Santa Barbara’s World of Pinot Noir

The 3-day World of Pinot Noir is a wine-fueled weekend held in February at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara, celebrating delicious and storied wine. Attendees include wine aficionados, sommeliers, winemakers, and those who just love a culinary explosion of vino and bites.

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A Thursday evening Opening Night Party kicks off live music and endless stations of West Coast Pinot, with surprising finds from other U.S. regions. Guests can participate in a White Burgundy Seminar, Global Blind Taste Challenge or specialty winemaker lunches and dinners that showcase the beloved grape. On Friday and Saturday, a VIP Grand Tasting brings wine lovers to the beautiful grounds all afternoon.

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The venue’s Bubble Lounge welcomes guests with an array of fine sparkling wines and caviar. Bacara’s exciting food stations abound, including a make-your-own cannoli, create-your-own poke bowl, and dazzle-your-own rum-glazed donut with ice cream and toppings. Central Coast Creamery cheeses, wood-fired pizzas, seafood, and handmade pasta are available to pair with wine too. One thing is certain, California produces exceptional Pinot Noir, ranging from lean, Burgundian-style to richer, fruit-forward varieties.”

Final Girl Wines, Solvang’s Slasher Tasting Room

Could you ever dream up a spooky wine tasting room, where bottles showcase film scenes of girls who survived slasher movies? Where ghoulish artifacts abound and moving glowing faces pop from the fireplace as bold expressive wines, from Sauvignon Blanc to an orange “Skin Contact” white blend, are poured. Surely a Goth-like educational vino experience to remember

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Brecon Estate’s Chic Paso Robles Property

More than 40 grape varieties ripen to perfection in the Adelaide sub district of Paso, where the Brecon Estate is named after a national park in South Wales, and where the couple who began the boutique winery met, exploring their love of caves. Here, in this land of warm days and cool nights in the rolling westside hills, absorb the tranquil setting on the patio of this stylish modern architecturally stunning property, with a tasting flight of the oldest Cabernet vines on the Central Coast. Brecon Estate’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are recognized as part of the Historic Vineyard Society. The 2022 Budgie Smuggler, a four-red blend with just 374 cases produced, was especially tantalizing for our taste buds.

Napa Valley’s Vine Trail Bike Path Starting in Calistoga

From Dr. Wilkinson’s Backyard Resort and Mineral Springs, complimentary bikes make it easy to peruse the town of Calistoga. Journey down the street from the hotel, along the Vine Trail bike path, to be captivated by the heart of wine country. Just a short spin ahead, arrive at Sterling Vineyards, where a gondola ride brings guests to wine tasting around the white stucco wannabe Mykonos structure with a view 300 feet above the town and panoramic views of Napa Valley.

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Chateau Montelena, Where the Wine Put Napa on the Map

Carved into the hillside, this 100+ year old French chateau, Chateau Montelena, spirals up, dripping in ivy and flanked by Chinese gardens, a Jade Lake, and “Parking for Irish Only,” as these elements tell the unique history of three different owners over the past century. This vineyard put Napa on the map during a blind wine tasting in 1973. Known for crafting age-worthy Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, this vineyard invites guests to learn the stories behind each vintage with a wine tasting at this “Judgment of Paris” white wine winner.

A Bacon and Wine Pairing at Priest Ranch in Yountville

In the idyllic culinary town of Yountville in Napa Valley, determine your favorite red varietals at Priest Ranch’s Bacon and Wine Pairing, with four reds from their 1,700-acre estate, 20 minutes away. Here, the fats soften the tannins, enhancing the wine. Discover your favorite pairing, such as the 2022 Priest Ranch Cab with Pear Mostarda and Bacon.

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Anderson Valley’s Disco Ranch and Laidback Tasting Rooms

This relaxed wine paradise produces some of the finest small-production wines, most notably Pinot Noirs and traditional-method sparkling wines. Spiral through the Anderson Valley, where time stands still, in a good way. Visit bucolic Goldeneye, where female winemaker Katey Larwood showcases a reserve tasting of Pinot Noir and Gewürztraminer.

Be surprised at Brashley Vineyards tasting room, with an amazing dry Riesling (with Finger Lakes grapes) and a mind-blowing White Pinot Noir, thanks to winemaker Ashley Holland. She also produces incredible wines under her own Read Holland brand, such as the 2021 Deep End Pinot Noir and Peter Martin Ray Chardonnay (Santa Cruz Mountains), which were named Top 50 Wines in the U.S. by Decanter.

In the heart of this cool-climate rural wine region, discover more wines at the Disco Ranch, a rustic wine bar and specialty food market with a friendly patio. Female winemaker Shalini Sekhar showcased her Ottavino wines, luring us with her St. Laurent varietal from Los Carneros AVA.

Arrive for Anderson Valley’s White Wine Festival in February, Pinot Fest in May or harvest in the fall. Create your own wine tasting tour any time of year, as the charm of this redwood vineyard landscape in NorCal is part of the allure. This is California at its best! Sip wines like speed dating at Husch, Lussier and Foursight. Try a Gewurztraminer from Lula, rustic bubbles from Fathers and Daughters, Sauvignon Blanc from Topaz and White Riesling from Navarro.