This story originally appeared in the Santa Barbara Green Guide 2025/26,
a collaboration publication between 'Santa Barbara Independent' and 'Bluedot Living'.
Just like the myriad decisions we face when choosing to eat responsibly, there are plenty of environmental considerations that play into which wines we choose to drink.
Santa Barbara County’s wine community elevated sustainability long ago — Ampelos Vineyard, for instance, was the first in the country to be certified as organic, biodynamic, and sustainable — and our region remains a leader in pushing the entire world of wine to earnestly embrace eco-minded ways. Whether a winery is aiming to be organic, biodynamic, or regenerative (and some spots are all three!), the underlying ethos for these efforts is to eschew herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic applications.