Saturday lunch and wineries in Santa Cruz area?

[rpdkpd]

We will be visiting in Palo Alto a week from Saturday, and we would like to make a few winery stops built around a delightful lunch. Areas, as I understand them, would be Cupertino, Saratoga, Los Gatos, and the Santa Cruz mountains. Most of the resto posts here appear to be for dinners, such as Manressa in Los Gatos. Ideally we would like to find a place with excellent food and an outside table. Suggestions, including a small number of winery visits, would be appreciated!

[Busboy]

I believe Ridge is located in or near Santa Cruz, if you're in the mood to get your Zin on, and I have been to the always-interesting Bonny Doon just outside of town. If nothing else it's worth stopping by just to pick up the poster that accompanied "Grenache Village," a spectacularly viniferous variation on Ginzberg's "Howl" illustrated, of course, by Ralph Steadman. Wine's pretty good, too.

[ludja]

Ridge Winery is much closer to Palo Alto than to Santa Cruz. It's west of Palo Alto and a bit south up in the mountains overlooking Silicon Valley. To go to Santa Cruz you drive ~ 45 min on Hwy 17 through the mountains to reach the ocean.

I don't eat in Saratoga or Los Gatos often but there are some nice restaurants there. Maybe someone else with pipe up with suggestions. Eating in either of these places would put you very close to Testarossa and Savannah-Chenelle both very nice wineries with great Pinot Noirs. You cold visit one of these wineries, have lunch, visit the other and then head over to Ridge. Ridge is only open on the weekends but it seems like that is when you will be there. Check Ridge's hours though and schedule a good 45-60 min or so to get there from Saratoga or Los Gatos.

Here's a link with more info on Santa Cruz Mountain Wineries and each particular winery.

Another option would be to eat lunch in Palo Alto and then just visit either Ridge or Thomas Fogarty up in the Santa Cruz mountains. Both have spectacular views of the valley, bay and East mountains. (You can bring a picnic to both of these wineries as well.)

The Santa Cruz wineries are very spread apart. Another tour I like very much is David Bruce, Storrs, and Bonny Doon. (I agree with Busboy that Bonny Doon is a fun place to visit.) This tour would take more like 5-6 hrs and entails driving through the mountains to Santa Cruz. We usually bring a picnic lunch to eat at David Bruce or Bonny Doon.

Are you interested in any particular types of wines?

[VenerableBede]

make sure of your times and distances, as mountain climbing adds to it. from palo alto to ridge, i'd say it's about 35-45 minutes, including the drive up the mountain. ridge has a few tables for picnics- i've often stopped at togo's (there's a togo's on stevens creek, right off the exit with hwy. 85) and picked up a few sandwiches, then drove to ridge, sampled, bought a half-bottle and drank that with the sandwiches.

i recommend ludja's link to the santa cruz mountain winery association; the map on their page is invaluable, but just be aware of distances, as they may not be apparent on the map. also, alot of the wineries on the list aren't open to the public, except for passport days, which does not occur in march, so call ahead.

i can say that ridge and savannah-chenelle are good/excellent. . .cooper-garrod is ok, and picchetti. . .not so much.

[ludja]

...

i can say that ridge and savannah-chenelle are good/excellent. . .cooper-garrod is ok, and picchetti. . .not so much.

←

Agreed; but if time is short, Pichetti is right at the bottom of the mountain from Ridge and is set in a beautiful old farming complex. If armed with a good map, you can drive from Ridge and Pichetti via a back road in the mountains which will lead you to Highway 9 above Saratoga and very close to Savannah-Chenelle. Going this way between the wineries of Savannah-Chenelle/Testarossa and Ridge/Pichetti is very scenic and actually saves quite a bit of time as opposed to driving between them via Hwy 280.

There are a lot of wineries that you'll find on the Santa Cruz Mountain Association website. Over the years I've been to about 2/3's of them and for quality wine my favorites are Ridge, Savannah-Chenelle (which I only went to the first time last year!), David Bruce, Storrs and Bonny Doon. Next favorites are Testarossa and Thomas Fogarty. This is not to discourage anyone with more time to check out each and every one though; you may find something that hits the spot and it is always fun to visit a "new to you" winery even if you only go there once.

Apart from those convenient for rpdkpd's one-day itinerary, do you have any other favored Santa Cruz Mountain wineries, VenerableBede?

(As mentioned, I kicked myself after "discovering" Savannah-Chenelle last year for the first time!)

Edited March 15, 2007 by ludja (log)

[VenerableBede]

Apart from those convenient for rpdkpd's one-day itinerary, do you have any other favored Santa Cruz Mountain wineries, VenerableBede?

←

without taking this too off-track, i can say that i have not had the ability to really go out and check out the santa cruz mountain wineries, other than the ones i mentioned above-i'm trying to use the passport days to take on the other cupertino/saratoga wineries (especially kathryn kennedy and cinnabar). . .i think bonny doon may have to be a special trip.

my sister loved thomas fogarty, both the wine and the property, for what it's worth.