If there is something you don’t suspect in the middle of California on the other side of the world, it’s a tiny piece of Denmark. Yet, once you drive through the beautiful Vally of Santa Ynez in Santa Barbara County and you arrive in Solvang, you think that you might as well just switched continents.
Solvang was founded in 1911 by a group of Danes who wanted to found a Danish colony and guess what - up to this day it is still pretty Danish! If you are from Germany living away from home, a couple of timbered houses in the middle of California can make you pretty happy. And the best thing - they have wine!
I made my first stop at Sevtap Winery and even though the Sauvignon I ordered was a bit too sweet for my taste the atmosphere was really great and they had the most marvellous guitar player play some songs. Their entrance is through a mill, which is really adorable (and so Danish!).
Just across the street is Cali Love Wine. Their wines are a bit too extroverted for me but their tasting room was so fun. And they had mulled wine too! As a German I am quite picky about my mulled wine and the one there was way sweeter than what I know from home, but if you are abroad you take what you can get!
My last stop MAD & VIN, which technically is a hotel bar at The Landsby Hotel. The wine was great and the Scandinavian design was so lovely, so I can definitely recommend going even just for the nice interior.
I ended the wine tour with a beer at the Solvang Brewing Company and whenever you are in the are, I can highly recommend a stop in Little Denmark! The tiny town has some serious photo opportunities too!
Have you ever been to Solvang? If you were on an epic road trip through California, would Solvang be a stop on your list?
Kate recommends: Solvang goes well with a copy of Lucky Per by Henrik Pontoppidan. The eight-volume novel traces the life of protagonist Peter Sidenius who moves to Copenhagen to study engineering and reinvents himself as "Per". While trying to raise funds for one of his projects he meets a rich Jewish family and becomes engaged to one of their daughters. The story of Nobel Prize winner Pontoppidan twists and turns uneypectedly and is an amazing portrait of the modern breakthrough in Danish literature.