Zinfandel 2011
The Bargetto family has many things to celebrate these days—first and foremost, running a fine winery for 80 years. Their tasting room in Soquel is one of the few open daily in the Santa Cruz area, and, as well as producing fine wines, Bargetto Winery continues to host interesting events at their spacious facility on Soquel Creek.
This bright ruby Zinfandel is a delicious mouthful of well-made wine—with grapes harvested from Lodi—and it’s a good deal at $18 (or about $15 a bottle if you buy a whole case). Aromas of ripe raspberries, toasted cedar, raisins and plum jam entice the drinker before the flavors of juicy berries delight the palate. Get some of this for your next barbecue, or pair it with a pork roast or a burger. And with a nod to the 1940s, the label on this old-vine Zin is an eye-catching look-back at Bargetto’s days of yesteryear.
Bargetto Winery also produces six wines from grapes grown on their Regan Estate Vineyards, a favorite of mine being the fabulous La Vita, a blend of Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Refosco. John Bargetto invited me last month to take a look at Regan Vineyards, a stunning piece of property consisting of 40 acres set high in the Corralitos hills with sweeping views of the Monterey Bay. The healthy vines looked beautiful in the afternoon sun, with tiny grapes getting ready to ripen later in the year into wine-producing globes. I was more than impressed. This is god’s little acre—and then some—and Bargetto has great plans for it. He intends to build a high-end winery and tasting room soon, and he is looking for “co-visionaries” who would be interested in being involved with this state-of-the-art project. Build it and they will come, I say.
Mother’s Day Weekend at Bargetto Winery
Most people love chocolate paired with wine—or vice versa. If you happen to be on the famous Cannery Row in Monterey on Saturday, May 10, or Sunday, May 11 (Mother’s Day), stop in and treat your mater. If she is not with you, taste the wine and chocolate yourself and then buy some for your mother. Chocolate is by the award-winning Monterey Chocolate Company, whose artisan chocs are all hand-crafted using organic herbs, nuts and seasonal fruits from local farms. Montereychocolatecompany.com. Bargetto is also putting on a Mother’s Day gourmet buffet brunch on the patio of their winery in Soquel. Food is by Five Star Catering and tickets for the event are $55, which includes buffet, wine, tax and gratuity.
Los Gatos Spring Wine Walk
Bargetto Winery is also participating in the Los Gatos Spring Wine Walk from 1:30-5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 17. Tickets are $40 in advance or $50 the day of the event. Visit losgatoschamber.com for more information.
Bargetto Winery, 3535 N. Main St., Soquel, 475-2258. Bargetto.com.
