Showing posts with label Travieso. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travieso. Show all posts

Friday, May 14, 2010

Tourist guide part 3: Los Gatos and Campbell

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Open daily: Fleming Jenkins, Testarossa
Open weekends: Pinder, Black Ridge
Appointment Only: Heart's Fire, Perrucci Family, Sensorium, Stroth-Hall, Travieso

Testarossa are open daily from 11-5PM in the old Novitiate winery in Los Gatos. They also make wines under the Novitiate label. Fleming Jenkins have a tasting room nearby in downtown Los Gatos, open daily except Mondays from noon-6PM. To the south just off Highway 17 Black Ridge are open from 11-5PM on the third weekend of the month, and at other times by appointment. Sensorium Wines and Perrucci Family are also located in Los Gatos; I believe both are available by appointment but I've never visited either of them. Neither are participating SCMWA members.

In Campbell four wineries share an industrial unit close to the junction of San Tomas and Highway 17 under the banner of Campbell Winemakers' Studio.
Pinder and Travieso pour their wines every Saturday between 11AM and 4PM. Heart's Fire are open between 1-4PM on the first Sunday of each month. Stroth-Hall are only open by appointment.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Travieso

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As noted in the previous post, Travieso shares the facilities at Pinder Winery. Like Pinder, they source fruit from various AVAs. The Pinder tasting includes one Travieso wine.

2005 El Chupacabras, Santa Barbara County. Travieso's labels are themed around characters and monsters from Mexican folklore. The El Chupacabras is a Rhone blend of 79% Syrah, 17% Mourvedre and 4% Viognier. On the nose there are blueberries and oak; on the palate as its name suggests it's a bit of a monster - hugely extracted, concentrated fruit and lots of tannins. Fans of powerhouse Australian Shiraz like Marquis Philips will appreciate this style and I'm sure the critics would rate it in the 90s, but it's not to my taste. $33

Not to be outdone, the bottle is also a monster. Standing next to the Pinder wines it looks more like a 1L bottle, yet contains a standard 750ml. It seems there is yet another target in my campaign against unnecessarily large bottles.