Quick Take
Lookout's wine expert returns with a farewell to Santa Cruz wine legend Barry Jackson, the founder of Equinox Wines who died earlier this month at age 72.
Welcome to Laurie Love on Wine! I am Laurie Love, a professional wine writer and educator based in Santa Cruz. In this column, I share my wine passion, knowledge and experience with Lookout readers. Follow me on my wine blog, Laurie Loves Wine, and on Instagram at LaurieLoveOnWine. I love email from readers! Stay in touch: Email me at laurie@lookoutlocal.com. Join me as we journey together through the wonderful world of wine.
Santa Cruz-based Equinox Wines’ Barry Jackson, beloved bubbles winemaker, dies at 72
With heavy hearts, the Santa Cruz wine community is mourning the death of Barry Jackson, beloved local wine legend and king of Santa Cruz sparkling wine. Jackson passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Sept. 13 at the age of 72 of apparent heart failure.
Barry Jackson’s success in the sparkling wine arena evolved over nearly 40 years. He was owner/winemaker of Equinox Wines in Santa Cruz, which specializes in traditional method (i.e., the Champagne method) sparkling wine production. In addition, he was a sparkling wine consultant and custom sparkling wine producer for around 60 other wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Clara Valley, Monterey County, and throughout the Central Coast, from big houses like Scheid Vineyards, Wente Vineyards and Bonny Doon Vineyard, to small family-owned wineries such as Bottle Jack Winery, Silver Mountain Vineyards, Ser Winery and many others.
Importantly, Jackson’s tireless consulting work led to the development and approval from the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for three new American Viticultural Areas (AVAs): San Ysidro District AVA (established 1990) in Santa Clara County east of Gilroy, Hames Valley AVA (established 1994) in south Monterey County, and Santa Lucia Highlands AVA (established 1992) on the east-facing bench of the Santa Lucia Mountains in Monterey County.
I first met Barry Jackson when I worked at the Silver Mountain Vineyards tasting room across the Swift Street courtyard from Equinox Wines, soon after Equinox took over the space previously housing Vino Tabi in 2015. But I really got to know him well when I interviewed him in person for a winemaking paper I wrote in May 2016 for the Basic Winemaking course in the Cabrillo College Wine Program. Our assignment was to write about how a particular wine was made. The topic of my paper was how Jackson made Equinox Wines’ 2001 Brut Reserve. That paper, a result of my interview with him covering every winemaking detail, is published in full on my blog here.
When I sat down with Jackson in Equinox’s welcoming space and shared a bottle of this special then-15-year-old wine with him, he graciously and generously spoke to me in detail for four hours! And this was after he took me on a personalized tour of the production facility and showed me how each piece of equipment worked. To say he was a generous, kind, warm person would be an understatement.
Barry and his wife, Jennifer Jackson, started Equinox Wines in 1989, after Barry studied enology at Fresno State University and worked as a cellar hand in several Monterey County and Central Valley wineries for years. One of those wineries was Paul Masson, which was well-known at the time for making “California Champagne,” and it was there that Jackson’s passion for sparkling wine began.
During my 2016 interview with him, Jackson explained that Equinox Wines evolved in fits and starts. When they started Equinox, the Jacksons did not have their own winemaking facility; instead, their first base wines were made in the then-Sash Mill-based cellar of Storrs Winery, owned by friends Pam and Steve Storrs. When the Loma Prieta earthquake hit on Oct. 17, 1989, Jackson’s first wines were fermenting in barrels. Jackson estimated he lost more than 50% of that wine during the violent quake. In spite of this, the Jacksons were still able to produce enough sparkling wine to start their label that year.
It wasn’t until 2006 that the Jacksons found a Santa Cruz facility at 427 Swift St. large enough to house their extensive production equipment, including several gyropalettes — mechanized equipment for riddling, or clarifying, the sparkling wine after it undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle — and a bottling line that included a custom-made apparatus for disgorging, or removing the yeast cap from the neck of the bottle while keeping the sparkling wine in it. Prior to that, from 1988 to 2005, Jackson made his base wines at Storrs and used equipment at Mirassou Winery’s facility in Los Gatos for aging the wines en tirage (the step that makes the bubbles in sparkling wine), riddling, and disgorging. When Mirassou auctioned off its equipment in 2005, Jackson and fellow Santa Cruz winemaker Marty Mathis of Kathryn Kennedy Winery teamed up to win the equipment Jackson had been using, eventually moving it in pieces with their pickup trucks to the current production facility.
In May 2015, Equinox Wines opened its current tasting room location (334 Ingalls St., Unit C), which also incorporated a large cellar area that served as the resting place for thousands of bottles aging en tirage. The Jacksons also made a second label, Bartolo, featuring still wines made from Italian grape varietals.
Equinox Wines are available in local grocery store wine departments or via its online store. My personal favorite has always been Equinox’s Blanc de Blanc Brut ($54). But that 2001 Brut Reserve was very special indeed, and a similar wine (2001 Extended Tirage Blanc de Blanc Brut) is still available for purchase from the Equinox webstore. The Equinox tasting room will be open this weekend and next for bottle and case sales, and Equinox will be pouring at the Gourmet Grazing on the Green event Oct. 5. In addition, the family has set up a GoFundMe page here if you’d like to support them by making a donation.
Barry Jackson was a larger-than-life presence with a big heart who mentored and inspired many winemakers and others in the Santa Cruz wine community and beyond, and always had time to share a smile, a story, and a glass of fine sparkling wine. Here’s to Barry, his fine wines and his legendary legacy.
LAURIE’S PICKS: UPCOMING WINE EVENTS
Bottle Jack Winery Wine Release Party featuring new vintages of its best-selling viognier and sangiovese paired with small bites at the Westside tasting room (328 Ingalls St.), Friday, Sept. 27, at 4 p.m. Details and reservations here.
Beauregard Vineyards Wine Release Party with chef Chad Hyatt featuring two new wine releases, 2022 Bald Mountain Chardonnay and 2022 Beauregard Ranch Pinot Noir, with seasonal pairings at Beauregard Vineyards, tasting room (10 Pine Flat Rd.), Saturday, Sept. 28, and Sunday, Sept. 29, 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Menu, pricing, and reservations available here.
Windy Oaks Estate 25th Harvest Celebration & BBQ at Windy Oaks estate vineyard ridge (550 Hazel Dell Rd., Corralitos) with food from Aptos St. BBQ and Parker Presents Oysters, new wine releases, and live music, Saturday, Sept. 28, and Sunday, Sept. 29, 1 to 4 p.m. Details and tickets here.
Cantina Del Pino Cru Night at La Posta restaurant (538 Seabright Ave.) featuring special bottlings from one of the oldest estates in Barbaresco (Piedmont, Italy) and menu specials, Wednesday, Oct. 2. Reservations available here.
Gourmet Grazing on the Green Annual event at Aptos Village Park featuring tastings from over 60 restaurants, wineries, breweries, and spirits, Saturday, Oct. 5, noon to 4 p.m. Benefits local nonprofit cancer support organizations. Tickets available here.
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Until next time!
Cheers,
Laurie
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FOR THE RECORD: This story has been updated with days when Equinox Wines will be open.
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