Warehouses, art, and an urban wine trail

The Funk Zone is the un-wine-country way to taste Santa Barbara. A few square blocks of old fish-packing warehouses and auto shops wedged between the beach and the railroad tracks, it filled up first with artists and surfers, then with winemakers who wanted a tasting room near the water without the long drive out to the valley. Today it anchors the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail, where you can walk from one converted warehouse to the next with a glass in hand, murals overhead and the ocean a block away. The wines poured here are grown out in the county’s valleys, but the scene is pure city: loud, creative, and easy.

Eat by the water

The Funk Zone eats as well as it drinks. The Lark, set in a former fish market, helped define the neighborhood with shared plates built on Central Coast farms and boats, and Lure Fish House nearby keeps it simple with the day’s local catch. A block away the harbor lands sweet Santa Barbara spot prawns and uni so fresh it barely needs a thing. Pour the local Chardonnay or a coastal Pinot Noir next to grilled fish or a plate of oysters, and the wine’s bright acidity does the work of a squeeze of lemon, cutting the brine and resetting the palate. This is beach wine in the best sense.