Quick Take
In her biweekly column, Lookout wine expert Laurie Love spotlights the best of last weekend's Surf City Wine Walk, notes a milestone for a Santa Cruz Mountains stalwart, pops the cork on her latest Wine of the Week and lists local events you'll want to add to your calendar.
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.
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WINE NEWS
Summer wine picks at Surf City Wine Walk
Last Sunday was the first annual Surf City Wine Walk at wineries and shops surrounding the Swift Street Courtyard on Santa Cruz’s Westside. The area is home to 10 permanent tasting rooms, which on Sunday were joined by additional pop-up tastings at Illuminée studio, the Gazelle Bikes Experience Center and Pacific Wave. The event was well-attended, bringing in around 200 locals and out-of-towners. With summer upon us, I went in search of refreshing and lively wines that pair well with summer activities and summer fare – think barbecues, salads, picnics, pool parties, backyard gatherings or sunset sipping on the deck.
Here are my top picks for summer sippers from these local wineries (from white to red). All wines are available for purchase directly from the wineries.
Ser Winery 2022 Creston Ridge Vineyard Vermentino, El Pomar District AVA & Ser Winery 2022 Carrasco Vineyard Dry Orange Muscat, Paso Robles AVA
Nicole Walsh, owner/winemaker of Ser Winery, was pouring her wines inside Equinox Winery’s tasting room, where she has relocated tastings after the Doon to Earth Aptos tasting room closed in April. I loved the flight of wines she was pouring, but my favorite Ser summer wines were her vermentino and dry orange muscat. Both are from vineyards in the Paso Robles area, and both show beautiful aromatics and fruit flavors, perfect for summer sipping. Ser’s Dry Orange Muscat was my Wine of the Week in March.
Integrity Wines 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Creek Valley AVA (Double Gold winner at 2024 San Francisco Wine Competition)
Eric Silverman of Integrity Wines (135 Aviation Way, Watsonville) set up shop at the Pacific Wave store on Swift Street, where he poured three wines that won Double Gold medals at the 2024 San Francisco Wine Competition. Integrity’s sauvignon blanc was crisp and refreshing with grapefruit, floral, and stone fruit notes. I also enjoyed Integrity’s 2021 Santa Lucia Highlands Riesling (another Double Gold winner). With its more linear profile — citrus, crisp green apple and mineral notes (and lower alcohol at 11%) — it’s another good choice for summer.
Rexford Winery 2019 Chardonnay, Monterey County
Joe Miller and his son Sam poured some of my favorites of the day. They produce a few chardonnays. This one is not oaky-buttery, but refined, balanced and approachable. Fermented and aged in neutral oak, the wine has lovely, complex aromas and flavors (stone fruit, pineapple, mango, lemon curd and just a kiss of vanilla) along with a long acid finish. It’s a food-friendly wine and would be great with grilled salmon.
Rexford Winery 2022 Tondré Grapefield Dry Riesling, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
Rexford’s riesling has those qualities you want in a riesling: fruity with good acid and a refreshing finish. This wine pairs great with sushi, or just enjoy a glass on the porch. I was delighted to find riesling at this event. Having recently traveled in Germany and Alsace, where riesling is king, it was fun to try some local versions of this versatile grape. Fun fact: Riesling was one of the original wine grape varieties planted in California, including in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where it was planted in the 1860s!
Bottle Jack Winery 2021 Rosé of Sangiovese, Santa Clara Valley AVA
My favorite rosé of the day! The wine is made from 100% sangiovese, which lends itself beautifully to rosé. The wine is dry with notes of watermelon, peach, strawberry and blood orange. This is a “rosé all day” wine that pairs perfectly with summer.
Margins’ Wine 2023 Paicines Ranch Vineyard Grenache, Paicines AVA
Megan Bell was pouring at her cute little wine cubby. This young and vibrant red wine was my favorite in her flight. Just a few months old, the wine is very light-bodied with soft silky tannin and nice tart red berry and spice flavors. Put a slight chill on this wine and enjoy it with chicken salad or grilled shrimp or spicy vegan fare.
Big Basin Vineyards 2021 Old Corral Estate Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
Another refreshing red wine, this Big Basin pinot is bright and fresh. Sourced from its high-elevation estate vineyard near Boulder Creek, the wine shows a nice terroir expression, tasting of tart fruit, rose hips, earth and minerals.
Silver Mountain Vineyards 2013 Alloy, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
The boldest red of my summer picks, this was my wine of the week back in November. As my favorite red of the day, it continues to impress. After almost 11 years, this Bordeaux-blend wine is still so fresh, with rich black and red fruit flavors, cassis, graphite, tobacco and brown spice notes, and an excellent structure. The wine can easily age another 20 years. The cabernet-forward blend is predominantly sourced from the historic Bates Ranch Vineyard. It’s an awesome wine that would be an excellent partner to BBQ meats and grilled steak.
David Bruce Winery celebrates 60th anniversary
David Bruce Winery, pouring as a pop-up at the Surf City Wine Walk, is a new member of the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowing Association. But it is not a new winery. In fact, this year the winery is celebrating 60 years, making it one of the oldest continuously operating wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Dr. David Bruce was a dermatologist who planted his estate vineyard off Bear Creek Road and established his eponymous winery in 1964. David Bruce’s reputation as a premium winery in Santa Cruz was solidified when his wine placed among the California winners of the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting. Bruce also replanted the historic Vine Hill vineyard on Jarvis Road from zinfandel to pinot noir in 1968. He is best known for high-quality pinot noir and chardonnay from his historic vineyards.
Bruce died in 2021, and his winery was recently gifted to Hillsdale College, a private Christian college in southern Michigan. However, the winery continues to run independently of the college, and longtime David Bruce winemaker Mitri Favarashi remains at the head of winemaking operations.
The winery is hosting a 60th-anniversary barbeque party at the estate from 1-4 p.m. on June 22 to celebrate the storied legacy of this iconic place. Get details here.
And finally … Wine of the Week is back!
In my column, I share a particular wine that I’m enjoying now. The Wine of the Week this week is …
Maison Aerion 2019 Chaine d’Or Vineyards Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA ($35)
Maison Areion is a small, boutique winery in the Woodside area that is owned by winegrower and winemaker Nicolas Vonderheyden, who also manages the historic Chaine d’Or Vineyard where the winery is located. Nearly 2 acres and sitting at 1,140 feet in elevation, Chaine d’Or Vineyard was originally planted in 1987. When he bought the vineyard operation in 2015, Vonderheyden implemented sustainable and organic farming practices and eliminated herbicides, insecticides and irrigation. The result is evident in his excellent wines that show a sense of place and respect for this special terroir. These efforts and the quality of his wines also earned him a coveted spot in the Slow Wine Guide USA, to which I am a contributing writer.
This is not a typical California chardonnay. It’s super refined, yet approachable and very food friendly. The wine is made with minimal intervention — whole cluster pressed, fermented with native yeast, and bottled unfiltered. It opens with an elegant nose offering aromas of white flowers, unripe peach and Meyer lemon. On the palate, the wine is as refreshing and balanced as a white Burgundy. With notes of papaya, yellow apple, white blossom, oyster mushroom and an ocean spray minerality, the wine has a medium weight and smooth texture from neutral French oak.
Vonderheyden makes only 100 cases of this chardonnay, one of four offerings from his tiny winery. Email Maison Areion directly to purchase the wine. You’ll be glad you did!
UPCOMING WINE EVENTS
Next Wednesday, June 19, La Posta Restaurant (538 Seabright Ave. in Santa Cruz) is the place to be for another fabulous “Cru Night.” La Posta will open 19-year-old, large-format bottles of nebbiolo from producer Ar Pe Pe in the Valtellina appellation of Lombardy, Italy, a small winegrowing region in the foothills of the Alps where nebbiolo is known locally as chiavennasca. While the bottles last, they will pour these rare library wines by the glass or taste. Dinner specials that night will include regional specialties from Valtellina. Reservations, available here, are strongly suggested. Don’t miss it!
Bring Dad out this Father’s Day weekend to Wrights Station Winery (24250 Loma Prieta Ave., off Summit Road) for oysters from Parker Presents and Wrights Station wine. The event happens from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Make reservations here.
On Sunday, June 23, Bottle Jack Winery is throwing a summer music and wine party at its winery location (1088 La Madrona Dr., Santa Cruz) from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Enjoy expansive Monterey Bay views while you sip Bottle Jack wines and listen to the jazzy tunes of the Jenny O’Leary Jazz Quartet, featuring vocalist Jenny O’Leary. I’ll be there pouring wines. Reservations recommended here.
On Sunday, June 30, treat your palate to the Sandar & Hem Winemaker Dinner at Persephone Restaurant in Aptos. Starting at 5:30 p.m., enjoy five courses paired with Sandar & Hem wines, including its newly released, highly anticipated 2023 pinot grigio from Lago Lomita Vineyard, a high-quality, high-elevation site up off Summit Road. Tickets available here.
The next Wines of Santa Cruz Mountains’ Taste of Terroir wine dinner takes place Saturday, June 22, at Storrs Winery (1560 Pleasant Valley Rd., Aptos). Enjoy appetizers and dinner alongside wines from Aptos Vineyard, Big Basin Vineyards, Lago Lomita Vineyards, Rosscienda Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, Storrs Winery and Wrights Station Winery. Tickets and info here.
Last, O’Neill Charters has local wine-tasting sailings happening every Wednesday through the summer. Board O’Neill’s luxury catamaran at the Santa Cruz Harbor and spend 1½ hours sailing around Monterey Bay while you enjoy wines from a local producer and watch the sunset. Next Wednesday, Soquel Vineyards is the featured winery. Get tickets and more info here.
Until next time!
Cheers,
Laurie
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