Posts in category: Santa Barbara

We started the morning in Hermosa Beach, CA and drove up the coast in a neon orange Jeep Wrangler convertible. We stopped along the way at Blue Bottle Coffee in Venice, CA, made a pit stop at the Santa Monica Pier and stopped for lunch at the cutest Thai spot along the coast in Malibu.

Next we stopped in Malibu at AJA Vineyards. This winery has the most stunning views and delicious coastal Syrah. And even views of The Bachelor Mansion!! Visits are by appointment only, but definitely worth a stop!!

After, we made our way to the cute little town of Solvang!

We stayed at the cutest Airbnb overlooking downtown Solvang! The perfect spot-walkable to all the little shops, restaurants and tasting rooms. Check it out here!

For dinner, we walked to First and Oak , a Michelin plated restaurant with the most delicious prix fixe menu.

The next morning, our driver from @destinationdriverSB (https://destinationdrivers.com/) picked us up at our Airbnb. Im a strong believer in hiring a driver! It guarantees fun and safety! These guys are great because they drive your car for the day! They are also very knowledgeable about the area!

Our first stop was McKinney Family Vineyards. (They are also by appointment only. ) this stop was so educational, I learned about different methods of vine training, cover crops, soil types, and how climate effects the grapes. We even got to feed the adorable goats! But the best part was their wines! Pure expression of terrior and quality! Absolutely stunning wines! Highly recommend a visit here!

After an incredible first stop, we had time to spare so we headed to downtown Los Olivos to visit Dragonette Cellars tasting room. These wines are out of this world! From some of the top vineyard sites in Santa Barbara such as Radian, Rita’s Crown and Fiddlesticks. So fascinating learning about the different soil types including the famous Santa Barbara diatomaceous earth.

Next, we stopped for lunch for delicious sandwiches at Panino down the street.

With full bellies, we made our way to Melville Winery for a private tour and tasting.

Melville has extraordinary vineyards with special diatomaceous earth soil. It’s feels spongy on your feet!

They took us into the library room where we tried their new traditional method Blanc de Noir and Blanc de Blanc, Syrah and outstanding Pinot Noir. They even “coravinned” (yes that’s a verb now) a 2009 for us! Still tasted bright and youthful! These wines will age! Overall, we had a lovely experience at Melville winery. You can book this exact experience here.

To wrap up the day, we went back to downtown Los Olivos to visit the tasting rooms at Coquelicot and Liquid Farm. Coquelicot (same owner of the restaurant First and Oak) focuses on organic wines. Loved their rosé of Sangiovese!

And Liquid Farm not only had the most adorable tasting room, their pinots are out of this world!!

Overall, we had the most amazing weekend visiting Malibu Coast, Solvang and Santa Barbara wine country!! There is so much more to see and taste in this area! Comment below on where we should visit next!! Cheers!!
-Cas