Getting together with my Wild Wine Women group is always a fun experience. We especially enjoy going to a winery we haven’t visited before.
That was certainly the case for most of our group when we entered the impressive portals of Black Ridge Vineyards through its massive gate. What a spread! Gorgeous grounds greet the visitor, and a beautiful, well-decorated tasting room invites one to linger and enjoy the variety. This prime piece of real estate is well worth a visit—and you get to taste some good wines, too.
I sampled a few of Black Ridge’s wines but particularly gravitated toward their 2015 estate-grown Chardonnay ($40). Rich and floral, it captures the essence of a well-made Chardonnay with its dense citrus fruit flavors and enticing aromas of apple, pear, banana, and pineapple. Many of us bought wine to share over lunch at a huge table in the tasting room, and the Chardonnay was voted the best.
“Winemaker Bill Brosseau convinced us to graft over a less popular varietal in order to offer you more of our estate Chardonnay,” say the folks at Black Ridge, who also sing the praises of their vineyard foreman, Armando Perez-Martinez. Brosseau has crafted the grapes into a lustrous, food-friendly wine worthy of any dinner table.
Black Ridge Vineyards, 18570 Black Ridge Rd., Los Gatos. 408-399-6396, blackridgevineyards.com.
Persephone Hosts Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard
The delightful Persephone Restaurant in Aptos will be pouring the wonderful wines of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard for a winemaker’s dinner. The five-course dinner includes a main course of seared lamb loin with pomegranate-walnut sauce. Cost is $100 per person, including tax and gratuity.Â
