american viticultural area
Clos de la Tech
ABOUT THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS AVA Breathtaking vistas. Ocean and valley views. Lush forests. Majestic first-growth redwoods. Misty fog. Ocean breezes. Surf and sand. And mountain vineyards. This is the Santa Cruz Mountains. THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS APPELLATION • The Santa Cruz Mountains Appellation is part of the Pacific Coast Ranges and straddles the San Andreas Fault, with the North American Plate on the east, and the Pacific Plate on the west. • The appellation runs along the San Francisco Peninsula ridge south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from the San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, continuing south, bordering Monterey Bay and ending in Watsonville. • The appellation encompasses San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, with South San Francisco at the northern end and Watsonville at the southern. • As the first American Viticulture Area (AVA) to be defined by a mountainous region in 1981, it is known as “America’s Premier Mountain Appellation.” • The Santa Cruz Mountains AVA was the first in the U.S. to use the European model of climatological and geophysical aspects instead of political boundaries. • The appellation is comprised of mountain topography, following the fog line along the coast to encompass our highest vineyards on the ridgetops at 2600’+ elevation. • The AVA is defined primarily by elevation – down to 800 feet on the east (the valley side) and 400 feet on the west (the coastal side).
Ridge Vineyards
the SUB-REGIONS
The santa cruz mountains WInegrowing regions
The Santa Cruz Mountains winegrowing region encompasses more than 850 square miles, beginning from San Francisco down the Peninsula to Silicon Valley and Gilroy over to Watsonville, Monterey Bay and back up to Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. Each sub-region has a distinct terroir and microclimate. Due to the size of the Santa Cruz Mountains wine region, visitors are encouraged to plan their itinerary by sub-regions or urban winery locations.
Aptos, corralitos & Gilroy
“Exploring the Santa Cruz Mountains often feels like
hopping from one enormous island to another. As you drive through the winding mountain roads and rolling hillsides, you might not see a winery for miles. Suddenly, as you round a corner, you’ll stumble upon a massive estate that stretches out as far as the eye can see.” - Vinfolio
Alfaro Family Vineyards & Winery, Armitage Wines, Clos LaChance Vineyards, Dorcich Family Vineyards, El Vaquero Winery, Integrity Wines, Lester Estate Wines, Martin Ranch Winery, Nicholson Vineyards, Storrs Winery, Windy Oaks Estate Vineyards & Winery
SANTA CRUZ, SOQUEL, BONNY DOON & THE SAN LORENZO VALLEY
“The Santa Cruz Mountains hosts some of California’s defining wines and vineyards.” - San Francisco Chronicle
Bargetto Winery, Big Basin Vineyards, Bottle Jack Winery, Equinox, Kissed by an Angel Wines, McHenry Vineyard, Partage, Rexford Winery, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards, Stockwell Cellars
Summit & HWY 35
“This is an area that produces world-class
chardonnay, pinot noir, and cabernet sauvignon. The mountainous geography means that the fog affects the vineyards in variable ways: Some are hot enough to ripen cabernet, others are cooler and better suited for chardonnay and pinot noir.” -Jim Rollston MS, wine director at Manresa
Black Ridge Vineyards, Burrell School Vineyards & Winery, La Rusticana d’Orsa Vineyards, Muns Vineyards, Radonich Brothers Vineyards, Regale Winery and Vineyards, Silver Mountain Vineyards, Silvertip Vineyards, Villa del Monte Winery, Wrights Station Vineyard & Winery
CUPERTINO, SARATOGA & LOS GATOS
“Pinot Noir is grown in many places – the Santa Cruz Mountains is one to watch.” - Food & Wine Magazine
Cinnabar Winery, Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards, Domaine Eden, Eden Estate Wines, Fellom Ranch Vineyards, House Family Vineyards, Kathryn Kennedy Winery, Left Bend Winery, Lexington Wine Co., McCarthy Family Estate Vineyards, Mindego Ridge, Mount Eden Vineyards, Muccigrosso Vineyards, Naumann Vineyards, Ridge Vineyards, Roudon-Smith Winery, The Mountain Winery, Vidovich Vineyards
SKYLINE, WOODSIDE & SLOW COAST
“The Santa Cruz Mountains, as a wine region, is one of the best-kept secrets in the business. Capping the mountain range between the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, from just south of the city down toward San Jose, it’s a stone’s throw from two of Northern California’s major population centers. And yet it remains hidden; its small wineries perched in clearings among the evergreens, their vineyards planted on slopes calculated to eke out just enough sun for ripeness, between shafts of fog that encourage freshness. So close, and yet so untraveled.” - Sara Schneider, Robb Report
Chaine d’Or Vineyards, Clos de la Tech, Neely Wine, Portola Vineyards, Pescadero Creek Vineyards, Rhys Vineyards, Sante Arcangeli Family Wines, Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards
mid-penninsula
“If I had to name the greatest estates in California, at
least two, possibly three, would come from the Santa Cruz Mountains. These rugged hillsides above Silicon Valley are home to some of the most distinctive, pedigreed Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs and Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines readers will come across.” -Antonio Galloni, Wine Critic, Vinous
