Christina's Cucina

An impassioned Italian Scot sharing how to cook authentically, and travel with enthusiasm.

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
    • Course or Meal
      • Appetizers
      • Breakfast/Brunch
      • Dessert
      • Main Course
      • Salads
      • Side Dishes
      • Soups
    • Cuisine
      • Italian
      • Scottish (British)
      • Other Cuisines
        • Asian
        • French
        • German
        • Greek
        • Mexican
        • Other
    • Ingredient
      • Beef
      • Cheese
      • Chicken (Poultry)
      • Chocolate
      • Eggs
      • Fish & Shellfish
      • Fruit
      • Legumes
      • Pasta and Rice
      • Pork & Lamb
      • Potatoes
      • Vegetables
    • Special Diets
      • Dairy Free
      • Egg Free
      • Gluten Free
      • Nut Free
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
    • Types of Food
      • Beverages
        • Alcoholic
        • Non-Alcoholic
      • Bread, Cookies & Pastries
      • Cakes & Pies
      • Candies, Sweets & Confections
      • Dressings, Sauces, Syrups & Toppings
      • Jams
      • Pickles
      • Sandwiches & Snacks
    • Non Sequitur
      • “How To…”
      • My Rants & Recommendations
  • Travel
  • Work with Me

Home » Country » USA » 5 Reasons to Visit Santa Maria Valley, California

5 Reasons to Visit Santa Maria Valley, California

April 19th, 2019 | 20 Comments

Read on for 5 reasons to take a trip to Santa Maria Valley. If you are in California, there’s a good chance that Santa Maria is a perfect weekend getaway for you. 

Wine tasting in Santa Maria

Santa Maria isn’t one of those smaller California cities that everyone knows about like Santa Barbara or Napa, so let me tell you a little more about it.

Disclosure: I won a weekend trip to Santa Maria Valley so I am under no contract or agreement to write about my trip. All opinions are my own, and I simply would love to share my experience with you. 

orcutt california
Orcutt, CA

Since my parents were visiting from Michigan, they joined my husband and me on our trip and made it a foursome. We were all in agreement at the end of our trip: we’d definitely go back to visit Santa Maria Valley in future!

NOTE: May 4th is the 37th Annual Santa Barbara County Vintner’s Festival and is being held in Santa Maria! Click the link for more info.

Find all the links at the bottom of this post.

5 Reasons to Visit Santa Maria Valley, California

Santa Maria Inn

  1. The Santa Maria Inn

As the sign states, the “historic” Santa Maria Inn, and it’s so true. There’s so much history in this hotel, I could easily say that you need to go to Santa Maria, simply to visit the Inn! 

Santa Maria Inn lobby

Built in 1917, this hotel has played host to so many celebrities and dignitaries. The list includes names like Charlie Chaplin, Bing Crosby, Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino (who allegedly still haunts the inn!), and even President Hoover. William Randolph Hearst and Cecil B. DeMille were also guests among many others.

Santa Maria Inn

Santa Maria Inn

The courtyard, gardens, landscaping and pool/jacuzzi are another reason that the Inn is definitely a place to visit. 

Santa Maria Inn exterior

Originally built with just 24 rooms, as you can see, the hotel has a newer building to accommodate many more visitors now. We stayed in this newer addition.

Santa Maria Inn pool

Santa Maria Inn pool

Both of our rooms were spacious and very clean.

Santa Maria Inn room

We had a light dinner at the Santa Maria Inn’s Century Room restaurant one evening. We all enjoyed our meals. The restaurant has a lovely atmosphere and dining is available on the patio, too. It’s been voted as Santa Maria’s most romantic restaurant.

Santa Maria Inn restaurant

There’s also the Tap Room for a more pub-like experience, or for drinks and light bites, head down to the Wine Cellar and Martini Bar. After our meal, that’s where we headed one evening. 

