Fine wines at Christmastime: Holiday gift giving is easy when you live in wine country

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At the holidays, do you know who the most interesting person in the room is? It’s the person arriving with a bottle in hand. Whether you are looking for something to give that hard-to-shop-for person or bringing a token of appreciation for the party host, fine wine is always a gift of taste.

In Santa Barbara County wine choices are vast. There are three major wine regions in North County in which to taste—all produce world-class wine. 

In the Santa Maria Valley you’ll find pinot noir, chardonnay, and syrah, as well as an increasingly diverse number of other varieties. These wines benefit from the valley’s cool coastal climate aided by its transverse geography—west to east mountain ranges funnel cool marine breezes that wrap around the grapes, making conditions just right for pinot noir and chardonnay. 

There are more than a dozen wineries in the Santa Maria Valley, from Costa de Oro situated just off Highway 101, to CORE Winery and Nagy Wines in Orcutt to Cambria and Kenneth Volk to the east. Surprise your favorite oenophile with a wine tasting trip to three or four wineries and enjoy what’s becoming a favorite Santa Maria pastime. 

Or pick up a bottle or two as a last-minute gift for your favorite party host. Try a bottle of Kenneth Volk’s Santa Maria Cuvee or Cambria Winery’s Clone 23 pinot noir. 

If you travel east of Santa Maria on the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail, not only will you find some awe-inspiring scenery, you’ll eventually reach the Santa Ynez Valley wine region. 

But first you’ll need to schedule a stop at Demetria Winery. Perched atop a grand rolling hill, you’ll enjoy 360-degree views of the valley in its rugged naturalness. You have to schedule an appointment but you get your own table and server. Because of this, a wine tasting trip to Demetria is also an impressive gift. 

But the Santa Ynez Valley has more wine gifts to give. Because of the county’s unusual east/west orientation, temperatures rise about one degree per mile as you move inland from the coast. So the Santa Ynez Valley has a much warmer climate than the Santa Maria and Lompoc wine growing regions. 

This produces ideal conditions for wines like cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and merlot.

Be sure to make a stop at Kalyra Winery, The Brander Vineyard, or Carhartt Winery. 

While Santa Maria and Santa Ynez feature expansive wine tasting estates and upscale tasting boutiques, Lompoc keeps it real with a bare bones and funky wine tasting area. The Lompoc Wine Ghetto, as it’s referred to, is a collection of 19 tasting rooms housed in an industrial park. While many of the wineries produce several varieties, most specialize in pinot noir. And with good reason. Lompoc wineries get their grapes from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, which is renowned for its pinot noir. Cool maritime fog creates the perfect conditions for the persnickety grapes. 

Stop in for a taste at Moretti Wines or Pali Wine Company. Or pick up a bottle of Sta. Rita Hills Lambda pinot noir from Ampelos Cellars. For fans of the bubbly, Flying Goat Cellars offers up a Goat Bubbles blanc de blancs sparkling wine that you may want to pop open before the gift giving even begins.

Contact Editor Shelly Cone at scone@santamariasun.com. 

This article appears in Dec 10-17, 2015.