Santa Barbara Pinot Noir appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir · Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara County's Sta. Rita Hills AVA produces some of California's most distinctive Pinot Noir: cool-climate, high-acid, with red fruit, earth, and a savouriness shaped by marine fog channelled through the transverse mountain range. The Funk Zone's 20-plus tasting rooms bring the county's six AVAs into the city, making Pinot Noir by the glass the default drink of the Funk Zone evening.
The Santa Maria Valley became Santa Barbara County's first American Viticultural Area in 1981, the second designated in all of California. The Sta. Rita Hills AVA followed in 2001, bringing the most critically acclaimed sub-region into focus. Commercial wine production in Santa Barbara County grew through the 1970s and 1980s led by Sanford and Benedict Vineyard and later Brewer-Clifton, establishing the county's reputation for cool-climate varietals. The 2004 film Sideways brought widespread attention to the Pinot Noir here, and tourism to the wine trail has not receded.
Where to eat in Santa Barbara:
- The Valley Project
- Bouchon Santa Barbara