A getaway to Mar Monte Hotel is just the ticket for any wine enthusiast.
After all, our boutique Hyatt Unbound Collection hotel, mere steps from the Santa Barbara beachfront, nestles guests in the heart of one of California’s most fabled—and unique—winemaking regions. And from our own on-site eateries and the many tasting rooms of Downtown Santa Barbara to beautifully situated wineries within easy-peasy day-tripping reach, you’ve got nearly limitless opportunities to explore the vino scene!
Santa Barbara County Wine
Viticulture has been a defying industry in Santa Barbara County for a long time, to put it mildly, with the first grapevines being cultivated regionally by the late 1700s.
Today, the region’s home to numerous American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) and sub-AVAs, including the Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Ynez Valley, Los Olivos District, Alisos Canyon, Santa Maria Valley, Ballard Canyon, and Happy Canyon.
Our region benefits from a highly distinctive terroir characterized by the unique climate and weather patterns established by the transverse orientation of the terrain, with the Santa Ynez and San Rafael mountains and adjoining valleys running east-west rather than the more typical north-south grain you see along much of the West Coast.
This topographic layout funnels cool, moist marine Pacific air well inland through the transverse valleys, with the maritime influence gradually weakening from west to east and diurnal weather patterns providing alternating swings between foggy and cool and sunny and warm. It all makes for a singular grape-growing environment, fostering cool-climate varietals well south along the California coast.
Touring Santa Barbara County Wineries on a Mar Monte Hotel Getaway
With so many AVAs and sub-AVAs, you’re really spoiled for choices when it comes to wineries within easy reach of your Mar Monte Hotel room or suite.
A few examples highlighting the diversity and tradition of Santa Barbara County viticulture include:
- Alma Rosa Winery (1623 Mission Dr, Ste M, Solvang, CA), which mainly produces small-batch wine on the north flank of the Santa Rosa Hills;
- Dierberg (1280 Drum Canyon Rd, Sta. Rita Hills, CA), a California Certified Sustainable vineyard known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay;
- Sanford Winery (5010 Santa Rosa Rd, Lompoc, CA), which lays claim to the oldest planted Pinot grapevines in the county; and
- Carr Vineyards & Winery (3563 Numancia St #101, Santa Ynez, CA), crafting a diversity of wines such as Pinot Gris, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and Grenache.
In-Town Wine Appreciation
When you’re not taking scenic drives to the Santa Ynez Valley and other winery-draped countryside, you can continue your explorations of Santa Barbara County wine right in town. Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Trail encompasses more than 20 tasting room within easy strolling distance of each other in the Downtown vicinity.
And you can also sip some wonderful grape in our very own wining and dining establishments here at Mar Monte Hotel: Costa Kitchen & Bar and Café Lido
Click here to view our upcoming Wine & Serenade event at Costa Bar and Lounge.
Join us at our boutique hotel near the American Riviera beachfront, and taste for yourself why Santa Barbara has such an illustrious reputation for wine!
