Where the barbecue and the Pinot were both born

The Santa Maria Valley is where Santa Barbara wine and one of America’s great regional cuisines grew up together. This is one of the oldest American Viticultural Areas in the country, recognized in 1981, and its long east-west trough opens straight to the cold Pacific, funneling fog and wind across the vines. At its heart lies Bien Nacido Vineyard, planted in 1973 and now one of the most respected vineyards in California, its fruit bottled by dozens of celebrated producers. It was here that the late Jim Clendenen built Au Bon Climat and spent decades proving that California could make Burgundy-inspired Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of real grace.

Santa Maria style barbecue, the real thing

Santa Maria style barbecue is not a marketing phrase here. It is a genuine regional tradition, born on this valley’s cattle ranches in the 1800s and guarded today almost like an appellation of its own. The formula is strict: a thick top-block tri-tip seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and garlic, grilled over the live flame of native coast live oak, and served with small pink pinquito beans that grow almost nowhere but right here, alongside fresh salsa, grilled sweet bread, and butter. You can still eat it the old way at places like the Far Western Tavern and at roadside pits and Elks-lodge cookouts on weekends. Pour it a Santa Maria Valley Syrah or a darker Pinot Noir and the smoke and char meet the wine’s pepper and dark fruit in the single most local pairing in California.