I’ve found the new Napa Valley  — and it’s more laidback and fun

Cherokee, my brown and white “paint” horse, is sauntering along a track that cuts through a field of long grasses when suddenly he startles. I sit up, alarmed. The problem? A herd of fluffy grey donkeys that, from under a nearby gnarly oak, are throwing threatening moves. One particularly tough-looking one starts to make a line for our group. This doesn’t delight Cherokee. “Pass wide,” calls the trail guide, Katie Parker. “These donkeys are my security.”
Parker is a 39-year-old Californian rancher. She wears a cowboy hat and boots — for real, not for Coachella — and breeds wagyu cattle. We find these dotted across the plains of her 715-acre family ranch, the calves so fresh their umbilical cords are still clinging on. It’s the job of these donkeys, Parker explains, to scare away the coyotes that come down from the mountains. “They fight real dirty,” she says. It’s unclear whether that applies to the coyotes or the donkeys. I suspect both.
Lions and bears also roam these parts. These don’t stop her, but Michael Jackson’s black panther did. The next-door ranch is Neverland. Katie’s childhood was marked by listening to the roars of Jackson’s wild beasts. “Then a panther escaped and we weren’t allowed out for two days until they found it,” she recalls.
We are riding out western-style in the velvet-green hills deep in the Santa Ynez Valley, 30 miles northwest of Santa Barbara. For a long time, this was proper hardscrabble American frontier country. Then people like Katie’s grandfather Fess Parker, an actor famous for playing Davy Crockett, realised the hills were ripe for growing vines and the valley was recognised as an American wine region. We find these dotted across the plains of her 715-acre family ranch, the calves so fresh their umbilical cords are still clinging on (fessparker.com). The 2004 film Sideways, which follows two wine lovers on a road trip, looking for the answer to their male midlife crises at the bottom of a glass, put it on the map. Los Angelenos began visiting, seeking the same. Now it’s been dubbed “the new Napa” — and the rest of the world is catching on to it.
It’s roughly two hours’ drive from Los Angeles. But I drove down with a couple of friends who live in San Francisco, taking the 101 past oil rigs and fields planted with strawberries and broccoli which eventually gave way to green hills and oak trees. Then vines appeared. But it’s the horses — supple thoroughbreds and quarters grazing behind white-picket-fenced plains — that let you know you’ve entered ranch country. You can’t move for them. Otherwise, it’s pretty much a dramatic version of the Cotswolds.
The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, a beautifully renovated former 19th-century stagecoach stop in Los Olivos, one of the area’s six hamlets, is the newest and most stylish hotel. Its water tower stands in the middle, fringed by lavender, festoon lights and fire pits. There’s a pool and a spa that does a massage with heated towels of the kind that the hunters who stayed here back in the old days could really have done with.
At a 7am breakfast of excellent huevos rancheros on a wicker-heavy veranda, our neighbours are a tech bro with AirPods and a cowboy with a heavy mustard jacket and jeans. Which pretty much sums up the vibe of Santa Ynez Valley. This is rugged rustic country whose edges have been sanded off by modern luxury. Stores selling horse rugs and feed sit next to stores selling £28 scented soya candles. My kind of mix.
Los Olivos, Los Alamos, Solvang, Buellton, Ballard and Santa Ynez are the six hamlets in the area. Each is unique. Los Olivos is tiny and charming and does tasting rooms, galleries and overpriced children’s clothes. Santa Ynez has horses tied up at hitching posts and Zach Bryan playing on repeat. And at Los Alamos for much of the time I felt, in a good way, as if I’d wandered on to the lot of Universal’s western set. Then there’s the Danish town Solvang. Which, unless you’ve got a niche fetish for a Scandi kitsch take on a Borrowers’ village, is best avoided.
Everyone we meet seems to be smiling. Partly it’s the weather. Mainly it’s the wine. As a board outside one of Los Olivos’s 30 tasting rooms puts it: “Wine is cheaper than therapy.” And it’s everywhere. There are now more than 235 vineyards in the valley. And tastings accompanied by lunches of focaccia, hummus and artichokes grown next to the table where I’m sitting are what, I discover, Santa Ynez Valley is all about.