Santa Maria Inn bar

Santa Maria Inn wines

    2. Pizzeria Bello Forno 

pizzeria-bello-forno

I’m not going to lie, when I saw that the trip I’d won included lunch at a pizza place, I thought, “Oh dear”. What I pictured was absolutely NOT what transpired at Pizzeria Bello Forno! Stefan Spallino is a master pizza maker and my entire family was over the moon with our lunch! Delizioso!

Pizzeria Bello Forno

Mozzarella is made in house and we were swooning over it! The pizzas were spot-on Neapolitan style, and the Caprese salad was one of the best we’ve had. Stefan had us try some tomato soup and we scored it 10/10, too!

caprese at Pizzeria Bello Forno
We skipped the dressing and just drizzled it with the extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. PERFECTION!

I can’t recommend Bello Forno enough! Stefan was just lovely which just added the wonderful atmosphere of the restaurant and the food. Just go eat there and you’ll see what I mean!

  3. Wine Tasting – Cottonwood Canyon Vineyard & Winery

Wine tasting in Santa Maria

Although there are a plethora of places to go wine tasting in Santa Maria, the one I can recommend is Cottonwood Canyon Vineyard and Winery.

Cottonwood Canyon winery

We had such a lovely time there after our pizza lunch and I’d definitely recommend heading over to wash down that pizza with some Santa Maria Valley wines. They have concerts here over the summer, which would be a great time to visit.

Cottonwood Canyon winery

Samantha led our wine tasting which included 6 Cottonwood Canyon wines. We each had our favorites, but all of the wines were very palatable. Afterwards, we went into the vineyard, then down into the cave for a tour. 

Cottonwood Canyon winery

We brought our glasses with us for a taste from the barrel of one of the blends which was one of my favorites.

Cottonwood Canyon winery

The Santa Marina Valley has 34 tasting rooms, and the wine growing region is much easier to reach from Southern California, than the Napa Valley.

   4. Its Proximity to Many Cities in California

Courtesy of google maps

As you can see in this map, the city of Santa Maria and Santa Maria Valley is quite central to many major cities in California.

From Los Angeles – 2h 36m

From Santa Barbara – 1h 11m

From San Francisco – 4h

   5. Santa Maria Style Barbecue

Santa Maria style Barbecue
Courtesty of Santa Maria Valley Tourism Board

You probably have heard of many types of barbecue, like Carolina, Texas-style and even Kansas City style, but have you heard of Santa Maria style barbecue? Tri tip (typically) is given a special rub, cooked over local red oak wood coals and served with local Pinquito beans, salad and French bread dipped in butter. I would be amiss not to include this as one of the reasons to head to Santa Maria!

For the Santa Maria Style Pinquito Beans recipe and more barbecue tips, click HERE.

There’s so much more to do in the Santa Maria Valley: you can visit 13 beaches, go hiking, cycling, horseback riding and even venture out to sand dunes!

Sand dunes in Santa Maria Valley, Ca
Courtesty of Santa Maria Valley Tourism Board

I hope you are able to visit the Santa Maria Valley at some time in the near future if you live nearby (or you make it a point to visit even if you are not so close)! Here are the links to the places mentioned~

Santa Maria Inn
Pizzeria Bello Forno
Cottonwood Canyon Vineyard and Winery
The Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve County Park

 

Blossoms on a tree
Tree in bloom at Cottonwood Canyon Vineyard and Winery

Thanks to Santa Maria Valley for offering the opportunity to win this trip. We really enjoyed discovering some of what Santa Maria has to offer! #santamariastyle

 

You may also enjoy these...

