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sparkling wine at Equinox Champagne Cellar . Spend an afternoon
at this Westside enclave, have lunch or dinner at the West End Tap & Kitchen or Bantam Restaurant next door, or at any one of a number of excellent Santa Cruz restaurants nearby; or pick up a picnic and head to the beach. The Long Marine Lab, Steamers Lane, the Boardwalk, and all that Santa Cruz has to offer are close by.
Summit Road: Silver Mountain, Burrell School, Regale Vineyards & Winery, Loma Prieta, MJA Vineyards, Villa del Monte, Wrights Station.
Enjoy some of the most spectacular views across the mountains overlooking Santa Cruz from this group of ridge top wineries and vineyards along the Summit Road overlooking Monterey Bay – among the highest elevation vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Find
out more about The Summit Wineries and their quarterly events at www.thesummitwineries.com. Stop at the Summit Store to pick up
a picnic lunch, savor the vistas and forest scenery - and excellent mountain wines. Silver Mountain tastes award-winning Pinot Noirs and Chardonnay, as well as its Bordeaux-blend Alloy from its certi ed organic estate vineyard and mountaintop winery with its spectacular views (you can visit their Surf City tasting room, too). Burrell School
is home to a circa-mid 1800’s one-room schoolhouse and estate vineyard, where you can sip their premium handcrafted wines on
the terrace looking over the vineyard and spacious views. The views overlooking Monterey Bay at Loma Prieta’s mountain aerie are breathtaking, and so are their Pinot Noirs, Cabernet and Pinotage. MJA Vineyards gives you a mountain respite under the trees; and
in addition to wine tasting, enjoy the fresh roasted Kona coffee. At Wrights Station, soak in the mountain views and a little bit of history, and enjoy the estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Visit and taste under the trees at Villa del Monte..
The Coastal Foothills. Soquel area: Poetic Cellars, Hunter Hill, Soquel Vineyards, Bargetto Winery, Pelican Ranch. Ben Lomond and Felton: Hallcrest, Beauregard.
Along the coast are numerous wineries in the surrounding foothills. Forests and parks for hiking and biking abound, as do small mountain towns to explore. Under the redwoods northwest of Santa Cruz is the rustic tasting room of Beauregard Vineyards, surrounded by its estate vineyards. Once a general store in the early 1900’s, then the “Lost Weekend Bar”, and for 25 years the tasting room for Bonny Doon vineyard, this building would have many interesting stories to tell. Take a picnic and relax in the garden at Hallcrest Vineyards in the little town of Felton, also home to the Organic Wine Works. Nearby
is the Roaring Camp Railroad for a trip on a narrow-gauge steam
train through the redwoods. South of Santa Cruz you can nd several wineries and vineyards nestled around Soquel. Poetic Cellars is known for its Cabernet, Syrah and Petite Sirah, as well as port. At Bargetto Winery, one of if not the oldest winery in the area (run by the family since the 1930s), you can sip a wide variety of wines on the patio over the creek. Be sure to taste the delicious dessert wines, and their honey-based Chaucer’s Mead, for which they are well known. From Bargetto it is a skip and a jump up the hill to Hunter Hill and Soquel Vineyards up Glen Haven Rd., with views across the vineyards to the sea. A short way past Cabrillo College,Wargin Wines is known for
its locally grown Italian varieties including Barbera and Sangiovese,
as well as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah Nearby, Armitage tastes its award-winning Pinot Noirs. To immerse yourself in the redwoods, visit the Forest of Nisene Marks nearby in Aptos, with over 30 miles of trails. And there are numerous excellent restaurants around Soquel and Aptos.
The Corralitos Wine Trail: Windy Oaks, Pleasant Valley Vineyards, Nicholson Vineyards, Alfaro Family Vineyards
Just a few miles from downtown Santa Cruz but it feels like a universe away is the rural countryside of Corralitos. This is agriculture country, traditionally planted to apples and strawberries, and now nding ground for vineyards that produce world-class wines. The wineries are open Saturday afternoons, Some are open Sundays, and for Passport Day and scheduled special events; and by appointment. These wineries are known especially for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from their own estate or other local vineyards; and a wide variety also includes Syrah, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet, Viognier. You can visit all of them in one afternoon, but count on enough time to enjoy each place as well as your drive through the picturesque countryside, including the ride through the redwoods to Windy Oaks, where
you are invited to walk and picnic in the vineyard and enjoy the view from the oaks out to Monterey Bay. See more about the Corralitos Wine Trail at corralitoswinetrail.com. Spend the day in Corralitos
and in addition to the wine tasting you can visit the rose garden at Roses of Yesterday and Today on Browns Valley Rd.; lunch at the Corralitos Market, known for its sausages, ham and bacon out of its own smokehouse; and nd farmers selling produce and owers from roadside stands. In the fall you can visit the apple orchards and buy fresh-picked fruit.
Watsonville: Just a few minutes southwest of Santa Cruz and a little further from Corralitos along Hwy. 1 is Roudon Smith, where you can sip a wide variety of wines including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon. And the Wargin Wines winery facility is here, too. Nearby is the Annieglass factory store.
SANTA CRUz
MOUNTAINS WINE COUNTRy: SOME REGIONAL FACTS:
The Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Country is widespread, from Woodside in the north to Watsonville in the south; from Santa Cruz on one side to Los Gatos on the other; from the coast to the highest ridge tops at 2600’ elevation. Our vineyards and wineries and the wines they produce re ect the mountain terrain, and the proximity
to the ocean and resulting maritime climate. The region includes over 70 wineries and 200 small vineyards totaling only app.1500 acres of winegrapes divided about 1⁄4 evenly among Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and ‘other’ varietals (most notably Merlot and Zinfandel). The small acreage makes Santa Cruz Mountains wines rather rare and in demand. The region’s vineyards and wineries actively support sustainable as well as organic practices. The diverse microclimates and soils de ne this mountain terroir and the wine
it produces, known for its minerality, spice, and balanced acidity; complex avors and long nish, and the ability to age. The result is wine that pairs particularly well with complementary foods, and age worthy wine that matures and improves in the bottle. Pair Santa Cruz Mountains wines with the culinary excellence of our local restaurants!
Meet with the winemakers, and enjoy exploring the mountain and coastal growing regions of Santa Cruz Wine Country.
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