We’re just leaving Mattei’s and heading for my friend’s old Toyota when one of the staff politely steps in to ask if we fancied taking out one of the hotel’s five Mercedes that are free for guests. To which the answer is hell yes. So we set off in a convertible, roof down, hair blowing, feeling every bit a smug version of the name I reserve for drivers of convertible Mercedes.
Our first stop is Roblar, a 40-acre vineyard that’s been going since 1999, and its lovely sauvignon blanc accompanied by a cold shrimp salad (mains from £22; roblarwinery.com). The head winemaker Max comes over in a cap to ask about the tropical guava notes. Like most of the winemakers here, Max is young and cool and came to Santa Ynez Valley because it’s a lot more exciting and less stuffy than Sonoma and Napa in northern California. Santa Ynez is all independents and boutiques that produce small volumes of wine. Sometimes a vineyard will make just 80 cases. But they’re in demand (back in London, I looked down the wine list at Lorne in Pimlico and found a chardonnay from the Hilt Estate in Santa Rita Hills).
I lost count of the number of times I was told that Santa Ynez is blessed because it’s a transverse valley. In short: this means it runs east to west, which means a sea breeze and microclimates, which means you can grow pretty much any grape. The Santa Ynez Valley has 75 varietals. Burgundy is known for two. You can make a dainty acidic white and you can make a big bold red here. Anything goes. Though what Max and co like to do is mix. “We’re big on blends,” he explains. “Sometimes I’ll taste 100 vials of blends, and then we’ll find one that’s great.” Like the rosé we try next — a blend of syrah, grenache and sangiovese so refreshing we buy three bottles.
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Our days here quickly fell into a routine. For with the valley comes mountains and some of the best hikes in the state. Which, after a spot of yoga at Mattei’s, we discovered is a very pleasant way to clear a head. The best we lighted on was Lover’s Loop, a four-mile trail beginning just up the road from the gates to Neverland, and which winds up and down through fields of wildflowers, cacti and oak trees. “Reveal,” my friend Sam cried when we emerged at the top of a steep climb to look out on a rolling landscape of green hills with vineyards clinging to the sunniest slopes. “Reveal,” she said when we reached the bottom and found a man swimming in a creek in just his boxers.
By 2pm, it was time to wine at a vineyard or tasting room. Each has its USP. Vega Vineyard & Farm has goats, rabbits, pigs and sheep to entertain children while adults get wasted, sorry sip, on albariño (vegavineyardandfarm.com). Clementine Carter Wines has a tasting room in a vibey bar with a chequerboard floor that’s run by women and has a fine line in grenache blanc that tastes as if you’ve just licked a rock (clementinecarterwine.com). Unlike in Napa, no one in SYV is going to snigger if you ask basic questions, like what whole-cluster fermentation is. The wine world here is laid-back. It does jokes.
As well as its celebrated wine, it has some of the best food in California. Greg and Daisy Ryan returned to Daisy’s home town and opened Bell’s in 2018, a Franch — French and ranch to me and you — restaurant that soon picked up a Michelin star and a long reservation list (mains from £12.50; bellsrestaurant.com). It’s superb and totally unfussy. A dog on the next table was enjoying the steak tartare as much as its owner. But it was the Ryans’ second restaurant, Bar Le Cote in Los Olivos, that we all declared offered one of the best meals we’d ever had — a scallop crudo with pickled mushrooms was a surf-and-earth combo that made me wonder why every restaurant wasn’t offering this pairing (mains from £23; barlecote.com).
