Best things to do in Santa Barbara: Itinerary for wine lovers

Santa Barbara is such a charming town with a blend of Spanish colonial influence and coastal California vibe. It’s also a great destination for wine lovers with several wine regions near by and multiple tasting rooms in downtown. I recently spent two days in Santa Barbara to explore the wine and food scene and here are some of things I recommend adding to your itinerary if you are planning a trip there!

Sterns Wharf Pier

Walk the historical pier and enjoy the view. Perfect to grab a snack or drinks.

  • Santa Barbara Shellfish Company

  • The Oyster Bar

  • Moby Dick Restaurant

Visit wineries in Lompoc or Santa Ynez

Lompoc and Santa Ynez are two main towns with wineries and only 40-50minutes drive away.

  • Santa Ynez: Sunstone, Liquid Farm, Lincourt

  • Lompoc: Tyler, Sandhi/Domaine de la Cote, Hilt, Ampelos, Sanford, Chanin

Read more about some of the wineries here.

Wine tasting in downtown

If you can’t drive out to Lompoc or Santa Ynez, there are still tons of wine tasting options in downtown.

  • Santa Barbara Wine Collective

  • Whitcraft Winery

  • Melville Winery

  • Potek Winery

Eat all the food

Santa Barbara is home of sweet Santa Barbara Uni and also has tons of great food options from tacos, seafood, and wine friendly cuisines like Spanish tapas, French, and Italian. Check out these top restaurants for great food and wine.

  • The Lark

  • Lilly's Taqueria

  • Tondi Gelato (this is a Gelato place but one of the bests I’ve had outside of Italy)

  • Bouchon

  • Loquita

Best Wineries to visit near Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara’s wine country might not as big as Napa or Sonoma but offers a unique coastal terroir that produces cool-climate wines. Especially fun for Pinot and Chardonnay lovers! I enjoyed my visit at these two wineries:

Tyler Winery's Mae Estate

Winery started with a passion for Burgundian varietals, they focus on Pinots and Chardonnays from their mae estate vineyards and single vineyard wines from other popular vineyards in the area like Sanford & Benedict and La Rinconada,

Tasting fee: $50

Variety: Pinot, Chardonnay, Rosé, Sparkling wine, Cabernet Sauvignon

Sandhi & Domaine de la cote

Founded by Sommelier Rajat Parr, they focus on low-intervention winemaking with most of their Pinots made with whole cluster fermentation (fermenting the grapes with stems). Tasting room is located in downtown Lompoc but their vineyard is located nearby.

Tasting fee: $50

Variety: Pinot, Chardonnay, Syrah, Sparkling wine (traditional method)

Other wineries

I wasn’t able to visit these wineries due to limited time but have heard good things about their wines if you are looking for cool climate Pinots and Chardonnays.