LUSH WINES, GENTLE CLIMES, GOOD TIMES.

Byline: Story by Eric Noland Travel Editor

LOS OLIVOS - At breakfast, the hostess was temporarily away from her reception post, so we took a tentative step into the restaurant.

``Come on in,'' boomed a cheery and vaguely familiar voice. Ah, of course: It was Davy Crockett. Or maybe Daniel Boone. Or both. Yes, definitely both.

On this morning at the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn, the strapping Parker, who played Crockett on the big screen in the 1950s and Boone on the little one in the 1960s, was seated at a table in his restaurant, just convening a breakfast meeting. He wanted to make sure visitors felt at home - even if it was essentially his.

It was another example of the appeal of the Santa Ynez Valley, which nestles between two mountain ranges just north of Santa Barbara, a few miles inland from the coast. It's a wine region that has grown explosively and gained considerable acclaim in recent years, yet it still doesn't take itself too seriously.

You'll find a pit for throwing horseshoes out in front of the Foley winery. There's a riotous vegetable garden and a peach orchard just out back of the tasting room at Buttonwood. At the start of a hillside walking path at Zaca Mesa Winery, a sign playfully warns: ``Possible trail hazards: snakes, poison oak, sunburn, rapture.'' And in the microscopic town of Los Olivos (where Parker's inn is located), a war-memorial flagpole rises from the middle of the main intersection - yes, right out there in the middle of the street.

The region is simple, folksy, unpretentious. It's also strikingly beautiful. Unlike its wine-country cousin to the north in Napa Valley, Santa Ynez and its environs are not given over to carpetlike spreads of wine grapes. Not too long ago, this was cattle-ranching country, and the gradual transition creates for the visitor a mixed-use area that is nothing short of beguiling.

There are hillsides covered with native grasses (green at this time of the year, soon to give way to the parch of summer). Coast live oaks, valley oaks and scrub oaks pepper the landscape. Quiltlike patches of vineyards share the scene with ranches raising everything from horses to Shetland ponies to ostriches to llamas ... and, yes, even a few remaining herds of cattle.

Land values have exploded over the past 20 years, severely undermining the profitability of cattle ranching. But grapes, by contrast, are proving worth their weight in fermented varietal juice.

The Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association - which includes winemakers in the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria valleys - has 53 wineries in its fold, while a confederation of growers encompasses 29 vineyards covering about 18,000 acres. The industry here has grown 105-fold in 30 years.

A freak of geology contributes to the favorable growing conditions. The San Andreas Fault rearranged the area mountain ranges into east-west aspects (just about everything else from Alaska down runs north-south). And that opened wide portals to the Pacific Ocean's cool temperatures. Fog frequently works its way up those valleys, burning off to sunshine in the middle of the day, with onshore breezes arriving in the afternoon to keep the temperatures from soaring.

Factor it all together and you have an extended growing season and grapes ripening gradually, evenly. You also have a startling variety of microclimates.

Richard Sanford, one of the wine pioneers in the region (co-founding the fabled Sanford and Benedict Vineyard in 1971), has calculated that average temperatures increase about one degree for every mile traveled inland from the coast. The result is a broad range of flourishing grapes: chardonnay and pinot noir in the western end of the Santa Ynez Valley, merlot and sauvignon blanc in the east, syrah in between.

Up on the 1,200-foot bench that is Foxen Canyon, Rhone varietals, syrah and pinot noir have fared well. And farther north in the Santa Maria Valley, the sprawling vineyards of Kendall-Jackson and Bien Nacido have prospered with just about everything.

Even if you don't care a whit about wine, the area can be a delightful place to visit if only for its sights, sounds and tastes. ``You're not likely to have a dozen cars behind you blinking their lights, or worse,'' said Parker, who moved to the Santa Barbara backcountry in 1958 and to the Santa Ynez Valley in 1987. ``Your greatest concern might be a calf that's gotten through the fence.''

A common approach to the Santa Barbara County wine country is from Buellton, on Highway 246 (through Solvang). A much better one is on Highway 154 from just north of Santa Barbara, through the San Marcos Pass.

Before they cut the tunnel for U.S. 101 at Point Conception, this was the main route north along the coast. As Highway 154 switchbacks into the Santa Ynez Mountains, you can pick up some terrific views of the Channel Islands offshore (if the marine layer has backed off). Now imagine bouncing over this route in a stagecoach.

Passengers on the stage would stop at the Cold Springs Tavern, which you can find today by turning left off 154 onto Stagecoach Road at the top of the pass. The tavern doesn't appear to have changed much from its 19th- century days, which is why it's a popular stop: uneven wood floors, low ceilings, a dark interior brightened only slightly by multiple stone fireplaces.

Chili is the house specialty (as it probably has been for more than 100 continuous years of operation). One nice option is the chili sampler ($6.95), which includes a small serving of wild game black bean chili, featuring venison, rabbit and buffalo meat.