And at the end of each day, we’d finish off with a nightcap and s’mores in front of one of Mattei’s many outdoor fire pits in the cool evening — listening out for Katie’s braying donkeys fighting off coyotes and panthers in the distant hillside. And by morning we were ready for more wine and midlife crises.Francesca Angelini was a guest of Virgin Atlantic, which has return flights to Los Angeles from £495 (virginatlantic.com); the Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, which has room-only doubles from £660 (aubergeresorts.com/matteistavern); and Santa Ynez Valley tourist board (visitsyv.com)
By Lucy Thackray
The Estate YountvilleIf you want to immerse yourself — not quite literally, but almost — in the wines of the Napa Valley, just north of San Francisco, this is the place to stay. A 22-acre estate with a private vineyard, luxury spa and two boutique hotels alongside a swanky villa, it has complimentary wine tastings for guests three nights a week. But you’ll also be getting out and about; dozens of Napa’s idyllic wineries and tasting rooms are within a short drive, and the hotel can organise tasting-room crawls by bike or on foot. Back at the ranch there’s a huge shaded pool, a serene Italian restaurant, Bottarga, and exfoliating spa treatments using crushed grapes and cane sugar.Details Room-only doubles from £432 (theestateyountville.com)
Rancho Caymus InnThere’s a delightful Spanish hacienda feel to this 26-room suntrap, with its courtyard pool, wood-beamed rooms, stable doors and colourful hanging baskets. You’ll find it in the tiny hamlet of Rutherford, on the doorstep of northern California’s Napa Valley. It was built by an heiress to the US’s Morton Salt empire and now has bohemian interiors and cosy corners for settling in with a glass of the local red. Close by are Beaulieu Vineyard, which offers a hefty discount on tours and experiences for Rancho Caymus guests, while there are tasting rooms within walking distance in Rutherford, and hearty breakfasts of bacon and eggs, fruit and pastries before you head out to explore.Details Room-only doubles from £267 (ranchocaymusinn.com)
Farmhouse InnOne of the state’s most romantic hideaways, the Farmhouse has 25 rooms and the spirit of a clapboard country inn, albeit with a restaurant noted by the Michelin guide and a destination spa. It’s owned by fifth-generation Sonoma winemakers who promise an insider’s look at this region, hosting regular dinners so you can meet local producers, including nightly tastings in room rates, and running partnerships with local wineries that mean free tastings for you. Cottagey rooms have stone fireplaces and wooden decks; the Wellness Barn spa has a holistic twist with gemstone and CBD treatments, and all guests are furnished with the ingredients for s’mores to toast around the fire pit.Details Room-only doubles from £444 (farmhouseinn.com)
Kenwood Inn & SpaThis vine-trailed beauty is styled like an Italianate villa, with romantic gardens concealing fountains and fire pits, and a walled pool area reminiscent of the Versace mansion in Miami. As well as being a looker, it overlooks rows of California vines, with excellent Sonoma wineries including En Garde and Seamus on the doorstep. Just 29 rooms feel exclusive with sculptural, freestanding bathtubs, wrought-iron fireplaces and terracotta-tiled balconies; the spa lays on blissful if pricey treatments, including aromatherapy massages and anti-ageing facials. A heated outdoor pool and hot tubs give a pampering feel even in cooler months.Details Room-only doubles from £376 (kenwoodinn.com)
Ponte Vineyard InnSouthern California’s Temecula Valley may not be as much of a household name as Napa or Sonoma, but it has around 50 wineries spread across delightful, mountain-backed slopes. It’s also easily reached from LA (around an 80-minute drive). This distinctive white mission-style building has over 300 acres of vines, an outdoor pool and hot tub, and you can walk to three nearby wineries. More family-friendly than much of the competition, it has blissful views of the surrounding countryside, where hot-air balloons often linger. There are free guest wine tastings onsite, when you’re not dining on SoCal cuisine such as grape, feta and balsamic salads or pan-seared sea bass with saffron couscous at the two charming restaurants.Details Room-only doubles from £218 (pontevineyardinn.com)
Wine Stone InnMore than a dozen wineries decorate the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail, a 15-minute drive from this cute, eminently affordable hotel. Santa Barbara County has eight wine trails in total, while this 12-room hideaway is also close to the beaches north of Los Angeles. Returnees love it for its unpretentious wine bar, the Vintage Room, as well as snuggly rooms done up in white, charcoal and natural woods. A continental-style breakfast will keep you going until tasting o’clock. Hiking and cycling trails in the area also tempt active types pairing wine discoveries with getting a sweat on.Details Room-only doubles from £133 (winestoneinn.com)
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