With new hotels—including a soon-to-open Auberge Resort—and knockout dining, the Santa Ynez wine region is the next big thing. Just 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles, the Santa Ynez Valley is home to quaint wine-tasting rooms, pastoral rolling hills, and charming ranch towns—some seemingly pulled straight from spaghetti western sets. Yet most people driving north from the City of Angels stop 30 miles short of it, in the posh coastal getaway of Santa Barbara. Their oversight can be forgiven: Santa Barbara has always eclipsed the greater Santa Ynez area in terms of five-star resorts. And even though… Read More