Bon Appetit Recommended: Santa Barbara & Los Olivos: California's Riviera, Food and Wine

Description

Be sure to read the Special Notes further down this page for important requirements and restriction.

What you will visit:

Stops on this tour were hand-selected by Bill Esparza, a James Beard award winner and leading expert on Latin American cuisine.

Santa Barbara
With the lush Santa Barbara Mountains on one side and the sparkling Pacific on the other, Santa Barbara is a precious jewel on California's Central Coast. With its golden-sand beaches, majestic mountains and rich culture, this premier resort destination offers big attractions and small-town flair.

Corazón Cocina
Creating a fiesta of flavors from all over Mexico, Chef Ramon Velasquez concocts inventive Mexican food that celebrates the diverse regions of his homeland. His iconic Santa Barbara eatery has a devoted following and perfectly blends a café atmosphere with street-style tacos influenced by the cuisine from Guadalajara, Oaxaca and Baja. Focusing on seasonal ingredients like farm-to-market vegetables and sustainable fish and meats, every dish is artfully prepared and tantalizingly tasty.
Saarloos Family Farm and Vineyard
Tucked away in the mountains near Santa Barbara, the fertile Santa Ynez Valley provides the ideal Mediterranean-style climate for growing grapes. Nestled in the hills of Los Olivos, the Saarloos family farm and vineyard is a family-owned farming operation where they farm and make their own wines. A "ground to glass" winery, it offers an exquisite collection of fine quality wines, each with a fascinating family history. They live by a refreshing family creed, honoring their family traditions in each bottle. With under 400 cases in total, the vineyard produces some truly rare varietals in batches as small as 40 cases. Pairings are unexpectedly sweet, with specialty cupcakes from Enjoy Cupcakes, one of the best bakeries Santa Barbara has to offer.

What you will see along the way:
Drive the coastal route from Santa Barbara to Santa Ynez Valley, then travel into wine country up winding roads dotted with quaint farmhouses and surrounded by lush hills and golden valleys.

Photo Opportunities:

Mission Santa Barbara
Founded in 1786, the magnificent Santa Barbara mission is as picture-perfect as it is historic. Capture the beauty of the "Queen of the Missions," set against a dramatic backdrop of rugged mountains.

Santa Barbara Courthouse
A Spanish-Moorish style building, the palatial Santa Barbara Courthouse has been heralded as one of the most beautiful government buildings in America.

Snack/Lunch:
Tuck into Chef Ramon Velasquez's street-style tacos plus shared appetizers, and at the Saarloos family farm and vineyard, sip a variety of wines paired with a homemade cupcake.