Pat & I decided we'd need a couple days away after the holiday madness so as a Christmas present to ourselves we booked an airbnb in Santa Barbara right by the Urban Wine Trail.
We got a later start on Friday and then hit horrid traffic, so unfortunately it didn't start off very well. But when we finally did get up there we unloaded and hit the main area to wander around and have dinner.
The place we stayed at was a place that had 3 units all part of one. The story is very cute, it was 1st purchased by an artist and she and her husband ended up making it super cute. The kids inherited it followed by their kids and the 3 units are named after the main family - Papa Dux, Mama Dux and Baby Dux. We stayed in Baby which was very tiny but suitable since we were just there 2 nights.
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| The Dux bnb |
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| A cute little makeshift fireplace we utilized |
First up we landed at RiverBench. We had wandered over to find out where the restaurant was so we knew where to go when it was time for our reservation. This place was right near it so we thought let's do it! Glad we did! Had a lovely tasting with a gentleman there who was very knowledgable about wine. We ended up buying a bottle of red!
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| 1st drink of the mini getaway |
We then hit up
Fess Parker. Didn't have as great of a time there, but Pat did a tasting and I had a glass of bubbly to kill time until dinner.
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| I love that he's getting into wine |
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| Didn't buy any here, but cute display! |
Tried to find a geocache on the way back, but no luck dammit.
The next day we decided to drive into Los Olivos. That was kind of our original plan, but there was nothing available since we planned this so last minute. We had brunch at
Mattei's Tavern. Now this place was actually at an Inn. As we walked up, the back way by accident, we realized what a cute place and we'd love to come back here and stay sometime! We did fall in love with Los Olivos and definitely want to come back and stay here and really check out the area!
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| Huevos Rancheros |
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| This was called a Hangtown Fry - Egg Frittata, Fried Oysters, Arugula, Fresh Parm and Lemon Aioli. Was friggin delish!!! |
On a recommendation from Nancy we hit up
Refugio Ranch. This was my favorite winery stop the whole trip. The gal was super friendly and very knowledgeable about the wines. We sat in a comfy little nook and each did a tasting. She gave us a couple of extra pours then waved both our tasting fees since we bought 3 bottles! It was truly a great experience and we'll def be back!
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| The gal brought us the same bottles a couple of times but different years so we could taste the difference. It was so cool and I love when these wine folks do that! Your really can taste and appreciate the subtle differences. Pat is tasting a 2020 and a 2021 Syrah |
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| We'll for sure be back! |
We then headed over to
Stolpman Winery - another rec by Nancy. This was in the little town area, so after tasting we wandered a bit and finally found a geocache!
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| Nancy asked us to pick her up some wine! |
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| My 1st geocache! |
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| Happily Wine Tasting About |
After this we headed back to our bnb to clean up and head out again. This time we drove over to another part of Santa Barbara - the Arts District - to dine at
Milk and Honey - a tapas place that sounded delightful and it was! Before and after dinner we wandered the area which was really cool! Still decked out for Xmas and a lovely area for sure.
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| These interesting sculptures were everywhere. I kept thinking they were real people |
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| Got geocache #2! |
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| They sat us in these little nooks. Pretty tight squeeze. Glad we like each other! |
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| Bacon Wrapped Dates |
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| Potato Bravada. Only bummer were they were a bit too spicy for me |
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| This was insane - A Black Mole Confit Slider. Amaze-Balls |
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| Shrimp Flautas |
Then we headed back full and happy!
The next morning we had a quick breakfast and headed out.
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| Perfect for us early birds |
As usual I always only wish it were longer! It was a much needed getaway to just eat, drink and enjoy each other.
