Open Daily/Weekends: Ahlgren, Burrell School, Byington, David Bruce, Regale, Silver Mountain
Appointment/Passport: Big Basin, Downhill, Loma Prieta, Muccigrosso, Muns, PM Staiger, Sonnet, Zayante
Unknown: Forest, Forty Stump, JM Barranti, Redwood Ridge, Windhover

Skyline Boulevard is aptly named since it runs along the top of the mountains, from Highway 84 to 17. South of 17 it eventually connects to Highway 152 (Hecker Pass Road), though a significant stretch of that is dirt track for which 4 wheel drive is advisable.

East of 17 there is a cluster of wineries. Burrell School is open daily from Thursday to Sunday from 11-5PM. Right next door is Regale, whose tasting room is open weekends from Noon-5:30PM. Further down the road Loma Prieta is open on Passport days and by appointment. Muns Vineyard is open by appointment only; for Passport events they typically pour at an alternate location.

5 minutes south of Summit Road is Silver Mountain. Currently open on Passport days and by appointment, the winery recently got approval to open on Saturday afternoons. As of May 2010 that approval is currently on hold pending appeal, so call first. The winery is also home to Sonnet who also pour on passport days. Nearby, the status of Barranti Vineyards is unknown. They were a small Pinot Noir producer from 2003 onwards, but nothing has been heard in the past 2 years.

West of 17 there isn't much until you get to Bear Creek Road. There you'll find David Bruce open daily from 12-5 and 11-5 at weekends. Close by, Byington is also open daily from 11-5PM. Byington is also home to Downhill Winery, who pours there on passport events and occasionally by appointment. Muccigrosso are also located nearby, but they typically pour for SCMWA events at alternate locations.

4 miles south of Highway 35 is Zayante Vineyards. They open for passport events and by appointment.

Further west in the Boulder Creek area you'll find Ahlgren open on Saturdays from Noon-4PM. P & M Staiger are SCMWA members who typically pour at an alternate location for passport events. Big Basin is open by appointment as well as passport events and certain open days through the year.

There are a few other wineries in the area whose status is currently unclear. Forty Stump and Windhover seem to be not yet open. Redwood Ridge is a wedding facility with its own vineyard.

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Now that the fire is all but out I decided to take a drive down to see how bad things are. It looks pretty simple on the map - just take 17 south, come off at the Summit Road exit and head south.

Unfortunately what Google Maps doesn't show you is that once you go past Highland Way and on to Loma Prieta Avenue the road turns into a Rally Cross off-road stage. Where there is a proper road surface it's pitted with potholes the size of gallon saucepans, but mostly it's just compacted dirt criss-crossed by dried up rivulets and covered with pointy looking stones. For the first time in my life I wished that I owned a 4WD SUV.

For a long time the only signs that there has even been a fire are the hand written signs saying "THANK YOU, FIRE FIGHTERS" (of which there are many) or the more professional banners promoting upcoming fundraising events. Then suddenly you round a bend and you see the unreal hellscape of a mountain side dotted with the burned stumps of Madrone trees. The road ahead was blocked by a temporary barrier and I could hear the sounds of heavy machinery, presumably clearing the burned remains of trees from the roadway. I took some photos and turned the car around. To the right was an area that had been bulldozed, presumably as a firebreak and staging area. There were small heaps of charred logs and a CDF official taking a break. He told me that he had been there all week, since the start. Everything is now under control; the only major concerns are for underground hot spots that could suddenly flare up again.

On the way back I passed several large houses, at least three of which had small vineyards installed. I called in at Burrell School and asked how they had got on. They were maybe 5 miles from the fire, but fortunately the wind was blowing in the opposite direction so they weren't in any real danger. Mark, the Vineyard Manager pointed at the hillside across the road, bare of trees - it had burned in the big fire of 1985. I asked if he'd heard of any other vineyards affected by the fire, but he wasn't aware of any.

I'd been wondering about the longer term effect of the fire on the grapes that were in flower, but everyone I've spoken to says there shouldn't be any lasting impact. There has been some soot and ash in the vineyards, particularly downwind in Corralitos at places like Windy Oaks and Woodruff, but nothing serious; no more than the amount of dust that would get kicked up by a tractor. Any significant pH changes in the soil can be corrected.

So hopefully everything is back to normal, just in time for the Vintners Festival the next two weekends. And I'd like to echo the sentiments of the people on Summit Road - a heartfelt THANK YOU FIRE FIGHTERS.

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Now that the fire is out I took a drive down to Summit Road to check on the damage. More of that in a later post. On the way back I called in at Burrell School to see how they were doing and inquire whather the fire had affected them at all.

First, some background. In 1854 Lyman Burrell (pronounced BUR-el) acquired a thousand acre ranch in what was then the Rancho Soquel Augmentation. He later donated one acre to establish the school that bears his name. The Burrell School District was formed in 1877 and the school operated until 1951. The property was subsequently bought back at auction by descendants of the Burrell family and it was used as a meeting hall. In 1973 Anne and Dave Moulton purchased the building together with ten acres of land and established the Burrell School Vineyard and Winery.

The winery is easy to reach; it's just a few miles south-east of Highway 17 on Summit Road. The distinctive read and white school house and bell tower is hard to miss, and serves as the winery's insignia.

The estate vineyard is planted with several varietals including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and some recently grafted to Petite Verdot. There is also a separate vineyard known as the Estate Pichon Vineyard, located on the slopes of Mount Umunhum above Lexington Reservoir. Some grapes are also purchased, notably Pinot Noir from Veranda Vineyard and Zinfandel from Amador County.

2005 Estate Chardonnay Sightly atypical Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay. Light on oak and with some tropical flavours, but still with plenty of acidity.

2006 Rose of Pinot Noir An unusual wine. Slightly sweet but with a lot of acidity, including a whiff of acetic acid/ethyl acetate. Not unpleasant, but not my style.

2004 Estate Pinot Noir Again, very unusual for a Pinot Noir. Very gamey and smoky; more Black Forest ham than black cherry.

2004 "Honor Roll" Estate Merlot I'd had this at home a couple of nights ago and am definitely a fan. Ripe brambles and tart cranberries, together with some good chocolatey oak. My favourite of the line-up. On sale at $24

2004 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Young and tannic, not showing its fruit easily. All these wines had been opened the day before and gassed, and was still tight. Definitely needs some cellar time.

2004 Amador County Zinfandel Light in weight for an Amador Zinfandel, and I mean that in a good way as I find many Zinfandels outside of the Santa Cruz Mountains or Dry Creek areas to be too heavy, overextracted and overripe. This was my second favourite.

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