Do you feel like you’re sweating this summer away? Beat the heat and escape to the coast for some cool ocean weather! It’s not a true visit to the Central Coast without some incredible local wine. There are so many phenomenal wine regions here like Paso Robles, Enda Valley, Santa Ynez, and more. It would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to try some of them! Luckily, when you’re visiting Santa Barbara, you don’t have to compromise between beach weather and excellent wine. Here are 4 superb wine tasting rooms that are all within walking distance to the beach in downtown Santa Barbara. So you can beach and wine like a pro in Santa Barbara!
First, let’s talk a little bit about what you can expect when you visit Santa Barbara. The average temperature in the summer months is a refreshing 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Making it a haven if you’re currently experiencing high 90 to 100+ degree weather where you live. That’s not all though! Santa Barbara offers dozens of restaurants, all within walking distance from the beach, all of which serve up a wide assortment of food from Mediterranian to classic American to Mexican to Italian and more. There’s something for even the pickiest person if you’re traveling in a group. Not to mention all of the craft breweries and fun local bars nestled along the coast side. In this article, we’re just covering wineries, but if you click here, you can check out our blog out other tasting rooms/bars in the city. If you’re looking to stay the night in the city, we recommend booking your stay early! Rooms on the coast, much like our wine tour transportation, fill up fast during the summer. (For information on hotels nearby in Santa Ynez, click here.) Now, let’s dive into 4 wine-tasting tasting rooms within walking distance of the beach in Santa Barbara.
1. Deep Sea Tasting Room
The Deep Sea Tasting Room has front row seats to the most spectacular sunsets in Santa Barbara! You can’t get much closer to the beach and ocean than you can at this wine stop. Enjoy their signature tasting flight, a glass of wine, or share a bottle with friends and soak up this amazing view! Are you a red wine enthusiast? They have an entire red wine tasting just for you that you won’t want to miss.
Their wines are crafted in small batches. This allows them to use artisan winemaking techniques that enhance fruit character but are not feasible in large-scale production. They also hand-harvest their grapes during the night or at dawn because the temperature is coolest then. This keeps the grapes cool, prevents spoilage, and improves fermentation quality. To enhance the flavor, they use the technique of “cold-soaking” (cold maceration) for a few days before the grapes are transferred to a fermentation tank. From there, in order to preserve more of the local character and unique flavor of the terroir, they often choose to ferment with indigenous wild yeasts. All of their red wines and some of their whites are aged in oak. They use mostly French oak barrels (très cher) and the occasional American oak, with varying degrees of barrel toasting.
We recommend bringing a jacket, once the sun sets or if it’s a particularly windy day you’ll want something warm. You’ll also want to make sure you have your camera (or phone) ready if you come around sunset. The golden hour is the perfect time to capture some breathtaking shots.
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