Santa Barbara Wine Country: The Best Places to Eat, Stay and Sip in the Santa Ynez Valley

Before Alexander Payne’s 2004 film Sideways shined a spotlight on the Santa Ynez Valley, it was mostly in-the-know oenophiles and moguls seeking an out-of-the-way escape who were drawn to the unassuming charm of this California wine region.“There’s something about that moment when you’re driving into Santa Ynez where you just exhale and feel like you’re a million miles away,” says Warner Bros. TV senior vp Shannon Howard, whose family has purchased a home in the area after visiting over the past 17 years. “It’s an amazing contrast to Los Angeles and a wonderful place to feel rejuvenated.”While the area’s unpretentious ambience persists nearly 20 years after Sideways premiered, what was a few decades earlier a sleepy clutch of ranchland towns — that also attracted the wealthy in search of space and privacy — has evolved into a celebrated wine and food mecca with a growing number of Michelin-approved restaurants,...