  • Catalina Island, The Perfect Getaway in Southern California Traveling with Catalina Express and a Stay at The Avalon HotelCatalina Island, The Perfect Getaway in Southern California Traveling with Catalina Express and a Stay at The Avalon Hotel
  • Terranea Resort–a Luxurious Escape for Locals and Tourists Alike (Including a Fantastic Garlic Edamame Recipe!)Terranea Resort–a Luxurious Escape for Locals and Tourists Alike (Including a Fantastic Garlic Edamame Recipe!)
  • Fairmont Newport Beach: Casual Luxury in Orange County, CaliforniaFairmont Newport Beach: Casual Luxury in Orange County, California
  • A Road Trip to Central California with a Stay at the Historic Monterey Hotel and the Fascinating Monterey Bay AquariumA Road Trip to Central California with a Stay at the Historic Monterey Hotel and the Fascinating Monterey Bay Aquarium
Older Post
Homemade Candied Cherries (Glacé Cherries)
Newer Post
Empire Biscuits (Classic Scottish Iced Cookies with Raspberry Jam)
161 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Yummly
  • Flipboard

Country, My Rants & Recommendations, Non Sequitur, USA · Bello Forno, California, Central California, Cottonwood Canyon Winery, Orcutt, road trip, Santa Maria, Travel, travels, weekend getaway, Wine Tasting

Reader Interactions

20 Responses

  1. Liz Leonhardt says:
    February 21, 2021 at 12:03 pm

    May I recommend the Racho Sisquoc Winery for a lovely day? You won’t be disappointed. We return there at least twice a year!

    Reply
    • Christina says:
      February 21, 2021 at 12:39 pm

      Good to know, Liz! Thank you!

      Reply
  2. David says:
    April 23, 2019 at 6:58 am

    I had not heard of Santa Maria prior to your post and it looks wonderful, and definitely a place Mark and I would enjoy. Although we don’t like staying in hotels, I can see us enjoying the atmosphere of the lobby areas a lot. Definitely dinner in the restaurant to soak in the experience… or even a drink in the Tap Room! Stefano’s pizza looks amazing and so authentic – did you notice if his red sauce is garlic-free? I know it’s my allergy but also a good sign of an authentic Italian pizza! And wine tasting? Count me in! Mark and I will definitely visit next time we are visiting our friends in SLO, as I think they would love it, too!

    Reply
    • Christina says:
      April 23, 2019 at 7:54 am

      Absolutely, David! Stefano is certified from Accademia della Pizza Napoletana, so you can be sure it’s authentic! SOOO many places to go wine-tasting, too! You’ll love it!

      Reply
« Older Comments

Join the Discussion Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Meet Christina

A Scottish Italian cook living in Los Angeles, Christina is usually cooking, baking or (cr)eating something scrumptious. When she isn't in the kitchen, she loves to travel, near and far, as long as good food is involved. Christina is on a mission to save authentic Italian dishes from extinction, and is constantly promoting Scottish (and British) food as some of the best cuisine the world has to offer—one steak pie and sticky toffee pudding at a time.



Newsletter

Most Popular Recipes

cucumber and cream cheese sandwich rolls

Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwich Rolls (with Lavash Bread)

Sicilian Whole Orange cake on a plate with oranges

Sicilian Whole Orange Cake (Using an Entire Orange: Peel, Juice and Pulp)

Perfect Yeast Doughnuts

Perfect Yeast Doughnuts (Donut Recipe with 3 Fillings)

Footer

More please…

pistachio cream zeppole di san giuseppe

Pistachio Cream (Light Pastry Cream Recipe)

two Irish coffees

Irish Coffee (Irish Coffee Recipe from a Dublin Pub)

3 profiteroles on a plate with a rose

Profiteroles (Choux Pastry Recipe) with Chocolate Topping

Mimosa cake with blossoms

International Women’s Day Cake (Torta Mimosa) for March 8th

pastry cream with choux buns and vanilla beans

Pastry Cream (Crema Pasticcera Recipe)

Guinness-cake-with-clover

Guinness Chocolate Cake (St Patrick’s Day Cake Recipe)

Return to top of page
Copyright© 20112019 · Privacy Policy · Log in

161 shares