Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Country / About Wine, Food, and and Wine Country Living

Posted June 2006

July Passport Weekend

Santa Cruz Wineries open for the summer's biggest tasting event.

SANTA CRUZ—Just finding the wineries of the Santa Cruz region can be hard enough. Tucked into the mountainsides, down long and winding roads, and along sheer seaside cliffs, the appellation spans a huge region over thousands of acres with little in the way of clearly marked wine routes.

Growing aggressively over the last several two decades, there are now more than 50 wineries producing everything from Pinot Noir to Chardonnay as far north Half Moon Bay and stretching down to the warm southern valleys to near Watsonville. Of these, the majority are still small mom and pop operations producing just a few thousand cases annually and offering little in the way of formal tasting rooms or tours.

But it's no longer a secret that these maverick mountain wineries are making some of the most individualistic, imaginative wines in California. Home to the popular renegade winery, Bonny Doon, as well as more classic rogue winemakers like Ridge, David Bruce and Ahlgren, wine enthusiasts from around the world are making the trek down white-knuckle mountain roads for a taste.

One of the best ways to discover the huge diversity of Santa Cruz are quarterly Passport Weekends—the next happening July 15, 2006—when many of the wineries throw open their doors and invite guests to walk around, taste from the barrels and chat with the winemakers. A number of wineries are only open during these special Passport events, held in January, April, July and November.

Though there's plenty of activity year round, July is an especially perfect time to visit, as grapes begin to hang on the vines, new vintages are being released and barrel samples are coming into their own. During the Passport event, the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers' Association issues visitors a "passport" along with a map for a self-guided tour of the participating wineries (in July, there are 47). There's a prize for completing the Passport, but frankly, the journey is the real reward. It's a perfect opportunity to wind through the dappled light of mountainous country roads, through hundreds of feet of varying elevation and get a taste of the wild, untamed spirit of Santa Cruz.

If you go:
Purchase a Passport for $30 by calling (831) 685-VINE [8463]. The Passport covers tasting room fees at all participating wineries and is valid until completed. Or, visit www.scmwa.com/passport/index.htm