{"id":8477,"date":"2021-08-13T16:01:30","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T21:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecorkscrewconcierge.com\/?p=8477"},"modified":"2021-08-20T11:32:15","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T16:32:15","slug":"exploring-santa-barbara-wine-country-part-1-santa-barbara-solvang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecorkscrewconcierge.com\/2021\/08\/exploring-santa-barbara-wine-country-part-1-santa-barbara-solvang\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Santa Barbara Wine Country – Part 1 (Santa Barbara & Solvang)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was late to the party, but I finally made it. To Santa Barbara Wine Country that is. These days, very few exciting things happen in the world of tax law in my office. It\u2019s not that we\u2019re not doing work (just the opposite). It\u2019s just that it doesn\u2019t excite me like it used to. Yes, tax law actually used to excite me. But after 20+ years, it\u2019s gotten a bit old. Of course, I\u2019ve also found something that interests me more, though it doesn\u2019t pay nearly as well. But I do get to have some great wine conversations in the office. And it was one of those conversations that got me intrigued about Santa Barbara Wine Country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I\u2019ve studied a good bit of wine, Santa Barbara wine just doesn\u2019t come up with any degree of regularity or detail to have made me appreciate it. So when one of my work colleagues went on and on about the wines of the region, I made a mental note but still didn’t really get it. But a timely visit by some of the region\u2019s winemakers<\/strong><\/a> to Houston for a trade event started to put things in perspective. In a nutshell, I was amazed by the wines. I was also intrigued at the cool climate growing conditions (the geeky part). After that, it didn’t take long for me to plan a trip out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Enjoying Solvang<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Logistics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And so it was that we flew from Houston to Los Angeles to get a closer look at the region. It was literally the third time that Thing 1 and Thing 2 were away during the summer and we hadn\u2019t taken advantage and gone anywhere! So I figured this was as good a time as any. While Solvang was to be our base during our stay, I\u2019d heard that the city of Santa Barbara was worth a pit stop, not to mention that the hour and half drive up there along the Pacific Coast Highway is absolutely beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having not really toured L.A. much (save for a short stint visiting family years ago), I loved seeing places I\u2019d just only heard about like Santa Monica with its iconic pier, the beautiful beaches, as well as the very tony Malibu. We gawked at the peeks of multi-million dollar houses we were able to get glimpses of and pulled off at various vista points to better appreciate the region\u2019s beauty. Before long, we found ourselves heading into Santa Barbara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon driving into town, parking the car (which was a total PITA!) and stepping foot outside the car, I instantly wished I\u2019d planned more time there. I absolutely loved the laid-back, yet upscale vibe of the city with all its Spanish influence. It\u2019s definitely a place I\u2019d like to return to explore more. We spent several hours browsing the shops beginning with the pedestrian-friendly Historic State Street Plaza in downtown working our way towards the beach. I had a few wineries I wanted to visit (of course) so we just worked those in as we went. Occasionally we had to backtrack or go out of our way, but there was always beautiful scenery in every direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n