The Roaming BoomersThe Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail
Luxury baby boomer travelers love good wine, and Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Tour provides a bevy of wineries to sample within easy walking distance of the town’s famous State Street shopping district.
Created by a group of like-minded wineries, the Urban Wine Trail offers both novices and aficionados the opportunity to learn about and taste wines of many different varieties and styles crafted from the Counties best vineyards.
To make certain that you are up on the wine-tasting lingo, here’s a few items (via urbanwinetrailsb.com) to memorize. This way, you can mesmerize your companions with your wine tasting prowess:
Balance—the relationship between the various components of a wine; acid, sweetness, flavor, oak, tannin and alcohol.
Bouquet—the smell that results from the fermentation and aging of a wine.
Dry – term for wine that has no residual sugar. Often misused to describe wines that are not fruity. Most table wines (except for dessert wines) are dry, but many have fruity and/or oaky flavors that can be perceived as sweet.
Finish— the overall taste and feeling that remains in your mouth after you’ve swallowed a wine. Typically described as “long,” “short,” “clean,” etc.
Nose—a term for the aroma and bouquet of a wine. The nose is best evaluated immediately after swirling the wine in your glass.
Tannins—found in grape skins, seeds and stems. They can cause bitterness and astringency; some tannins are desirable in red wines to give them structure.
Tartrates—tartaric acid crystals which sometimes form in wine (often on the cork, or at the bottom of the bottle). They do not affect flavor and are not harmful to drink.
To quote the folks at the Urban Wine Trail, “do your shopping, take your hike, see the sights and work on your tan, but don’t miss the opportunity to sip your way through the wineries of downtown Santa Barbara”.
We couldn’t agree more!
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[tfg_social_share]10 Comments on “The Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail”
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Great video!
Thanks for the reminder on the language of wine. We have attended wine tastings before and later forgot all we learned.
So thanks.
Nancy & Shawn
Hi Nancy & Shawn,
Soon we’ll have a video on the 5 “s” of wine tasting. Stay tuned! 🙂
Fantastic! Me and my wife were trying to decide between Santa Barbara Wine Trail vs Paso Robels. We are so glad that we found your blog now 🙂 ! Thank you,
Frank and Eloise
Hi Frank and Eloise!
Thanks for the kind words. Tough choice between the two. Good luck! Come back and let us know how you fared.
Is that Carol doing the voice-over? Nice job! Looks like you had a good time.
Did you get a chance to visit Solvang? Cute place. I loved the Hans Christian Anderson Museum there.
Hi Jackie,
Yep! That’s Carol. Thanks for your kind words.
We did get to Solvang, last year, and absolutely loved the place. We happened to hit the town as they were having their farmers’ market. WOW! The strawberries, and other fresh produce were unbelievable! However, we did have much time to hit any museums. We’ll definitely be back another day.
The Urban Wine trail is something to look into if you are interested in wine and in Santa Barbara! Informative and delicious-I love Santa Barbara for wine tasting-strong flavors and a taste that will always stay with you. I always make it to town for the beginning of harvest and it’s the best time of the year for me. Such a creature of habit-you’ll find me at my usual spots-the Hitching Post, Santa Barbara Winery, etc. As well I’m always at my favorite hotel; The South Coast Inn (www.goleta-hotel.com).
I have always wanted to do the Urban Wine Trail but I’ve never found time in my always jam packed vacations in Santa Barbara! My friends have always praised it so I guess I have to seriously find time for this. I always end up wine tasting in Santa Ynez or Los Olivos but I feel this deserves some good attention after all of the positive reviews! I love going to Santa Barbara as well, such an adventure every time. I love staying at the Sandman Inn (www.thesandmaninn.com). Just a positive and well respected place to stay in town and by far the cheapest place too!