central Coast, with its Rhone varietals, and | | | | cinematography, they are not necessarily the best |
| the Santa Barbara region, where the Burgundian | | | | places to sample great wines. |
| varietals Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are planted in its | | | | So, if you want to visit Santa Barbara to sample the |
| cooler climates. | | | | great wines the region has to offer, who should you |
| Robert Parker's prediction has come true; Central | | | | turn to for advice on which wineries provide the best |
| Coast wines, especially those of the Santa Barbara | | | | libations? The best person, of course, would be a |
| region, have steadily gained recognition and acclaim | | | | knowledgeable local. Fortunately for the reader, I |
| for their consistently high quality. But it is not only the | | | | happen to be well acquainted with just such an |
| quality of the wine that has been raised, there has | | | | individual. It just so happens that my father--for |
| also been a dramatic increase in the number of | | | | some years the president of the Santa Barbara Wine |
| wineries in the region. Santa Barbara County is now | | | | Society--has been sampling the regions wares and |
| home to over 100 wineries, in four federally | | | | visiting its wineries for the past 45 years, during |
| approved appellations: Santa Ynez Valley, Sta. Rita | | | | which the local wine industry grew from insignificance |
| Hills, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, and Santa | | | | to being the major player it is today. |