Central Coast wine country
The Central Coast wine country stretches from Monterey County through the Santa Barbara area. Some even consider Ventura as part of the Central Coast wine country. The vineyard acreage is huge, and many of the grapes are shipped to other wine regions of California. The most famous regions of the Central Coast wine country are Paso Robles and Santa Barbara. This is the hot bed for new wineries and winemakers to set up shop. This coming week, we will be heading down Highway 101 to visit wineries in the Paso Robles and the Santa Barbara area. We travel once a year to this vast wine region, and there are always wineries, restaurants, and artisan shops that are new since our last visit. Paso Robles has more than 200 wineries, and just recently the area was divided into nine different wine appellations. Wineries are on both sides of 101, stretching east to hills and west to the Pacific Ocean. One can only imagine the large difference in climate and soil from the east to the west. Santa Barbara is divided into five wine appellations. On the Pacific Ocean side of 101 in Santa Barbara, Pinot Noir is the top-producing grape. On the eastern side of Highway 101, we find more Rhone-style wines like Syrah, Viognier, Rousanne, and Marsanne.
Central Coast wine country details
- Paso Robles Wine Trails
- Santa Barbara Wine Trails
- Use the Trip Planner for finding Central Coast Wineries