Wine Tasting in Northern California

Of the many wine tasting regions in Northern California, we strayed this weekend towards the more rustic and mature Santa Clara. Winding roads, horse stables, quaint towns characterize the area - and of course dotted with fabulous wineries. Among our favourites is Jason Stephens - named after the two co-owners, Jason Goelz and Stephen Gorcich.
This is a down-to-earth establishment, and relatively young having opening in October 2008. The very affable Jason was busily keeping an eye over the processing of the latest harvest of Cabernet-Savignon grapes today, while walking us through the process. We like the duo's philosophy towards crafting their wines: "I want to enhance people’s lives for the better because of what I’ve created. My goal is to provide the wine enthusiast with wines that exceed their expectations."
Unlike wineries in the Napa Valley, this area near Gilroy, California is less busy and tastings are easy on the pocketbook. In addition, tasting room staff seem to have much more time attending to visitors. Many of the wines are estate wines but enhanced with grapes from other wineries in Northern California. Our favourites are the Viognier - crisp and fruity - and the Petit Verdot. The 45-acre vineyard is picture-perfect, with the Uvas  Creek running through the property. The winery hosts many events and an outdoor area is perfect for sipping purchased bottles.
High above the rugged Santa Cruz Mountains (yet an easy drive from the South Bay Area), our palates guided us to the wonderful Ridge Vineyards in Monte Bello - an old, historic winery and vineyards planted to the Bordeaux varietals above the San Francisco Peninsula at 2200' elevation. Spectacular views, eloquently landscaped gardens and a renovated tasting room and events building provide a delightful environment for a lazy afternoon of tasting. We are already dedicated Ridge aficionados but what strikes us on return visits is the in-depth knowledge, professionalism and friendliness of the tasting room staff. We made our way down a list of bold zinfandels, tasty merlots and syrah/grenache.
The Ridge marketing and social media guru Christopher greeted us and exuded excitement at the prospects for this year's vintage, given the great weather so far. He said Ridge has an output of 60-70,000 cases annually so can be considered a mature, medium size winery.
One huge factor going for Ridge is its "pre-industrial" approach to wine making - that is, strictly limiting modern additives and invasive processing techniques so that the true distinctive character of its wines come through. This push includes honesty in labelling - listing everything added on its labels. "We want to demonstrate how little intervention is necessary to produce a fine, terroir-driven wine from distinctive fruit," the winery says.
Ridge Vineyards wine club membership is highly recommended - they receive complimentary tastings at the Monte Bello and Lytton Springs properties, and exclusive discounts on seated, small tastings and events.

Jason Stephens Winery
11775 Watsonville Road,
Gilroy, CA
www.jstephens.com

Ridge Vineyard - Monte Bello
www.ridgewine.com