What Somms Are Saying About Santa Barbara Wine Country

Sommeliers from Around the Globe Gathered at the Second Annual CMS Women’s Symposium

Katja Scharnagl Tasting at Stolpman Vineyard, with Peter Stolpman in the background | Photo: Heather Deanitz @craftandcluster

Hear that? It’s the sound of whispering through the grapevines of Santa Barbara wine country making its way to the tables of foodie-centric restaurants in New York, Aspen, and Montreal. Sleepy towns along the Santa Ynez wine trail are waking up to an influx of visitors as wine pros from all over the world are paying attention to what we’re doing.

Small yet mighty, Santa Barbara wine country is definitely having a moment among sommeliers, thanks in part to the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas (CMS-A) for hosting its Annual Women’s Sommelier Symposium in our very own backyard this spring. The symposium, which took place around various locally owned wineries and restaurants in the Santa Ynez Valley, was rich with spirited conversation among the sommeliers. “I really think we needed to come to Santa Barbara and have boots on the ground to understand the region and better share the story with my guests,” said Jessica L Forster, partner and wine director at Waxlight Bar à Vin in Buffalo, New York. Despite bringing in $1.7 billion in annual revenue (according to Santa Barbara County Vintners Association), and providing more than 9,000 full-time jobs, many Santa Barbarans have yet to discover the region for themselves, let alone describe it or discern as to how Santa Barbara wine style may differ from places like Napa or Bordeaux.

“In Toronto, the market for wine is quite open and progressive,” says Wine and Beverage Director Brie Dema Markovic of Pearce Hospitality. “People are looking for something new and interesting, and in our market in Ontario, Santa Barbara is still very much considered a ‘new’ place. It’s easier to sell Santa Barbara wines over some traditional Europe labels because they are often easier to digest.” She continues, “I am seeing success at my restaurants with Santa Barbara wines from Âmevive, Camins 2 Dreams, and Scar of the Sea.” But, she notes, “These wines are still very much a ‘hand sell’ for us, meaning I will only place them on a wine list where I know I will have a sommelier on the floor.”

From left, Julia Burkowski, Katja Scharnagl, Jessica L Forster | Photo: Heather Deanitz @craftandcluster

In New York, it seems the average diner is still getting used to what we do here. “People understand California as a whole, they understand Napa and Sonoma, and I have people asking for Paso cabernet versus Napa, but I find I am still needing to personally recommend Santa Barbara pinot, which I am doing more and more,” explains Julia Borkowski, wine director at the Inn on Broadway. “The problem is that they don’t understand the difference from Sonoma pinot to Santa Barbara. They will trust my recommendation, but sometimes they are expecting something bolder like the pinots coming from the Russian River. They just don’t understand Santa Barbara style yet.”

One reason some might find it difficult to describe Santa Barbara–style wine has to do with the fact that our region really is quite “young” and inaccessible in comparison to places like Champagne or Rioja that have been producing their wines for hundreds of years. The culture of wine is not necessarily embedded into our daily lifestyle. While many wine aficionados still consider Santa Barbara wine to be in its youth, young sommeliers from around the world are beginning to carve out a place for Santa Barbara on their wine lists, making it a conversation worth having.

Proof that the kids are ahead of the trend are global wine brands like Constellation and Jackson Family Wines, who have quietly been buying up vineyard land over the last several years and bringing in a diverse network of wine professionals from all parts of the globe to work on branding and marketing the region with aims to increase consumer awareness worldwide. In fact, Jackson Family Wines, who have had a stake in Santa Barbara Wine Country for years, was strategically a primary sponsor of this year’s Women’s Sommelier Symposium, hosting the group at two of their wineries — Cambria and Brewer-Clifton — for a behind-the-scenes look into their winemaking and viticultural practices.

Seminar at Cambria Winery | Photo: Heather Deanitz @craftandcluster

“People are starting to realize that Santa Barbara is the place to be for wine. The beauty is we can trust the winemakers to continue what they’ve already been doing for years; making smaller volumes of really high-quality wine without having to intervene,” says Lydia Richards, founder of the nonprofit Hispanics in Wine, who recently moved to Santa Barbara from New York to manage public relations for Jackson Family Wines.

From left, Oriana Cartaya, Lydia Richards, Janice Williams, and Brie Dema Markovich at the second annual CMS Women’s Symposium in Santa Ynez | Photo: Heather Deanitz @craftandcluster

Santa Barbara Wine Country may still lack the iconic status of regions like Burgundy or Barolo, but word of mouth is reaching destination travel spots, thanks in large part to the unique demographics of the area that arguably boast the highest percentage of women winemakers in the country. This important statistic is something this group of sommeliers immediately noticed and feel is worth sharing in their communities.

One such sommelier is María Cárdenas of the French Alpine Bistro in Aspen, Colorado, who makes a point to feature women producers on her list. “The wines reflect who I am and what I believe in the industry,” she says, noting the abundance of biodynamic, small-production wines made here by women.

Perhaps another important factor influencing Santa Barbara wine production is climatic changes affecting the landscape of wine itself, making harvests in places like Napa and Sonoma more challenging and expensive to maintain as shifts occur. And while it’s safe to say that Santa Barbara, best known for its pinot noir producers nestled within cool, protected microclimates among the Sta. Rita Hills, new young winemakers have been steadily planting roots due to the fact that our terroir can support an impressive array of grape varieties, making cultivation of pretty much any variety a possibility.

“Santa Barbara is just so scrappy,” which, according to Master Sommelier Emily Wines and founder of the the CMS Women’s Symposium, made it the ideal place to host the event. “The amount of women in the wine business here is really high, there’s this incredible spirit here. It doesn’t have the feel of regions that have been in the spotlight for much longer. And it’s not just with the wine, it’s the food, and even the farming.” Overall these wine pros are predicting a boost in Santa Barbara wines reaching the global market and the “glow up” is inevitable, especially as more mega companies have started to invest in the region. Yet, despite the considerable corporate claim to the area, Santa Barbara seems to be one of those places that will never lose its charm.

From left, Lydia Richards, Jessica L Forster, Julia Burkowski, and Brie Dema Markov | Photo: Heather Deanitz @craftandcluster
From left, Julia Burkowski, Jessica L Forster, and writer Vanessa Vin | Photo: Heather Deanitz @craftandcluster
From left, Julia Burkowski, Katja Scharnagl, Jessica L Forster | Photo: Heather Deanitz @craftandcluster
The group of attendees: Julia Borkowski (Rochester, NY); Maria Cardenas (Aspen, CO); Beverly Crandon (Toronto, ON); Lindsey Fern (Culpeper, VA); Jessica Forster (Kenmore, NY; Christina Hartigan (Vancouver, BC); Brieana Dema Markovic (Kitchener, ON); Oriana Maday Cartaya Maldonado (Hastings on Hudson, NY); Katja Scharnagl (Brooklyn, NY); Amanda Cannon Winquist (Portland, OR) | Photo: Heather Deanitz @craftandcluster
Brie Dema Markovich leading a toast | Photo: Heather Deanitz @craftandcluster
Emily Wines at Cambria Winery | Photo: Heather Deanitz @craftandcluster
Clarissa Nagy, winemaker at Riverbench Winery, speaking to the sommeliers| Photo: Heather Deanitz @craftandcluster