.Muns Vineyard

Syrah 2008

Local winemaker Ed Muns, along with his business partner Mary Lindsay, was pouring his excellent wines at a recent event – which is when I tasted his Syrah 2008, Santa Cruz Mountains and immediately bought a bottle to write about. Here’s an estate-grown Syrah ($25) that is rich, complex, well balanced, and bursting with beautiful fruit. It’s a dynamic wine that drinks well now, but will also bottle-age nicely for years to come. Syrah, with its peppery flavor and smoky aroma, pairs very well with meat, but it’s a bit too robust for fish or anything light.

Ed Muns’ vineyard sits on a high ridge 2,600 feet above the Monterey Bay – with just the right amount of sunlight and gentle maritime breezes for growing perfect grapes. A retired technology manager at Hewlett-Packard, he found this property by chance when he was looking for a high-elevation spot for his ham radio antennas and came across an abandoned vineyard.

Muns is justly proud of the wines he makes and believes that minimal intervention in his winery allows the special mountain terroir to shine. “Enjoy heaven-in-a-bottle,” Muns says of his wines, “from our ridge-top vineyard above the bay.”

Muns Vineyard, PO Box 1877, Los Gatos. (408) 234-2079. munsvineyard.com.

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Wine Events

Wild Blue at Clos LaChance Winery The beautiful Clos LaChance Winery has some fun wine tasting and music events coming up. On March 26 the winery features the talented trio Wild Blue, playing feel-good tunes from 1-4 p.m.

Clos LaChance Winery, 1 Hummingbird Lane, San Martin, CA 95046. Wildblueandyou.com.

Pinot Paradise

This coming weekend is a huge event for Pinot Noir lovers – of which I am one. Pinot Paradise, put on by the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association (SCMWA), takes place on March 26 and 27. Saturday, March 26 is Pathway to Pinot – an opportunity to go barrel tasting at many of the wineries participating in the event; and Sunday, March 27 head to Villa Ragusa in historic downtown Campbell where around 30 wineries from the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation will be pouring their best Pinot Noirs – including Muns Vineyard. Many upscale restaurants provide an abundance of delicious food, so you can expect some tasty bites to go along with the Pinot.

Info: scmwa.com.