Domenico Winery, Kings Mountain Vineyards, La Honda Winery, Waxwing Wines, Woodside Vineyards
the history
History of the santa cruz mountains
T
he Santa Cruz Mountains has played a pivotal role in the history of winemaking in California, with roots going back over 100 years, and include well-known winemakers such as Paul Masson, Martin Ray, Paul Draper (Ridge Vineyards), David Bruce and others. The appellation has seen significant growth and change since the start of the 21st century. The precedence set by these legendary figures (along with best and sustainable practices in the vineyards and wineries) can be tasted today in our world-class wines. For centuries massive tracts of virgin coastal redwoods covered the Santa Cruz Mountains, growing on top of substantial lime deposits. Early loggers harvested 18,000,000 board feet of virgin redwood. Cleared spaces allowed homesteaders to plant fruit, vegetables, and vineyards. Early viticulturists included Lyman J. Burrell near the summit (Burrell School); the Jarvis brothers near Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz Mountain Winery, Annamaria’s Vineyard); the Burns family in Ben Lomond (Beauregard); Dr. Robert Tripp, in the town of Woodside. By 1875, existing records note that the Santa Cruz Mountains had 262,275 vines (300 acres, 121 hectares) and were producing 70,000 gallons of wine a year. On the east side of the mountains, Emmet H. Rixford planted a small vineyard on the top of a small ridge (cuesta in Spanish) above Woodside and established La Questa Winery in 1883. Rixford evokes the type of winemaker that you’re most likely to find in the mountains today -- people dedicated to preserving the quality of small vineyards in their wine. Rixford’s book, The Wine Press and the Cellar, published in 1887, was a staple for new winemakers well into the 20th century.
Further south, another group of winemakers began their ascent up Monte Bello Ridge in current day Cupertino. Vincent and Secundo Picchetti (Picchetti Winery) purchased land towards the bottom of the mountain in the early 1870s. Further up the mountain, Pierre Klein purchased 160 acres in 1888 (now owned by Ridge Vineyards). Klein was regarded as one of the primary winemakers of his day, winning a gold medal at the Paris Exposition of 1900. Osea Perrone, a dapper San Francisco physician, created his summer retreat, vineyard and winery at the top of Monte Bello Ridge in 1886 (Ridge Vineyards). The Monte Bello region is the centerpiece of what is known as Chaine d’Or, or golden chain of highland wine country. By 1980 the Chaine d’Or was a well- established wine district known for excellent clarets with Woodside at the North end and Saratoga in the South.
Paul Masson was probably the most notable character to establish a vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the early 1890s. Born in Burgundy, he purchased 40 acres (16 hectares) in the mountains above Saratoga (The Mountain Winery) in 1896. For the next 40 years, he produced champagne. The other significant winery established in the 1880s was the Novitiate in Los Gatos (Testarossa). In 1881, deep in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains, California pioneer Pierre Cornwall established Heart O’ The Mountain; this premium grape growing property was once owned by the famous director, Alfred Hitchcock. Prohibition was the looming cloud that finished off most of the premium winemaking in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Paul Masson continued on with his “medicinal” champagne and the Novitiate still made altar wine, but any other wine making efforts went underground. The first winery to emerge from Prohibition was run by the Bargetto family–John and Phillip Bargetto opened Bargetto Winery in Soquel in 1933. The person who may have had the greatest hold on the style and imaginations of Santa Cruz Mountains winemakers was Martin Ray. Throughout his education and employment as a stockbroker, journalist and real estate broker, Ray’s dream was to own his own vineyard in the mountains. He originally purchased Masson’s property in Saratoga, but subsequently sold it to Seagrams and purchased land further up the mountain. One of the most significant changes that Ray brought to the wine business was his focus on varietal grapes. Martin Ray fought his
entire life to increase the percentage of the varietal wine in a bottle named with that variety. By all accounts, a visit to Ray’s home was both fascinating and unpredictable. On at least one occasion he sent someone packing back down the mountain in the middle of dinner. Martin Ray’s property is now part of Mount Eden Vineyards. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a resurgence of winemaking in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In the early 1970s, a small group of Santa Cruz Mountain winery owners prepared an application to the government for a Santa Cruz Mountains American Viticultural Area (AVA). The AVA, established in 1981, was one of the first AVAs determined by elevation. The number of wineries has grown exponentially throughout the last 25 years, continuing to produce wine befitting a region with a long and distinguished history.
