2021 - Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards!

Posted on 1 April 2021
By Mark Meissner

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS VINEYARD - The whole history...

The seeds for Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard were planted when a young man by the name of Ken Burnap (above) took a prom date out to one of the finest restaurants in San Antonio, Texas. Ken ordered a bottle of wine and mangled the pronunciation of the French wine. The very snobby and pretentious wine steward humiliated Ken with his reaction and in the manner of most of us when barely out of our teens, Ken vowed to learn as much as he could about wine and go back and show that wine steward a thing or two.

The very next day he set off to find and read every book he could get his hands on that had anything to do with wine. In no time at all he was totally captivated with the subject of fine wine. He soon forgot about the snobby wine steward but had gained a fascinating hobby that would become the passion of a lifetime.

Through the years Ken’s favorite variety became Pinot Noir – Pinot Noir from Burgundy, that is. Ken was perplexed with how it could be that Pinot Noir from France could be so amazing, while California Pinot Noir was pretty much universally not very good at the time. So he started to do research on Pinot Noir.

This was the early 1970’s. A great majority of the wine produced in California came out of Napa Valley, including most California Pinot Noir. Through his research, Ken came to the conclusion that the reason most California Pinot Noir was so bad was that it was grown on the floor of Napa Valley which was the wrong climate to grow Pinot Noir. So he started to look at regions in California that might be better suited to good quality Pinot Noir.

Ken lived in Orange County, in southern California. He owned an industrial contracting firm and ran a restaurant called The Hobbit, which he founded. Purely as an excuse to travel to beautiful locations in northern California, his hobby became exploring different areas that he thought would be excellent for growing great quality Pinot Noir. The way he puts it, he never had any conscious intention of starting a winery. He had developed a list of about 13 criteria that he felt were necessary to have in a vineyard site in order to produce top quality Pinot Noir. In these trips to Northern California he started looking at property that might meet those criteria. Very quickly, his main areas of focus became the Russian River Valley and the Santa Cruz Mountains. He felt these would be the best places to grow Pinot Noir in California.

Join us THIS week, and taste through Ken's vision; the passion and the brilliant wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains!

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards "Bailey's Branciforte Ridge Vineyard"

Pinot Noir 2014 - $36

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards "Branciforte Creek Vineyard"

Pinot Noir 2014 - $49

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards "Pierce Ranch"

Petite Sirah 2015 - $25

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards "Luchessi Vineyard"

Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 - $59

4-pack price: $169

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards "Bailey's Branciforte Ridge Vineyard" Pinot Noir 2014 - $36

This is a Pinot Noir Vineyard located in the Vine Hill area near our old Estate Winery location on Jarvis Road. It was planted in 1999 and consists of Dijon clones 667 and 115. It is meticulously tended and is a showcase vineyard for showing off Pinot Noir cultivation in the Santa Cruz Mountains at its best. The Vineyard is at a high enough elevation (around 1,200 feet) 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 2014 vintage really showcases the bright and complex fruit from this vineyard. It has classic Pinot Noir varietal character while also having the earth and spice nuances of the Santa Cruz Mountains Appellation Pinots. This wine is big enough to age for many years yet has elegance and complexity in its youth that comes from a perfectly farmed vineyard. Alcohol 12.80%

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards "Branciforte Creek Vineyard"

Pinot Noir 2014 - $49

Branciforte Creek Vineyard is located on Jarvis Road in the Vine Hill area of the Santa Cruz Mountains, just a mile away from our well-known Estate Vineyard on the same road. The vines were planted in 1988 in a site that originally had grapes since 1863. This vineyard has low yields of very flavorful fruit year after year. This vineyard represents the best of “old school” Pinot Noir, before all of those cola-cherry focused “modern” clones became so popular. This vineyard is Pommard Clone, a clone that results in a more traditional, Burgundian take on the variety. You don’t just get lots of cherry/berry fruit – you get all kinds of intriguing back flavors and aromas. Things like dried leaves, damp earth, warming spices and fennel can be found in nuances layers behind and around the fruit. The 2013 vintage is a little more tightly wound than the previous vintage. It yields its fruit slowly after opening, then develops many layers of savory complexities to go with the emerging fruit. Decant ahead of time if drinking sooner, or lay it down for a few years and it will become more and more complex. 311 cases produced – Aged 18 months in French, Eastern European (neutral oak casks) Unfined & Unfiltered

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards "Pierce Ranch"

Petite Sirah 2015 - $25

The variety known in California as Petite Sirah has its origins in France where it is called Durif. It was named after Dr. Durif who propagated it from a cross of Peloursin and Syrah in 1880. Only in the U.S. is the variety called Petite Sirah – elsewhere in the world it is called by its correct and original name Durif. Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard has worked with this variety since 1977. The grapes for this wine come from the relatively new appellation of San Antonio Valley in southwestern Monterey County. This high valley, west of Highway 101 is well suited to slightly warmer climate grape varieties. The block that these grapes come from is on top of a well-drained, shale covered hill. We are using a relatively new approach in fermenting our Petite Sirah. The variety is famous for over-extracting tannins, often making wines of great fruit intensity, but commonly having a lot of astringency. Starting in 2005 we went to a method of whole berry fermentation of our Petite Sirah and we are very excited about the results. When the grapes are processed they are only de-stemmed, not crushed at all. We de-stem them into small, one ton lot, fermentation bins. By not crushing the berries we release fewer of the harsh tannins during fermentation. This release has a lot of wild berry fruit character along with smoky, peppery spiciness and some tannins at this young age. This is a wine to enjoy with hearty comfort foods like stews, roasts and rich pasta sauces. We suggest giving it some time in a decanter to wake up everything lurking inside, or cellar it for a few more years. Alcohol 13.50%

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards "Luchessi Vineyard"

Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 - $59

The Luchessi 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 Montebello Ridge. It is an old-fashioned vineyard with head-trained vines and 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. This vineyard just looks like it has to make wine of character, and it does. Year after year there is an incredible depth of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit, especially on the aroma. Usually hearty Cabs like this don't show much fruit in the aroma for the first 3 to 5 years, but for some reason this site makes wine that leaps out of the glass when young. The wine has many layers once it wakes up, including complexities of anise, vanilla and some chaparral herbs. This is a rugged and feisty Cabernet Sauvignon for hearty meals, and it will continue to age gracefully in the cellar for many years, easily going for two to three decades if properly cellared – 235 cases produced Alcohol 13.50%