Not far from Santa Barbara is the Sta. Rita Hills appellation, home to some outstanding cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. With Burgundy set to get even more expensive, here’s an alternative.

This white grape takes its name from a village in the Mâconnais region of Burgundy in France. It remains widely grown there today, but the variety became so popular in the 1970s that for a time it ...

This white grape takes its name from a village in the Mâconnais region of Burgundy in France. It remains widely grown there today, but the variety became so popular in the 1970s that for a time it ...

Let’s start with cool-climate wines using the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in Santa Barbara Wine Country to illustrate. This AVA began in 1970 when two friends created the Sanford & Benedict vineyard.