HERITAGE
1794
Wine making in the region began with the Spanish missionaries who made a sweet wine for church ceremonies
1886
Osea Perrone, created his summer retreat, vineyard and winery at the top of Monte Bello Ridge in 1886 (Ridge Winery).
1896
Paul Masson born in Burgundy, purchased 40 acres in the mountains above Saratoga (The Mountain Winery).
1933
The first winery to emerge after Prohibition was Bargetto Winery in Soquel
1854
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Viticulture got its start in the Santa Cruz Mountains -Early viticulturists included Lyman J. Burrell near the summit (Burrell School); the Jarvis brothers near Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz Mountain Winery, Annamaria’s Vineyard); the Burns family in Ben Lomond (Beauregard).
1888
Pierre Klein purchased 160 acres (now owned by Ridge Winery). Klein was regarded as one of the primary winemakers of his day, winning a gold medal at the Paris Exposition of 1900.
1883
Emmett Hawkins Rixford, established La Questa with 7,000 vines imported from France. Now less than an acre, the vineyard continues to produce a small amount of the coveted La Questa cabernet sauvignon, bottled by Woodside Vineyards.
TIMELINE 1976
Two wineries from the Santa Cruz Mountain region participated in the Judgment of Paris wine tasting, with the 1973 David Bruce Winery Chardonnay placing 10th in the white wine tasting and the 1971 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon placing 5th in the red wine tasting.
2006
The SCM AVA beat out the best wines from Napa and Bordeaux. The 1971 Monte Bello cabernet winds first place at hte “Judgement of Paris 30th Anniversary Wine Tasting” in London and Napa, a redo of the orginal tasting conducted in 1776.
1981 1943
The Santa Cruz Mountains AVA was established and was one of the first AVAs determined by altitude.
Establishment of Martin Ray (now Mount Eden Vineyards).
TODAY
Over 70 wineries exist, producing premium wines in a broad range of styles from 1,500 acres planted to winegrapes.
Regan Vineyard, Bargetto Winery
The Mavericks
Paul draper Paul Draper known as the advocate of natural winemaking was born in Evanston, Illinois in 1936 and raised on a farm which exposed him to agriculture at an early age. In 1959 Paul graduated from Stanford University, where he majored in philosophy and joined the Army. He was stationed in Italy and in a desire to see the sights from his favorite film La strada, Draper rode through the Italian countryside on a motorcycle, learning about the local culture, cuisine and wine. After Paul was released from the Army, he first went to Sorbonne to study French cuisine and nutrition before he returned to the United States to work at Chateau Souverain in Napa Valley as cellar assistant with the harvest. One year later Paul traveled to Chile as part of a Peace Corps mission. In Chile he leased a winery with Fritz Maytag, a fellow volunteer and friend from Stanford. Using Cabernet vines from local vineyards, Paul got firsthand experience with winemaking in a very lowtech environment. In 1968, Paul traveled to Bordeaux where he discussed winemaking with the ma1tre de chai of Chateau Latour. The experience gave him the confidence he needed to meet with David Bennion and accept the chief winemaking position at Ridge Vineyards in 1969.
Paul Draper first gained recognition for his 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon when it placed fifth at the Judgment of Paris wine tasting. He has played a significant role in the history of California wine through his pioneering work in popularizing “vineyarddesignated” wines. Paul always had the desire to let the vineyards “express themselves” and their terroir without over intrusiveness by man. He has been a critic of overlypowerful, over oak and highly alcoholic wines made from excessively ripe fruit, preferring his wines to be more about finesse and balance. He has also been a critic of high wine prices and consumers who purchase wine for speculating purposes rather than to enjoy them. Paul has been a harsh critic of the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology in their emphasis of more “industrial winemaking” versus the traditional methods that he prefers. As a region we greatly appreciate ALL that Paul Draper has done for us. He has given us a voice were others may not have been listening to the way our vintners make Chardonnay and Cabernet in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Paul Retired from Ridge Vineyards in 2016.
