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.
Showing posts with label Byington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Byington. Show all posts
Monday, May 17, 2010
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Blind Tasting
A couple of months ago I was invited to a blind tasting of mostly Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernets and Cab blends that was being run by a market research company on behalf of a local winery. I had a suspicion who the client might be, but no idea what wines were being poured or the order.
The event was held in a lovely, historic house high in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The land was part of the original parcel bought by John and George Jarvis. There were six tasters in all from various backgrounds; some with winemaking connections (both professionally and amateur), others just enthusiasts.
The first six wines were all Cabernets. We were asked to evaluate them silently and score them out of 20, then discuss them as a group. (I don't normally assign scores to wines; I'd rather just try to rank them in order of preference.) The second flight covered blends; there were four Bordeaux/Meritage blends and two "Super Tuscan" Cabernet/Sangiovese blends. In the end it was remarkably difficult to decide between some of them, but a lot of fun.
It was subsequently confirmed that the tasting had been organised for La Honda Winery, to try out a few of their forthcoming releases. I think they should be very pleased by the results.
In the first flight, two of the six Cabernets were from La Honda and both were voted in the top three. All but one of the wines in the flight were from the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The 2006 La Honda Chalk Hill Cabernet from Sonoma came top. It was significantly darker than most of the others. The nose showed bright fruit; blackberry and blackcurrant, with hints of mint, menthol and eucalyptus. I got more of the same on the palate, with liquorice on the finish. A very nice wine.
In second place was the 2004 Martin Ranch Therese Vineyards Estate Cabernet. I've tried this a couple of times and have been impressed. It had a floral nose, with some orange peel and perhaps a hint of aldehyde. Plenty of tannin and spice - nutmeg and cinnamon - but not showing much fruit at this stage. Needs time.
The 2006 Lone Hawk Vineyard Cabernet came in third. This had a faint nose of cedar and raisins. On the palate there were dusty tannins and nice acidity. It too seemed tight; not showing much fruit, and had a medium length finish.
The second flight had four Meritage/Bordeaux blends (including a surprisingly weak showing by a local wine that I've tried before and have in my cellar. I'll reserve further comment on that until I've had chance to try it again).
Voting on this flight was very mixed; a wine that one person rated the highest would be rated the lowest by the next person. The overall winner turned out to be a 2004 Byington Alliage. I used to drink Alliage quite often when it was $15-$20 and made from Sonoma fruit; these days it carries the Paso Robles appellation and costs closer to $30. It had an oaky, floral nose with a little heat from the alcohol. The palate showed sweet cherry and plum fruit with vanilla and decent finish.
The final two wines compared an Italian Cabernet/Sangiovese blend with one from La Honda's own vineyard. It was an unusual comparison; the Italian was all smoke, earth, underbrush and stone with tannin and acidity; a complete contrast to every other wine of the night; perhaps for that reason only I gave it the edge, even though I'm not normally a fan of Italian wines. The La Honda on the other hand had bright redcurrant, blackcurrant and raspberry fruit, some oak and again plenty of acidity. This is a very young vineyard and it'll certainly be interesting to see how it goes on as the vines gain maturity.
The event was held in a lovely, historic house high in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The land was part of the original parcel bought by John and George Jarvis. There were six tasters in all from various backgrounds; some with winemaking connections (both professionally and amateur), others just enthusiasts.
The first six wines were all Cabernets. We were asked to evaluate them silently and score them out of 20, then discuss them as a group. (I don't normally assign scores to wines; I'd rather just try to rank them in order of preference.) The second flight covered blends; there were four Bordeaux/Meritage blends and two "Super Tuscan" Cabernet/Sangiovese blends. In the end it was remarkably difficult to decide between some of them, but a lot of fun.
It was subsequently confirmed that the tasting had been organised for La Honda Winery, to try out a few of their forthcoming releases. I think they should be very pleased by the results.
In the first flight, two of the six Cabernets were from La Honda and both were voted in the top three. All but one of the wines in the flight were from the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The 2006 La Honda Chalk Hill Cabernet from Sonoma came top. It was significantly darker than most of the others. The nose showed bright fruit; blackberry and blackcurrant, with hints of mint, menthol and eucalyptus. I got more of the same on the palate, with liquorice on the finish. A very nice wine.
In second place was the 2004 Martin Ranch Therese Vineyards Estate Cabernet. I've tried this a couple of times and have been impressed. It had a floral nose, with some orange peel and perhaps a hint of aldehyde. Plenty of tannin and spice - nutmeg and cinnamon - but not showing much fruit at this stage. Needs time.
The 2006 Lone Hawk Vineyard Cabernet came in third. This had a faint nose of cedar and raisins. On the palate there were dusty tannins and nice acidity. It too seemed tight; not showing much fruit, and had a medium length finish.
The second flight had four Meritage/Bordeaux blends (including a surprisingly weak showing by a local wine that I've tried before and have in my cellar. I'll reserve further comment on that until I've had chance to try it again).
Voting on this flight was very mixed; a wine that one person rated the highest would be rated the lowest by the next person. The overall winner turned out to be a 2004 Byington Alliage. I used to drink Alliage quite often when it was $15-$20 and made from Sonoma fruit; these days it carries the Paso Robles appellation and costs closer to $30. It had an oaky, floral nose with a little heat from the alcohol. The palate showed sweet cherry and plum fruit with vanilla and decent finish.
The final two wines compared an Italian Cabernet/Sangiovese blend with one from La Honda's own vineyard. It was an unusual comparison; the Italian was all smoke, earth, underbrush and stone with tannin and acidity; a complete contrast to every other wine of the night; perhaps for that reason only I gave it the edge, even though I'm not normally a fan of Italian wines. The La Honda on the other hand had bright redcurrant, blackcurrant and raspberry fruit, some oak and again plenty of acidity. This is a very young vineyard and it'll certainly be interesting to see how it goes on as the vines gain maturity.
Labels:
Byington,
La Honda,
Martin Ranch
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