We are heading up to Santa Barbara for the weekend, but Paso Robles sounds like a beautiful place to visit with lots of good wineries. According to mapquest it takes an additional 3 hrs to get there.. Should we travel the distance to Paso, and what wineries should we really see or stay in Santa Barbara and enjoy the wineries specializing in my favorite-Pinot Noir.

Paso Robles is not worth an extra 3 hour drive. It's just a regular town where people live and work. It is not a tourist destination. If you want to go North of SB, Solvang and Morro Bay are fun places to visit.

Santa Barbara is a beautiful city and the wineries just north are some of the finest. you can google foxen canyon wine trail and santa maria valley wine trail and get some maps and descriptions. Favorites are Gainey, Byron, Rancho Sisquoc, Au Bon Climat and too many others to mention. The town of Los Olivos has some small, great tasting rooms.. many, many options. You will find plenty to do in this area... I wouldn't srive the extra to Paso, although it does have its fans... if its pinot you want...you need to stay in SB County! Try the Byrom 661...it's one of my favorites!

I forgot to add... do a search here of " Santa Barbara wineries" because we ahve discussed individual wineries a few times and many have given great information. Where are you staying? HAve a great weekend!

Heck no don't go to Paso Robles! Continue north from Santa Barbara to the Santa Ynez/Santa Rita Hills wine country.

Another vote for Santa Barbara. One of our favorite vacation spots. Plenty to do and a very beautiful town. Several wineries nearby - a pleasant and fairly short drive from SB. Have fun!

You might want to read this article:

http://travel.latimes.com/articles/l...to-watch5sep07

For wine tasting, use Santa Maria or Solvang as a base. Untold number of wineries in the area. Foxen, Fess Parker, Cottonwood Canyon, Rancho Sisquoc, Byron, Sanford, Latecia to just name a few.
I think Paso is less than 3 hours from SB, but unless you want to focus on Zinfandels and other hearty reds, I'd stick with Santa Barbara County for great chardonnays, pinot noir, sav. blanc, etc.

Wine taste in Los Olivos, very nice Syrah in this area. Gainey, Epiphany, Arthur Earl and Andrew Murray are all nice places to wine taste. ***kim***

Santa Barbara is beautiful. Paso Robles is just a place. It gets very hot in the summer, and I'd avoid it then at all costs. But Santa Barbara will cost you plenty for lodging. You might want to consider San Luis Obispo. Great town, plenty of wineries in the area, good food and close to beaches. It's about an hour south of Paso.

Paso Robles has many wineries too! Lots of good restaurants and places to stay. Tablas Creek is outstanding! Villa Creek and Bistro Laurent wonderful restaurants. Check out Trip Advisor and you get some good ideas too.

Heads up... Year old thread...