Laurie Love on Wine: Locals hit it big at San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

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.

WINE NEWS

Local winners at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

Having just returned from vacation, I am excited to see that while I was away many of our local Santa Cruz Mountains wineries won awards at the prestigious 2024 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The competition took place the week of Jan. 15 this year and is the largest competition of North American wines in the world, with more than 5,700 entries, 50 judges and 100 volunteers. It is also wide-ranging across many states, varietals, price categories and winery sizes (from small boutique family-owned wineries to large-scale brands).

As is typical for wine competitions, awards range from bronze to silver to gold to double-gold to Best of Class and to the ultimate award, Sweepstakes Winner. Would you like the opportunity to taste the wines that won gold and above? You’re in luck! For the first time since the pandemic, the ever-popular public tasting of over 1,500 award-winning wines from the competition will take place at Fort Mason Festival Pavilion in San Francisco on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $80 advance/$100 day-of. Click here for more information and to get tickets.

Here’s a list of the Santa Cruz Mountains wineries that won awards of any kind, with double gold- and Best in Class-winning wines listed by winery:

• Bargetto Winery
• Cinnabar Vineyards & Winery (Best of Class for 2021 Mercury Rising Red Blend, $26)
• Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards (Double Gold for 2019 Cabernet Franc Santa Cruz Mountains, $47)
• El Vaquero Winery
• Fellom Ranch Vineyards
• Integrity Wines (Double Golds for 2021 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc, $28; 2022 Riesling Santa Lucia Highlands, $26; 2021 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir, $36)
• Kathryn Kennedy Winery
• Kings Mountain Vineyards (Double Golds for 2019 Santa Cruz Mountains Clone 13 Pinot Noir and 2019 Santa Cruz Mountains Bacchus Pinot Noir, both $65)
• La Honda Winery
• Martin Ranch Winery
• Naumann Vineyards
• Nicholson Vineyards
• Picchetti Winery (Double Gold for pinot noir-based sparkling rosé 2017 Brut Rosé, $49.95)
• Raffaelli Vineyards
• Silver Mountain Vineyards
• Sonnet Wine Cellars
• Soquel Vineyards (Best of Class for 2022 Lago Lomita Vineyard Nebbiolo, $50, and 2022 Partner’s Reserve Pinot Noir, $30, plus Double Gold for 2022 Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir, $50)
• Storrs Winery (Best of Class for 2021 Central Coast Grenache, $34, and Double Golds for 2021 Christie Vineyard Chardonnay, $34, and 2021 Wildcat Ridge Chardonnay, $38)

For a complete list of all the award-winning wines, and for more information on this wine competition, visit the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition website. Congratulations to all the winners!

Enrollment in Cabrillo wine classes exceeds pre-pandemic numbers

Great news for the Cabrillo College Wine Program: Enrollment numbers are way up for the Cabrillo College wine classes this semester. The spring 2024 semester started at Cabrillo on Jan. 29, and student enrollment in the wine classes is the highest in eight years – since well before the pandemic – and more than double the enrollment in the past three years. On offer this semester are two wine classes: Italian Wines and Wine Business Marketing, both taught by Deborah Parker Wong. The courses are part of Cabrillo’s revamp of the highly acclaimed wine program.

Italian Wines, a semester-long “hybrid” course with online lectures and in-person tastings, examines in detail the wines of Italy region by region with topics including quality and style of wine grape varietals, viticulture practices, wine laws and sensory evaluation. Wine Business Marketing, an eight-week online course that runs Feb. 15 to April 11, “gives an overview of the global business of wine including the market dynamics of the world’s top wine-growing regions, previews the new up-and-coming regions and covers wine business principles and strategies applicable to the growing of grapes and the making, distribution and marketing of wine,” according to the course catalog.

If you are interested in taking either or both of these classes, there are still a few spaces left and there’s still time to sign up. The last day to add a class is this Saturday, Feb. 10. Click here for more information on the Cabrillo Wine Program. For information on how to register and enroll in wine classes, click here.

As I reported in my December 13 column, Cabrillo College is offering a new Wine Studies Associate in Science (A.S.) degree starting in this fall. The degree features 11 robust wine studies courses and allows students to transfer credits to four-year and graduate institutions throughout the state.

Santa Cruz Mountains wineries in the national media

A recent article written by R.H. Drexel (jebdunnuck.com) on wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains is creating a lot of buzz in the local wine community. Drexel, “nom de plume” for a 30-year veteran of the wine industry, is a well-known wine critic and writer. In her article, Drexel recounts her wide-ranging five-day tasting tour through several wineries in our region, and waxes poetic about the wines, the tasting rooms and the landscape itself. “Whenever I’m burned out on the wine scene – the trends, the trappings, the persistent elitism – I head to the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA [American Viticultural Area]. It’s the ideal region to visit when you want to fall in love with wine all over again,” Drexel writes.