Ken Burnap Thanks to Ken Burnap who not only found one of the greatest wine regions in the world to grow Pinot Noir but also defined the region for future generations. The seeds for Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard were planted when a young man by the name of Ken Burnap took a prom date out to one of the finest restaurants in San Antonio, Texas. Ken ordered a bottle of wine and mangled the pronunciation of the French wine. The very snobby and pretentious wine steward humiliated Ken with his reaction and in the manner of most of us when barely out of our teens, Ken vowed to learn as much as he could about wine and go back and show that wine steward a thing or two. The very next day he set off to find and read every book he could get his hands on that had anything to do with wine. In no time at all he was totally captivated with the subject of fine wine. He soon forgot about the snobby wine steward but had gained a fascinating hobby that would become the passion of a lifetime with his favorite varietal becoming Pinot Noir from Burgundy. In the early 70’s a great majority of the wine produced in California came out of Napa Valley, including most California Pinot Noir. During his research Ken became perplexed about why Pinot Noir from California was so bad. Through his research, Ken came to the conclusion
that the reason most California Pinot Noir was so bad was that it was grown on the floor of Napa Valley which was the wrong climate to grow Pinot Noir. So he started to look at regions in California that might be better suited to good quality Pinot Noir. On one of these trips to the Santa Cruz Mountains he finally found a site that met all of his criteria. The site was on Jarvis Road in the Vine Hill district of Santa Cruz County. The site continuously had grapes since 1863, had just been planted to Pinot Noir - and it was for sale. The property was owned by David Bruce, another Pinot Noir aficionado. He made Zinfandel from the property in the 1960s. But the Zinfandel was very old and not producing much anymore so David pulled out the old vines and planted Pinot Noir in 1969/1970. David had planned on keeping the vineyard as a secondary Pinot Noir source to augment his production at his Estate Vineyard up in the Summit area, but his plans changed and he ended up needing to sell the property. Ken became the proud owner of the vineyard in 1974. Ken built a rectangular cement block building to function as the temporary winery building for the first two vintages, 1975 and 1976. He did most of the work in
the vineyard and the winery, with occasional help from various friends. He slept on a cot in the winery building and cooked on a camp stove. The first vintage made was in 1975 and the meticulous attention to detail that Ken had applied in the research phase was also applied in the winemaking. When the 1975 Estate Pinot Noir
was released, it made a very big impression on the wine world. It received fantastic reviews and was voted one of the top five or six California Pinot Noirs in the late 1970s. Some of these other 1975 Pinot Noirs were from Joseph Swan, Chalone, ZD, and Mount Eden.
JEFFreY PATTERSON Since 1981 Jeffrey Patterson has guided the winemaking and grape growing at Mount Eden. His emphasis is on wine growing rather than winemaking; and an obsession with gentleness and naturalness in the handling of the grapes and wines is his ongoing passion. A native Californian, Jeffrey graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1975 with a degree in biology. While in Berkeley, he witnessed and participated in the emergence of northern California’s fine wine and food culture. An enthusiastic wine drinker and collector, Jeffrey decided to pursue a career in the wine business and, in 1979, enrolled in the U.C. Davis viticulture and enology program, where he studied for two years. In 1981, Jeffrey became assistant winemaker at Mount Eden Vineyards. He had visited the Santa Cruz Mountain winery in 1978 and believed Mount Eden, with its long history of fine wine production, would be an ideal place to practice his craft. Jeffrey and his wife Ellie, a U.C. Berkeley history graduate, ornamental horticulturist, and textile artist, thus left Berkeley to begin a new life 2,000 feet above the Santa Clara Valley. A little over a year after his arrival, Patterson was promoted to head winemaker and general manager, and Ellie became the winery’s business manager. In 1986, they became significant shareholders
in the company and, in 2008, the Patterson’s acquired the majority of the ownership with their two children, Sophie and Reid. Today, with over 30 years’ experience at California’s original boutique winery, Jeffrey and Ellie Patterson live in the house Martin Ray built on Mount Eden in the early 1950s, surrounded by the winery’s historic estate vineyard and a panoramic view of the now-famous Silicon Valley. The legendary wine entrepreneur and promoter Martin Ray originally planted Pinot Noir at Mount Eden back in 1945. Those plantings, the bulk of which were replaced by Jeffrey in the past two decades, currently make up 7 acres at Mount Eden. Martin Ray also planted Cabernet Sauvignon in the mid-’40s, with cuttings from the La Questa vineyard, which had been planted in Woodside in the 1890s with cuttings from Chateau Margaux. Cabernet was re-planted at Mount Eden in the ’80s, with cuttings taken from the vines originally planted there in the ’40s.
