Touring Santa Ynez Valley

 Rolling Hills and Mountains at Santa Inez Valley

The Santa Ynez Valley is a beautiful wine region encircled by mountains on four sides. The valley is a mix of vineyards, ranches, horse farms, open spaces, rolling hills and small towns. This is one of the popular quiet escapes from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, California.

@ the Vineyard

Perhaps, to most people visiting Santa Ynez, a visit here is not complete without wine tasting. If you take a look at wine tasting tours app, you will find that California accounts for 90 percent of the country’s production, selling $22 billion annually in the United States. California’s wine industry traces its roots to Franciscan missionaries in the late 18th century. California wineries gained international recognition after the Judgment of Paris in 1976, a blind tasting that surprised the world when two of the state’s wines: Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 1973 and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 1973, beat their French counterparts. 

Through Wine Trail Adventures social media app, it is now easy not to miss wine sampling of some of the best wineries in the country when you travel. Wine Trail Adventures is a Social App for wine lovers to share wonderful experiences from over 5000+ wineries across the nation. This Social App makes it easy to make plans for trips with some of the best vineyard stops because you see the strategic locations of the wineries with reviews, and what else to do in the area.

What I like about visiting vineyards, is that it is not all about wines in a bottle. Instead, you see the progression of wine making from the vine to the bottle. My favorite part of course, is seeing the grapes on the vines. :) Have never been surrounded by too many grapes before, and seeing so many grapes in a vineyard makes me just as giddy as seeing wildflowers in the hiking trails. :)

Wine Tasting Next to the Grapes

Touring Santa Ynez Valley however is not all about vineyards. Though with the abundance of vineyards and wineries around, visiting tourists may need more than 2 nights of stay to take them all in. Aside from vineyards, Santa Ynez also have orchards and other farms. This is a quiet, beautiful farming town tucked in between mountains.

There Are Orchards in Santa Ynez too

Coriander Farm

Lavender Farm

Aside from vineyards, orchards, and farms, another tourist attraction in Santa Ynez is the Santa Ynez Mission. 

Santa Ynez  Mission

The mission was constructed of adobe, a mixture of clay and straw. Santa Ines Mission is the 19th of the 21 California missions. It was founded on September 17, 1804 by Father Estevan Tapis, and was named in honor of Saint Agnes, an early Christian martyr of the fourth century. 

@ the Mission

The Mission is a true treasure in California's History, a reminder of the Spanish influence, the foundation of California. The mission grounds are preserved to give you a real sense of what the area looked like back then. There is plenty to see and discover inside. 

The towns in Santa Ynez valley are also tourist attractions by themselves. Probably the most popular town in Santa Ynez is Solvang. 

@ downtown Solvang

Windmill at downtown Solvang

Santa Ynez Valley is also a gastronomic delight for the food lovers. Perhaps, it is because of the more than 100 vineyards in the area that good food is always capped with good wine!

Dining at Santa Ynez

The next time you visit Santa Ynez, if you are a wine lover, you may want to download the social media app for wine map tours, so you could share to your friends the experience you got. 

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