Local wineries featured in the article span the distance of our spread-out AVA, from Woodside in the north to Corralitos in the south, and include Alfaro Family Vineyards, Beauregard Vineyards, Big Basin Vineyards, Farm Cottage Wines, Ferrari Ranch Wines, Lester Estate Wines, Madson Wines, Mindego Ridge, Rhys Vineyards, Sandar & Hem and Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard. Thanks for visiting, R.H.!

In addition, Vinous, an internationally focused online publication by Antonio Galloni with subscriber-only access, just voted our very own Rhys Vineyards “2023 Winery of the Year.” Rhys Vineyards is located at 11715 Skyline Blvd., Los Gatos, and produces top-quality pinot noir, chardonnay and syrah from its geologically diverse vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Said Galloni (via Instagram), “I tasted many memorable wines this year, but one range stands out. The 2021s at Rhys are off the charts. The 2021s capture a pinnacle of achievement for the work that has gone into making Rhys one of California’s most highly regarded wineries.”  Congratulations to the team at Rhys!

Assemblymember Dawn Addis introduces bill to combat vineyard disease

Dawn Addis, who represents the large 30th Assembly District that includes part of southern Santa Cruz County, recently introduced state Assembly Bill 1861. The bill, if passed, would help California vineyards defend against Pierce’s disease, which is deadly to vines and is spread by the glassy-winged sharpshooter insect, by extending research, innovation and mitigation efforts for this disease. “The wine industry is integral to the economic success of the Central Coast and all of California,” said Addis via news release. “I’m excited to author AB 1861 that extends a crucial line of defense for our wine industry against invasive disease.” The bill now goes through the Assembly review process. 

UPCOMING WINE EVENTS

With Valentine’s Day approaching, here are a few local wine events to choose from for your celebration. Grab your valentine, or galentines, and head out to enjoy some great wine.

Bottle Jack Winery is partnering with Ashby Confections to offer wine and gourmet chocolate pairings at both Santa Cruz locations, at the winery at 1088 La Madrona Dr. and the Westside tasting room at 328D Ingalls St. For $30 per person ($22 for club members), taste three award-winning Bottle Jack wines paired with hand-selected, hand-crafted chocolates for a decadent experience. Multiple dates for the event are Saturday, Feb. 10 (1-5 p.m.), and Wednesday, Feb. 14 (3-6 p.m.), at the winery location, and 4 to 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 at the Westside tasting room. Make reservations for the winery here and for the tasting room here.

Burrell School Vineyards is hosting a Valentine’s Day six-course dinner for two including wine pairings from 7 to 9 p.m. on Feb. 14. The price is $325 for two and includes food, wine and tax. The wine dinner takes place in the historic old schoolhouse on Summit Road, and tickets are very limited. Check out the menu and purchase tickets on its website here.

Vino Cruz (4901 Soquel Dr., Soquel) is hosting a special Valentine’s Day wine dinner featuring food by chef Anthony Kresge, formerly of Reef Dog Deli. Menu details will be available soon, but you can secure your reservations for this limited seating on its website now.

Outside of Valentine’s Day, there are many other great wine events coming up. The next Capitola Sip ‘N Stroll takes place in Capitola Village on Saturday, Feb. 10, from 1 to 5 p.m., with over 30 participating wineries and breweries. Tickets are $45 in advance and are available here.

On Sunday, Feb. 25, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Mentone restaurant in Aptos (174 Aptos Village Way) is hosting a special wine class on the nebbiolo grape featuring a flight of wines from Piedmont, Italy. Tickets are $75 per person, include small bites, and are available here while they last.

On Thursday, March 7, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., Madson Wines (328 Ingalls St. in Santa Cruz) is hosting a fundraiser dinner for the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust, a local nonprofit focused on creating a sustainable future for our oceans and coastal areas. Colectivo Felix is providing food for the dinner, including locally sourced seafood paella, paired with Madson wines. Tickets are $90 and available here.

A very popular event is coming next month that you don’t want to miss, so grab your tickets while they are still available. The annual Wines of Santa Cruz Mountains Grand Tasting is happening on Saturday, March 24, from 12:30 to 4 p.m. at the historic Mountain Winery with sweeping views of Silicon Valley and surrounding Santa Cruz Mountains. Tickets, which just went on sale, include a walk-around tasting of over 150 wines from over 45 Santa Cruz wineries and a commemorative glass. Prices range from $170 for a VIP and library tasting experience to $79 for general admission. Discount pricing is available for tickets purchased before Feb. 19 and for Wines of Santa Cruz Mountains wine club members. Buy tickets and get more information here.

Until next time!

Cheers, Laurie

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FOR THE RECORD: Due to a formatting error, an earlier version of this story made it appear that Kathryn Kennedy Winery had won a pair of double golds at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. In fact it was Kings Mountain Vineyards that won double golds, for 2019 Santa Cruz Mountains Clone 13 Pinot Noir and 2019 Santa Cruz Mountains Bacchus Pinot Noir. We regret the error.

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