The next significant sight on the drive is shimmering Cachuma Lake. It's a county recreation area with camping and picnic areas. Day use is $5 per vehicle, and it's possible to take a two-hour boat tour of the lake.

Soon, Highway 154 begins to descend into the eastern edge of the Santa Ynez Valley. Once here, as you begin to ramble along its winding country roads, you might find yourself falling in love with the place as readily as one of its longtime residents did.

``It's just this mix of vineyards and ranches and miles and miles of roads,'' said Parker. ``I remember when I came to California (from Texas) for boot camp in 1943. The San Fernando Valley was sort of like the Santa Ynez Valley is now - horse ranches, farms, just a beautiful place.''

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: The driving distance from downtown Los Angeles to Los Olivos, which is at the heart of the Santa Barbara County wine country, ranges from 126 to 143 miles, depending on the approach. The most popular - and scenic - route is to approach the region from the San Marcos Pass: Take U.S. 101 north to the northern reaches of Santa Barbara, then exit onto Route 154 and follow the road into the Santa Ynez Valley. Another route is to continue north on U.S. 101 to Buellton and exit onto Route 246 east (through Solvang). Still another is to continue on U.S. 101 past Buellton to the Route 154 cutoff and head east (the only option) to Los Olivos.

LODGING: Plan on sleeping long and deeply. It's pin-drop quiet back in the nooks of this valley, and a dearth of streetlights ensures that it is also comfortingly dark. In Los Olivos, Fess Parker's Wine Country Inn & Spa was found to be worthy of its reputation for understated elegance. All rooms have fireplaces, wet bars and down comforters. The hotel spreads out a bit - one building on one side of Grand Avenue, the other directly across the street from it, the spa in a separate building at the other end of town. If you don't want to walk across the street in a robe after visiting the pool or the whirlpool tub, you might want to specify a room on the west side of Grand Avenue. Brochure rates range upward from $350. Information and reservations: [phone]; www.fessparker.com.

--Just south of town, in the even smaller community of Ballard, is the Ballard Inn, which has also gotten some good notices - Sunset magazine listed it among its ``best small inns in the West'' in its February issue. Rooms from $195. Information and reservations: [phone]; www.ballardinn.com.

DINING: On a visit to this region, be sure to bring an appetite.

--The hands-down best offerings for lunch - picnic or otherwise - can be found at Panino, at the northeast corner of Grand Avenue and Alamo Pintado Avenue in Los Olivos. Its menu is gourmet Italian, with substantial salads and imaginative sandwiches - for example, genoa salami, kalamata olive tapenade, fresh basil, roasted red peppers and goat cheese on rosemary foccacia ($6.50).

--For the ambience and menu of a 1950s highway restaurant, stop in at the Hitching Post II in Buellton, where you can find such unusual entree selections as a flat iron filet ($16), ostrich ($23), quail ($16) and a T-bone steak that weighs more than a pound ($35). The a la carte trend has overtaken many top restaurants, but here all the side dishes come with the price of dinner, including the nostalgic relish tray. It's at 406 E. Highway 246; [phone].

--At the Vintage Room at Fess Parker's inn, the fine-dining fare is excellent, innovatively presented and priced accordingly (main courses averaging about $30). Our experience was marred only by the fact that on a Monday evening, with the restaurant otherwise empty, the wait staff elected - at a few minutes before 8 p.m. - to break down the entire restaurant and make the room over for breakfast, changing every plate, glass and flatware piece in a seemingly endless bustle of hushed activity. The restaurant also offers a prix-fixe menu ($80) matching wines to courses; impressively, wines from throughout the region are featured, not solely those from the Parker winery. Reservations: [phone].

--Los Olivos Cafe (just across the street from the Parker inn), features a casual setting and varied menu - gourmet appetizers, salads and country Italian main courses and pasta dishes at dinner, sandwiches, salads and specialty pizzas at lunch. Phone: [phone].

INFORMATION: The Santa Barbara County Vintners Association publishes a comprehensive guide to the region, including a map and information on tours. The organization can be reached at [phone] or [phone]; www.sbcountywines.com.

CAPTION(S):

6 photos, box, map

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- color) The vineyards are syrah grapes of Buttonwood Farm Winery lure visitors to the Santa Ynez Valley. Lunch can be take Vineyards, above, or at Panino in Los Olivos, left.

(4) Empty wine barrels rest in the barnyard at the Foley Estates Vineyard and Winery in Santa Barbara County.

(5) Two young girls take a breather on the flag pole in the center of the Central Coast town of Los Olivos. The base and pole were donated to the town in 1927.

(6) no caption (Santa Ynez Valley Wine Country)

Dean Musgrove/Staff Photographer

Box: If You Go (see text)

Map: Santa Ynez

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