Perfect architecture, and a perfect setting. Santa Barbara, aka 'The American Riviera' enjoys a dreamy Mediterranean climate, with plenty of sunny days and mild winters. Add a wine country producing award winning vintages, outdoor adventures on land and sea, and big city arts and entertainment, and you have a city that’s a poster child for the Californian good life.

Stroll along State Street for excellent shops and dining, launch a kayak from East Beach to paddle under Stearns Wharf, visit the classic Old Mission Santa Barbara and tour the 1782 Presidio for a look at original adobes like El Cuartel, the second oldest surviving building in the state. Then explore the city’s forward looking neighbourhood, the refurbished warehouses of The Funk Zone, now home to urban wine tasting rooms, artist’s studios and cool boutiques.

Best known as the gateway to the Santa Ynez Valley, Buellton has come into its own as a culinary destination. In what was formerly an anonymous industrial area, you can now meet local winemakers and tuck into culinary favourites such as the beef meatballs and ricotta sandwich in the cavernous confines of the restaurant and butcher's shop Industrial Eats. A couple of doors down, sample the celebrated Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of pioneering winemaker Richard Sanford in the rustic but modern tasting room of Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards. And along Highway 246, catch a bit of film history and bite into the succulent steaks grilled over oak at the landmark Hitching Post II, the steakhouse that played a starring role in the film Sideways.

When it comes to food, most people associate Solvang with traditional Danish fare such as the aebleskivers at long standing favourites like the Solvang Restaurant. But this village of authentic Danish style architecture is also very much a California wine country town, with numerous tasting rooms as well as the contemporary Sante Wine Bar & Lounge. You’ll also find a wide range of California craft beers on tap at The Good Life Cellar, and for farm to table dining try Root 246, which creatively incorporates the seasonal bounty available from local growers.

Horses and wine share the spotlight in the western style town of Santa Ynez, where horseshoes honouring local steeds are embedded in a pedestrian crossing and you’ll find businesses serving the equestrian community. Central California Wine Tasting on Sagunto Street carries a big selection of boutique wines from the surrounding Santa Ynez Valley, Paso Robles and as far south as Malibu, while Carr Vineyards & Winery pours varietals produced from grapes grown in the valley and the nearby Santa Rita Hills.

The once sleepy ranching town of Los Olivos, where a flagpole stands in the middle of its main street, now has perhaps the Central Coast’s highest concentration of tasting rooms. In addition to the must-visit Los Olivos Tasting Room & Wine Shop, you’ll also find tasting rooms for leading Santa Barbara wine producers such as Stolpman Vineyards and Epiphany, where you can sample its Rhone-based varietals in a colourful, contemporary setting or in a shaded garden.

Not that long ago, Los Alamos was a slumbering agricultural community easily overlooked by travellers racing up and down Highway 101. But food and wine have transformed Los Alamos and now it’s a must-stop for tasting rooms and dining destinations such as Bob’s Well Bread Bakery. Helmed by a former entertainment executive, the bakery is the place to go for flaky chocolate almond croissants; get there early to grab one of the popular pork-and-beef meatloaf sandwiches, as these frequently sell out. Full of Life Flatbread helped pioneer the Los Alamos food scene all the way back in 2003, thanks to inventive wood-fired creations such as a flatbread made with dates, bacon, walnuts and a smoked leek sauce.

With a central village of stalwart stone and brick buildings, as well as its famous swinging bridge, Arroyo Grande is one of the Central Coast’s most appealing small towns. It has also emerged as a wine destination, thanks to a growing collection of tasting rooms, including leading Central Coast winemaker Bob Lindquist’s Qupe. The town is the gateway to two nearby, mostly cool-weather San Luis Obispo County wine regions hidden from US 101: the Arroyo Grande Valley and the Edna Valley. Call in at the low-key, farm-style Kynsi Winery for its acclaimed Pinot Noirs and Grenaches before taking in the sweeping panorama of vineyards and volcanic peaks from the impressive tasting room at Edna Valley Vineyard.

With 40,000 acres of vineyards growing more than 40 grape varietals in 11 distinct regions, the sprawling Paso Robles wine country is the giant of the Central Coast wine regions. From the quaint town square of the city of Paso Robles to Epoch Wine Estate in the remote York Mountain AVA, the area is filled with discoveries for wine lovers. For a great one stop destination just off US 101, Tin City, an industrial style complex with a collection of boutique wineries, proves that there’s more than wine in these parts thanks to the craft beers at BarrelHouse Brewing Co. and the ciders made from Californian apples at Tin City Cider Co.