With a stunning diversity of microclimates, a thriving culinary scene and a small yet cosmopolitan seaside city as its cultural core, Santa Barbara County is a wine lover’s paradise.

There’s something about Santa Barbara right now that is really occupying its moment, staking claim to a confident space where good farming intersects with careful vinification as it taps into the oenological and cultural zeitgeist.

Bien Nacido, one of Santa Barbara County’s oldest and most distinguished vineyards, was recognized by two national publications earlier this year.

A great trick for buying the best bottles of California wine? Memorizing the names of top vineyards so you can spot them on labels.

Our favorite Syrahs from familiar regions in California and Australia and less-expected locales in Idaho and beyond. Syrah has the potential to be grown and crafted in as wide a range of styles as any grape variety in the world.

An informal Grand Cru is emerging in California, and it is at once as dead-serious and casual as the ambition and culture that defines the Golden State's mysterious and magnetic modus operandi.

Santa Barbara County Syrahs are some of the most expressive and nuanced in California. From the 'Syrah capital' of Ballard Canyon to cool-climate Santa Maria Valley and saline examples from Sta Rita Hills, Matthew Luczy picks out some must-try wines.

Matthew Luczy charts the rise of this ‘regal yet humble’ grape variety in California, including the change of style from the early days of the Rhône Rangers. And from a tasting of 82 wines he reveals the top 14 to try.

There is one vineyard that stands out—way out—when it comes to single vineyard designated wines: Bien Nacido. This spot is the source for 15,000 single vineyard designated wine releases over the course of its 43 year history.

It is often said that great wine begins in the vineyard, and with many of the world’s most storied wines, that is unequivocally true. Yes, viticulture can be confounding, but it’s the all-important factor that truly makes great wine.

Produced from fruit grown on the historic own-rooted vineyard of Bien Nacido Vineyard, planted in 1973, this mineral-driven Santa Maria Valley chardonnay is a stellar cellar selection that will gracefully develop over the next 10 years.

Even if you’ve never tried any of the wines created by Bien Nacido Estate, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve tasted something that hails from the winery’s vineyard in California’s Santa Maria Valley. That’s because Bien Nacido – one of the first vineyards ever established the Santa Barbara area – has lent its signature grapes to countless other producers in California and beyond over the past five decades, deeply rooting its influence on the world of wine.

Matthew Luczy takes you through the Santa Maria Valley - the first region in Santa Barbara County to receive AVA status - and picks some of its top wines.