Santa Barbara County Notables
Source: http://www.sbcountywines.com/SBC/history.html
Winegrowing in Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County has
a history of winemaking and winegrape growing stretching back
more than 200 years to before California was a state. From the
Mission Era of early California through the Ranchero and Pueblo
Era, struggling through Prohibition to the beginning of the
modern era of viniculuture that started in the 60's, Santa
Barbara County continues to combine traditional, hand-made
techniques, with the latest cutting-edge innovations in
grape-growing and winemaking.
Father Junipero Serra brought grapevine cuttings from Mexico in
1782 to be planted in the fertile bottoms of Sycamore Creek (in
what is now known as the Milpas district of Santa Barbara). The
largest mission vineyard, about 25 acres, was located in the San
Jose Creek area, and an adobe winery, built nearby in 1804, is
now Goleta's oldest landmark. In 1884, Justinian Caire imported
grape slips from France and planted a 150-acre vineyard on Santa
Cruz Island. His prize-winning wines were shipped to San
Francisco for bottling. A grapevine planted in 1842 on a farm in
Carpinteria grew to monstrous proportions. In fifty years, it had
a trunk measuring nine feet around, an arbor covering two acres
and an annual yield of ten tons of grapes!
The wine industry has enjoyed a renaissance in Santa Barbara
County in the last 25 years. Early studies by researchers from
U.C. Davis found that Santa Barbara County was cooler than most
wine regions of Northern California and that it had an excellent
balance of geology, climate, soil and water, giving it great
potential as a viticultural area. The first modern vineyards were
planted in the Tepusquet area of the Santa Maria Valley in the
early 1960s. Shortly thereafter, vineyards were planted in
several parts of the Santa Ynez Valley.
There are now almost 100 wineries in Santa Barbara County,
located primarily in the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Maria Valley
and Sta Rita Hills appellations. Most of the wineries are small
businesses, run by individuals or families. The wine industry in
Santa Barbara County grew from virtually nothing in 1970 to a
$360 million business 32 years later. More than a million cases
of wine are produced annually.
The wines of this region have earned great respect among
knowledgeable wine drinkers and have won an impressive array of
medals in regional, national and international competitions. The
wines frequently receive overall sweepstakes, double golds and
platinums, and best-of-class awards, as well as excellent
reviews. Santa Barbara County is well-known for fine Chardonnay,
Pinot Noir and Syrah, as well as Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet
Sauvignon, Riesling and other varietals.
This page was last updated August 2, 2009.