KATHRYN KENNEDY Born in 1927, Kathryn moved from Santa Cruz to Santa Clara Valley at the age of 15. She earned a degree from Stanford University at the age of 19. Married, and with the first of her four children, Kathryn moved to her Saratoga property in 1949. Her inspiration to plant a vineyard came from experiencing a fine bottle of Martin Ray Cabernet from the 1950s and from observing the workmen tend an old Cabernet vineyard across the road from her home. Kathryn established her vineyard during “The Wine Boom of the early 1970s”. New fashions and lifestyles were being introduced by the likes of Sunset Magazine and Julia Child. Bright colors, fresh California produce, outdoor dining and a taste for the finest foods in the European tradition were all the rage. Kathryn was a pioneering female in the CA wine industry. Her brand was one of the first to bear a woman’s name. Her location was unusual too. Although Saratoga had a stellar wine history in the 1880s, by the 1970s it was far from Napa and off the map to all but the most astute. In preparation for planting her 7 acres, she attended two full semesters of the viticulture program at UC Davis. Wise old professors such a Dept. Chair Kasamatis and Prof. Cook advised Kathryn to plant Cabernet
Sauvignon. Own rooted Clone #8 cuttings sourced from David Bruce Vineyards were developed for one year in an on-site nursery before planting in 1973. Kathryn enlisted the help of her extended family and many volunteer friends to do the backbreaking work of planting 3300 new vines using shovels and garden hoses. After selling fruit for two vintages to Mount Eden Vineyards in Saratoga, Kathryn established her brand and winery in 1979. Her advisor and first winemaker was Bill Anderson, who went on to be the long-standing winemaker at Chateau Julien in Carmel Valley. From 1979 until 1988 Kathryn’s tiny winery produced only Estate Cabernet. Kathryn became known for her Estate Cabernet, packaged in a distinctive silver label that bears her signature. This flagship wine is an age-worthy bottling limited to 600 cases per year. Over her 35 years in the wine business, Kathryn has solidified a reputation as an elite Cabernet specialist, considered by many to be one the top producers in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
“Kathryn Kennedy the person was much like her wines. Perhaps a bit shy at first, but marvelously complex, witty, and warm. Strong and focused, graceful and loving.”
Robert Mullen Robert “Bob” Mullen moved to California in 1954 after two tours of duty in Korea with the Navy and the rest is history. Bob was served his first glass of wine at lunch on Fisherman’s Wharf on his first day at work, and that later launched his second career. Bob’s wine making avocation, started with helping a friend make wine at his home in 1960. Along with a third couple, he searched all over Northern California for a vineyard location where the three couples could start a winery operation. While they looked at dozens of properties, which are now the home of many successful wineries, they all decided they really did not want to leave Woodside and our respective jobs. In 1961, they were offered a three acre parcel, just a half mile from their homes, which had a one acre vineyard. Bob built his house and winery in 1962 and became a commercial winery in 1966, sold our first wine in 1968. Bob who like Emmett H. Rixford before him, had a “day job” with a passion for growing and making premium wines in Woodside that was and still is considered one of California’s great growing wine regions. Woodside Vineyards has played an essential role in preserving the historic vineyards and the winemaking heritage of the Santa Cruz Mountains that goes back over 165 years.
One of Bob’s neighbors on Kings Mountain Road had a backyard vineyard, and after the first-day picking grapes, he was hooked. Another friend had bought the historic La Questa property that allowed Bob and his volunteers to harvest the grapes producing the first bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1962. The early 1960s brought back a winemaking revival in Woodside and San Mateo County with a resurgence to restore the old historic vines and planted new varietals to improve the winegrape production. The following year Woodside Vineyards was born with a bond number to sell wine to local restaurants and markets. The first was Roberts Market in Woodside. Next, Bob assembled a small group of workers to bring back and manage other old vineyards in Woodside, and two notable were The La Questa Vineyard planted in 1883, and the Hopper Vineyard planted in 1895. Today, Woodside Vineyards continues to grow and harvest wine grapes exclusively from over forty backyard vineyards sprinkled throughout Woodside and Portola Valley that are handmade into our line of rare premium wines. Bob and Woodside Vineyards is credited for being one the first wineries to pioneer the “boutique winery” movement in California, as well as the oldest winery in San Mateo county. Some of the vines are over
a century old. Woodside Vineyards grapes our grown on some of the most expensive land spread throughout Woodside California. The Santa Cruz Mountains reflect a unique mountain terroir with soil that is made up of decomposed rock,
clay, loam, and limestone. The abundant mineral content gives our wine a fresh mineral character, balanced acidity producing wines that are complex in flavor with a long finish.
Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards