Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard is located at one of the oldest continuously operated vineyards in California, originally established in 1863 as the Jarvis Brothers' Vineyard.

The proprietor, Ken Burnap, started the winery in 1974, setting out to make the finest Pinot Noir possible in California. Ken had done years of research into what conditions were necessary to produce good Pinot Noir and the site of this historic Jarvis Vineyard met all those criteria.

For over 30 years, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard has been producing hand-crafted, artisanal wines known for their character and personality. Their approach to winemaking is to optimize the inherent potential in the grapes, a potential born not only of the vine but of the environment.

The French use the term terroir to describe how the location of where the grapes are grown. The–soil, the air, and the climate can impart a unique personality to the wine. At Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, they let the terroir determine the style of each wine, rather than forcing the grapes to make wine of some preconceived type.

The winery uses primarily Santa Cruz Mountains Appellation grapes, as has found that this cool, mountainous region produces wines of superior quality and longevity.

Winemaking is a dedicated affair of the heart at Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, and they believe the enjoyment of good wine should be an experience accessible to everyone - this means making high quality, food-oriented wines at a fair price.

Tinta Cao - 2004, San Antonio Valley, Pierce Ranch Vineyard   
$16.50

Tinta Cao translates as ''red dog" in Portuguese. It is used in table wines and Ports in Portugal but is very rare on the U.S. In Portugal it is hardly every bottled as a single varietal so there aren't a lot of opportunities to try this grape variety by itself. As you can see when you try this one, Tinta Cao contributes the treble notes to wine blends. It is very delicately fruity and floral and has complexity and subtlety even when quite young.

The wine is an intriguing and complex mix of flowers and berries. It is very floral with aromas of wisteria and lavender. The fruit flavors are quite exotic and unlike those of any other red wine, but one can find hints of blueberries, strawberries, may even show a bith of pomegranate. We have no idea how this wine will age but it drinks great now, especially if allowed to breathe in a decanter before serving. It can go well with summer foods and lighter to medium fare because of its complex fruit and nice tartness. Our best guess at the moment is to suggest drinking it from now through 2010. Alcohol 12.5%. 100 cases.

Merlot - 2007, Santa Cruz Mountains, Zayante Vineyards
$16.50

We are very excited about now being able to make a Merlot from Santa Cruz Mountains grapes. We have always been known for making a Cabernet Sauvignon lover’s type of Merlot and we believe using these mountain grapes makes it even more that way. The vineyard is situated at around 1,200 feet of elevation on the west side of the Santa Cruz Mountains. This vineyard location is perfect for having enough heat to fully ripen the fruit while at the same time having some really cool nights which maintains a higher acid balance and makes for a deeply fruity wine that goes great with food.

This wine has many layers of fruit, with a deep cherry and chocolate character in both the aroma and flavors. The wine is rich, round and full in the mouth and shows off Merlot’s unique ability to create a very big and intense wine with a soft and velvety structure. This Merlot will stand up to any food you would pair with a Cabernet Sauvignon but will be approachable sooner and not hit your wallet quite so hard.

Grenache - 2006, McDowell Valley
$18.00

This Grenache is made from vines that are over 100 years old from the McDowell Valley Vineyard in Mendocino County. These gnarly, head-trained vines produce small quantities of grapes loaded with character. The wine has deep flavors of raspberries with complex exotic spiciness that includes white pepper. It has a very aromatic nose with an intriguing interplay between exotic spice and many different fruit and floral elements. This dance of spice, fruit and flowers continues in the mouth and long into the finish. Alcohol 12.2% 225 Cases.

Petite Sirah "Durif" - 2006, McDowell Valley
$18.00

Durif is one of many grape varieties that is grown in the Rhône Valley of France and it is one of the varieties allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines. Early in the 20th Century cuttings of Durif from the Rhône Valley were shipped to California, but during this process the cuttings were given the name Petite Sirah. There really is no such thing as Petite Sirah in France, it was simply a name applied to the Durif grape when it was first brought over to the U.S. Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard has been labeling this variety by its “real” name since 1977.

Whatever you want to call it, this particular release has very complex aromatics that include hints of rose petals, black pepper spiciness and a touch of wood smoke. These elements are wrapped around an impressive depth of blackberries and other dark fruit flavors. Have it with a nice cut of beef or lamb and it should work beautifully.

The grapes for this wine come from plantings in the McDowell Valley appellation of Mendocino county from 1948. These old vines produce wines with a lot of flavor intensity and the kind of character and complexity you can only get with an older vineyard.

This vineyard is a perfect example of a rough and rugged mountain vineyard that produces wine with tons of character. It was planted in 1981 on a very steep hillside on the east side of the Santa Cruz Mountains a little northeast of Monte Bello Ridge. It is an old fashioned vineyard with head-trained vines with no trellis wires – the site is too steep to have wires as tractors need to be able to cultivate either direction depending on the slope.

The yields are very low which results in very intense wine. This 2006 vintage is our first release from this source. It has very deep varietal Cabernet fruit in the aroma and flavor, and lots of briar, earth and chocolate components in both the nose and the mouth. This is rugged and feisty Cabernet Sauvignon for hearty meals now or it will continue to age gracefully in the cellar for many years. Alcohol 13%. 157 Cases.

Pinot Noir - 2005, Santa Cruz Mountains, Bailey's Branciforte Ridge Vineyard
$29.00

This Pinot Noir is from an absolutely manicured vineyard that produces perfect looking fruit with loads of flavor year after year. It is at a high enough elevation to be out of the fog on most days but is low enough to have very cool nights from the Pacific Ocean. These conditions produce a very intense wine with great depth of flavors and the ability to age beautifully for at least two decades from the vintage.

Our 2005 vintage was only the third crop from the vineyard but has incredible depth and density. There is a very rich and deep fruit component along with a lot of the earth and spice of the Santa Cruz Mountains Appellation Pinots.

This vintage in the Santa Cruz Mountains was one with a long, cool ripening period that resulted in wines of terrific subtlety and complexity. This wine is big and powerful compared to most Pinot Noir in the market, but it has an elegance in its youth that comes from great growing conditions in 2005.

Pinot Noir - 2006, Santa Cruz Mountains, Bailey's Branciforte Ridge Vineyard
$34.00

"This wine's wild forest-berry character has the Pacific coolness of the Santa Cruz Mountains. There's tension between its substantial tannins and a spark of acidity, the taste equivalent of the glint of mica schist. The fruit lasts past the tannins, both juicy & silken." Wine & Spirits - April 2009

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