Wine Tasting in Solvang

Tucked amongst the Danish charm and red tile roofed fachbau, Solvang has an outstanding wine selection to please any palate. Numerous tasting rooms, each with their own unique offerings, are all within easy walk of one another, with no shortage of delights in between wine stops. If you are not staying at one of the numerous hotels, public parking is easy to access, and free. 

The city of Solvang has created a quick guide to wineries in the city, which can help spark your interests. Wine makers from across the county are represented here, giving wine lovers easy access to everything Santa Barbara county has to offer. I personally recommend Lucas & Lewellen a historic and well respected vintner and wine maker. They offer a full range of white and red wine, giving everyone something to fall in love with. Alma Rosa offers wonderful Pinots from the Santa Rita Hills AVA, one of the most exclusive and desired grape growing regions in the state. They have numerous Pinot Noir offerings, Rosé de Noir, and a selection of white wines. Sevtap winery offers a very exclusive, very unique selection of wines that simply must be experienced. The winemaker sources only the most high quality grapes, and creates some of the best wine in town. For those seeking more than just wine, The Good Life Cellars is an absolute must. Wine, beer, cider, and more are all on offer and you are almost guaranteed to find a new favorite with each visit. Sitting either indoors or outdoors, Good Life is one of the often missed gems of Solvang, with a fun atmosphere that just invites having one more drink. 

Even with the offerings in town, alongside everything else Solvang has to offer like pastries, restaurants, and shops, the adventurous may want to visit some estate settings as well, and there are a number of outstanding destinations within a short drive of Solvang. Lincourt Vineyards offers a picturesque, peaceful, wonderful tasting experience on their estate, which is a short and scenic drive from downtown Solvang. Just across the road is Rideau Vineyard, an equally beautiful, and historic winery. Spend time in the sunshine, amongst the vines, or let these locations serve as a stop between Los Olivos, Foxen Canyon, or any of the other wine destinations the surround Solvang. 

For the sake of brevity, I have barely touched on the wine options available both in and around town. New tasting rooms are opening all the time, inviting return visits just as much as the desire to try everything already there. You just have to walk around, and discover it for yourself! 

Santa Barbara Pinot Noir

Arriving with Franciscan monks and planted around the Spanish missions, the ancient and famed Pinot Noir has established itself as one of California’s most important fine varietals. Over the years Santa Barbara County, and the Santa Ynez Valley in particular, has become world renowned for Pinot Noir at the highest levels, with that reputation only becoming more widely known and respected. Richard Sanford, of Sanford Winery, was the pioneer in establishing Pinot Noir’s reputation with the plantings in the Santa Rita Hills, now its own AVA. These vineyards were planted in the 1970s and coincide not only with the rise if Santa Barbara and California Pinot Noir, but with the grape’s re-emergence as a favorite among discerning drinkers. Often a staple of Santa Barbara wine tours and wine tastings, Pinot Noir is a wonderful wine that offers its own unique world of variety. 

    Santa Barbara County and the transverse mountain ranges are oriented east-west, instead of the usual north-south. This creates very different, very unique weather and temperature patterns, and a unique geology that fosters outstanding wine quality. In the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria valleys, the heavy influence of coast fog creates perfect microclimates for Pinot Noir to thrive, and create excellent wine. Particularly in the Santa Rita Hills AVA, every mile closer to the coastline brings the average temperate down by roughly a degree, which allows vineyards to be placed in specifically beneficial spots on the rocky, often steep hills. Intermixed with the oak and chaparral, Pinot Noir vineyards are able to take advantage of the steady temperatures, gentler sunshine and weather, and prolonged growth and fruit development season.

    In the Santa Maria Valley and particularly more inland towards the Sisquoc river, Pinot Noir has established a highly desirable profile based on warmer inland temperatures that still get influence from coastal fog, particularly during the spring and summer months. Famous wineries such as Au Bon Climat and Rancho Sisquoc have situated their vineyards to capture the most desirable elements and influences, resulting in both wines and grapes that are complex and highly sought after. Even further east, in the Santa Ynez Valley, Pinot Noir enjoys the warm and mild seasons atop the dried clay, sandstone, and limestone, with no shortage of diverse offerings as you travel between areas. Foxen Canyon is a scenic route with numerous tasting rooms and vineyards, and connects Los Olivos and the Santa Ynez Valley to the Sisquoc river valley to the north. Wineries such as Kalyra, Foxen Canyon, Riverbench, Rancho Sisquoc, and many more produce award winning, highly sought after Pinot Noir, thanks to the skill of their winemaking as well as the confluence of conditions the region offers.     

    Pinot Noir’s fame and desirable flavors are shaped by the grape’s specific traits and needs, as well as its difficulty to grow. Pinot does well in fertile soil, but the best wines come from less fertile areas that are either limestone or clay. Overly fertile soil has a tendency to produce more alcohol, which is undesirable as it ruins the delicate flavors. Additionally, the skins on the grapes is very thin, which creates a number of issues in growing the grape. Sunburn and late season cold are both equal threats, and the grape prefers a long, slower growing season. This is where the unique geography, terrain, and terroir of the Santa Barbara region comes into play at an advantage for outstanding Pinot.