Quick Take
In Part 2 of her biweekly column, Lookout wine expert Laurie Love picks her Wine of the Week and fills readers in on where to shop for wine around Santa Cruz County.
Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of this week’s Laurie Love on Wine column, cLaurie’s Wine of the Week pick and her Wine 101 lesson. Click here for Part 1, covering wine news and events.
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 OF THE WEEK
2017 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Staiger Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains ($150)
Jeff Emery, owner and winemaker of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, shared this soon-to-be released wine with me at Premier Cruz. Oh my! As soon as I smelled its deep, complex and terroir-driven aromas of mountain berries, spice, redwood, earth, tobacco and coffee, I knew this was a special wine. A beautiful deep ruby color leaning to garnet in the glass, the wine exudes Old World finesse on the palate (and at a modest 13.5% alcohol) with an excellent balance between good acidity, firm yet silky tannins, medium body and long finish. Flavors are complex, rich and elegant, offering even more as it breathes: boysenberry, dark plum, Asian five-spice, green peppercorn, clove, black pepper, juniper/redwood, green bell pepper, black currant, anise, Santa Cruz Mountains scrub brush, umami notes, tobacco leaf, graphite and vanilla.
This cabernet wine is the first in Emery’s new Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard “Grand Cru” project, which celebrates and sources fruit from key heritage cabernet vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains. “These are vineyards that we believe have the equivalent of Grand Cru status,” said Emery, referring to the highest-quality designation given to wines from Bordeaux. “Wines from these vineyards have a proven history of consistently making wines of distinction that can age gracefully for many decades.” The next wine to come from this fascinating project will be the 2017 Bates Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, from vines planted in 1972. Stay tuned!
Emery aged the wine in a unique custom new French oak barrel created specifically for this project, plus one neutral, used barrel. Only 42 cases of this wine were made.
The wine is a field blend of 97% cabernet sauvignon and 3% merlot sourced from the historic P & M Staiger Vineyard, planted by husband and wife Paul and Marjorie Staiger in 1973 above Boulder Creek, at 1,100 feet elevation. The vineyard is on a steep south-facing slope. The Staigers were hands-on in the vineyard and cellar, making acclaimed, cellar-worthy wines under their label, P & M Staiger, for four decades. In 2016, Paul Staiger contacted Emery to ask if he would take over making wine from their vineyard. According to Emery, “It was very important to ‘P & M’ that the grapes go to someone who understood the history, legacy and quality of their vineyard. We are very honored to be able to work with this historic vineyard that we consider to be the equivalent of Grand Cru status for the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA.”
This is a world-class cabernet made with such intention and thoughtfulness that respects its sense of place, terroir and history, and brings Old World winemaking to this New World old-vine site. You can purchase this wine directly from Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard at its Westside tasting room (334A Ingalls St.). Decant it and enjoy it now, or age it in a dark, cool cellar for 10 to 20 years. It’s a beauty!
WINE 101
Whether you’re a wine novice or seasoned expert, there’s always something new to learn in the wide and wild world of wine.
Where can you buy local wines? I find that the best selection, the best prices and the most fun (and educational) way is to visit the winery, taste a flight of its wines and buy directly. Local wineries often have specials too, either by the case or bundle, and many also sell large-format bottlings of your favorite wines. Pouring wine from a magnum makes any occasion more festive. And buying direct helps cut out the middleman, which helps our small, family-owned wineries with their own bottom lines.
Aside from that, the best selection of local wines can be found in our local Santa Cruz County grocery stores. Shoppers Corner in Santa Cruz, Staff of Life (Santa Cruz and Watsonville), New Leaf Community Markets (Santa Cruz, Aptos, Capitola and others), Deluxe Foods (Aptos) and Summit Store (Santa Cruz Mountains) all sell a wide range of wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains and around the world. These shops do a great job of highlighting local wines either by displaying them in their own section of the wine area or by indicating “Local” on the shelf.
Deer Park Wine & Spirits, in the Rio del Mar shopping center and Seascape Village in Aptos, has a great selection of local wines as well. Caileen Brison, its wine buyer, does an excellent job bringing in local favorites as well as unique wines and the classics from around the world. They also have a wine club, regular wine tastings, and other fun events.
Before temporarily closing for relocation, Soif Wine Merchants in Santa Cruz was my go-to for purchasing wine from anywhere in the world, including local wines. I sure do miss Soif and can’t wait for Alexis Carr and Dede Eckhardt to reopen at their new location in 2024 at the former Caffe Pergolesi on Cedar Street.
If you’re in the market for local wines, you can skip BevMo! (Capitola). It used to have a designated section in the store for local wines, but sadly that is gone. In a recent visit there, not a single local wine was to be found on any of its shelves. When I mentioned this to the clerk, they suggested I email BevMo’s new owner, GoPuff. If you want to buy local wines there, I encourage you to do so as well.
Until next time!
Cheers, Laurie