Recommended Wine Region Tour Near Malibu

I'll be on the Left Coast in November and am looking for recommendations for general wine areas to tour. Specifically, I'll be spending the night in Malibu on a Saturday and will be leaving the area mid-afternoon Sunday. I hoping for a reasonable drive to a base location (Santa Barbara?) that afternoon with some winery stops along the way. That will give me Monday and part of Tuesday for more winery tours before I head back to LA for a red-eye back to DC.

I'm wondering if Santa Barbara is the place or if other areas such as Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks would work just as well considering I have limited time. And no, I'm not looking to do a PN Sideways tour!!

Thanks for your input.

Dave

[Jenise]

There's nothing in Simi or Thousand Oaks. There aren't even 1,000 oaks. Good friends live there so we're there often; I refer to it as 118 Oaks.

Santa Barbara's your destination. Or, to me more in the thick of it between Santa Barbara, Santa Inez, and Lompoc, consider Los Olivos or Buellton.

And touch base with John Tomasso if you will be in Buellton. He and his wife were wonderful hosts at an offline at Hitching Post II when I visited Santa Barbara County wineries a couple years ago.

Thanks for the information. I figured that SB was the place to be. I'll ask for recommendations on places to stay and wineries to visit in a subsequent post.

Dave

Very close to Malibu is one of our favorite wine stores, Wine Expo at 2933 Santa Monica Blvd. Our friend Roberto, stocks primarily Italian Wine and Sparklers, but it is a fastinating store; palates come in and cases go out as you're standing there.

Cheers, Carl

The only question is whether to stay in Santa Barbara city or up in the valley area. It depends on whether you only want the winery experience or to spend evenings in town.