In my last blog, I introduced you to the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, now it is time to visit the region. Every year, I take a group
of people wine tasting somewhere along the Central Coast of California. This
year the trip was to Santa Cruz, but we stayed in Monterey. The drive is about
6 ½ hours from Southern California, taking Interstate 5 up to Hwy 46, heading
into Paso Robles, then up Hwy 101 to Monterey.
Since the drive “forced” us through Paso Robles, we made a
quick stop at Barr Estates, to pick up a few bottles of their Petit Verdot,
then a quick stop for lunch in San Miguel, at the Country Diner
(recommend by Yelp, and a good choice). Before moving on to Monterey, we made
another quick stop at San Marcos Creek Vineyard to pick up some Zinfandel, and
the newest release of their club wine: “Fling’s First Crush”.
We arrived at the Monterey Beach Resort (now known as
Unscripted Monterey). The hotel is the only one in Monterey that is located on
the beach. As we found out, it is also very popular for weddings. We sat in the
lobby, watching the surf, and keeping an eye on our arriving group of 24
people. Dinner that evening was at Restaurant 1833. The meal was probably the
most adventurous dinner of our trip. The food combinations and eclectic menu
choices made for a fun evening to kick off the weekend. I would definitely go
here again.
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| Monte Bello Vineyard at Ridge |
Saturday morning was the day we were all waiting for…a trip
to the Santa Cruz Mountains. I had hired Evan Oakes with Ag Venture tours to
guide us to the four wineries on our wish list. We had used AgVenutures a few
years back, and were impressed with Evan’s knowledge of the wine region and the
local agriculture. This year was no exception. As we drove up Hwy 101, and
later Hwy 85, towards Cupertino, Evan pointed out all the crops growing on
either side of the highway. Soon we turned west and headed up the eastern side
of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The roads became winding mountain roads only wide
enough for 1 ½ cars (or a 24 person bus like ours). We shared the road with
many cyclists out for their morning ride. About an hour and half after leaving
Santa Cruz, we arrived at our first destination: the Monte Bello Vineyard for
Ridge Vineyards.
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| Ridge Tasting Room |
Ridge Vineyards tasting room is located at an elevation of
2,600 feet, and overlooks the southern end of the San Francisco Bay. The Monte
Bello Vineyard was originally planted in 1886 by Osea Perrone, and is home to one of the most iconic Cabernet
Sauvignons in California. It was the 1971 Ridge Cabernet that was entered into
the “Judgement in Paris” competition in 1976. At that time, the wine placed 5th
in the competition. At that time, the French complained that California wines
might have beat them at that time, but California wines couldn’t age in the
bottle. Thirty years later, the same wines were blind tasted again. This time,
the 1971 Ridge Cabernet came in first!
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| David Gates, on the left |
During our visit to Ridge, we were lucky to have met with
David Gates, the Vice President of Vineyard Operations, who works directly with
Paul Draper, the renowned winemaker/owner of Ridge. David talked about the most
recent harvest, and different vineyards. All this, while we tasted examples of
their Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Cabernet (including the famed Monte Bello). A
bottle of their estate Chardonnay, and Monte Bello Cabernet, as well as a
magnum of the Lytton Springs Zinfandel, now make a home in my wine cellar.
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| Savannah-Chanelle tasting room |
Our next stop was at Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards. When I
scheduled these wineries, I simply looked for the historic wineries, and
figured they were close enough to be able to hit quite a few. On the map, they
are close together. In reality, getting around is no easy task. The roads are
typically deadend roads that require you to retrace your drive, then head up
another valley to the next location. The roads are mountainous, narrow, and
often covered in fog.
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| Lunch at Savannah-Chanelle |
Unlike Ridge, which overlooked the valley below,
Savannah-Chanelle is tucked in a mountain valley, surrounded by heavy forest.
The contrast of the vineyards and the pine trees makes for a stunning setting.
The winery’s history goes back to 1901 and the establishment of the Pierre C.
Pourroy Winery. Today, the historic vineyard house still stands at the top of
the hill. It was here that we set out a large lunch spread, and enjoyed the
views with bottles of wine and bottled water. The tasting room is located in a
large wooden barn, and had three tasting bars. The place was packed with people
(the most we saw on all our wine tastings). This may be because the winery is
more accessible, being located just outside of Saratoga, and the Silicon Valley.
Our next stop had us heading over to the western side of the
Santa Cruz Mountains, to another iconic winery, David Bruce. Dr. David Bruce, a
dermatologist who had worked for Martin Ray and then helped crush Monte Bello
grapes for Ridge in 1961, before founding his own winery in 1965. Bruce, a
Burgundian by heart, took advantage of the cooler western slopes, and planted
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at the 2,200 foot elevation, overlooking the Monterey
Bay.
Similar to Ridge, David Bruce was also included in the “Judgement
in Paris”, but in the white wine category.
The 1973 David Bruce Chardonnay placed 10th in the tasting.
While Chardonnay is still produced at the winery, the focus is certainly more
on Pinot Noir. During our private tasting, we tried numerous wines, as well as
different vintages. I left with a couple bottles of the 2008 Santa Cruz
Mountain Pinot Noir (one signed by David Bruce).
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| MJA Viineyards |
Our final stop of the day was a pick from our guide. We
headed back down the mountain towards Santa Cruz, and sat down on the outdoor
benches of MJA Vineyards. We were heartily welcomed with “aloha”, and poured
numerous wines. A solo guitarist played and sang in the patio. The winery
produces two labels: Serene Cellars (Napa Valley) and Davine (Santa Cruz
Mountains). Their main tasting room is located in Santa Cruz, and the location
we went to is their mountain tasting room, surround by redwoods and pines. Back
to the “aloha” welcome…the winemaker/owner also farms Kona coffee, and the laid
back approach to tasting, and even serving chocolate covered coffee beans with
the wine, made for a fun end of the day.
We left the hotel at 9:15 in the morning. Made it to four
wineries, and returned to the hotel at 6:30. For anyone looking to go wine
tasting in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I would suggest either staying in Santa
Cruz or Silicon Valley. You’ll save yourself some drive time. For us, we like
the restaurants in Monterey, and were willing to take a little extra drive
time. Speaking of restaurant, our dinner on Saturday night was at one of the
finest restaurants in the Monterey area: Passionfish. The focus is on fresh
seafood and local produce. The focus is so strong on the food that the
management has chosen to only do small markups on the wine. We found wines at
half the price of other restaurants in the area. For foodies and win geeks,
this was heaven.
In my next article, I will fill you in on the final two daysof our trip to Santa Cruz and Monterey.
