Santa Barbara County encompasses some of the most fabled wine country in California—indeed, the world! The unusual west-east orientation of this coastline and its interior valleys, and the diverse topographic spread, make for a one-of-a-kind blend of microclimates that translates to a unique viticultural picture and some utterly top-quality vino.
With a boutique room or suite at Mar Monte Hotel on Santa Barbara’s Cabrillo Boulevard, you lay claim to the perfect perch for exploring the vineyards and tasting rooms of the American Riviera’s stunningly beautiful backyard!
The Wine Country of Santa Barbara County
The winelands of Santa Barbara County—at the broadest scale, part of the Central Coast AVA (American Viticultural Area) stretching north to San Francisco Bay—got a major boost in profile in 2004, when they served as the setting for the hit film Sideways. Foothills and rugged mountains frame the Santa Ynez and other valleys here, which open westward to the Pacific. Shuttled inland along these transverse valleys, the ocean’s cool breezes and fog provide a tempering maritime influence and, in combination with the varied terrain and soils, help establish the striking patchwork of grape-growing microclimates.
Santa Barbara County is best known for its cool-climate wines, including Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which flourish in strongly marine-influenced zones. But there are also hotter interior reaches here producing fine Zinfandel and Bordeaux grapes. All told, more than 65 different wine varietals are grown across 200-plus regional vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Maria Valley, Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, and Happy Canyon AVAs.
Enjoying Santa Barbara Wines on a Mar Monte Hotel Getaway
From urban tasting rooms and stacked restaurant cellars here in town to welcoming wineries in the gorgeous, vineyard-quilted countryside across the Santa Ynez Mountains, you’re spoiled for choices when it comes to appreciating the knockout wines of Santa Barbara County. Help orient yourself with this useful WineCountry.com guide.
Part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, Mar Monte Hotel provides an ideal home base for a Santa Barbara County wine safari. Indeed, you don’t even need to leave our hotel to sip the good stuff, given the impressive wine lists we offer at our costa Kitchen & Bar and Café Lido.
Come join us for top-shelf hospitality and epicurean pleasures at Hyatt Mar Monte, and get to know firsthand the tremendous caliber of our local wine country here in the American Riviera!
