By Antonio Galloni

My annual tour of California’s Central Coast took me north, starting in Santa Barbara County up to Paso Robles, then on to the Santa Lucia Highlands and lastly to the Santa Cruz Mountains. I tasted a wide range of wines, many of them excellent and some of them flat-out great. The wines of the Central Coast remain exceedingly fairly priced vis-à-vis their peers throughout the world. In particular, I continue to be impressed with the quality of Syrah in California. I know, it’s a broken record. Wine lovers seem to recognize the quality of Syrah, but the broader market struggles to accept the wines. The most common reason I hear for this phenomenon is that Syrah is made in a multitude of styles and the public doesn’t have enough reference points from Europe to put all of those styles into the proper context. That might be the case, but savvy consumers will want to take advantage of the fabulous pricing that exists in this economically depressed part of the wine market.

Once again, this year I have divided my Central Coast article into four major sections that highlight the best of Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Santa Lucia Highlands and Santa Cruz Mountains. Wineries whose ranges span more than one appellation are listed where they are based. The Santa Cruz Mountains is its own appellation and is technically not a part of the Central Coast, but from a practical point of view, it is easiest for me to visit those wineries at the same time, hence their inclusion here. I tasted the wines in this article between late May and mid-June, 2012.

I was thrilled with the wines I tasted in Santa Barbara this year. These largely cool-climate sites continue to produce some of this country’s most distinctive wines. Most of the wines I tasted were 2010s, from a tricky vintage with plenty of ups and downs. The most successful varieties are Syrah and Chardonnay, while Pinot Noir is much less consistent, even if the best wines are striking in their beauty.