Health & Fitness
3 Days of Quintessential Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir
Region's premiere wine event celebrating world-class Pinot Noirs and their legendary winemakers takes place March 22-24.
One of the best ways to really discover what you like and don’t like about different wines is to do a deep dive into a particular variety.
More events are being organized in such a focused fashion, with plenty of them centered on Pinot Noir.
If you love Pinot, and even if you think you don’t, Pinot Paradise is for you.
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In this three-day Pinot Noir immersion, you can drink in the history of Pinot Noir exclusively from one of its best growing regions, the Santa Cruz Mountains.
In a variety of formats and venues, you can become an elite member of “The Pinot Posse,” learning about vineyard practices, meeting top winemakers, like legendary Josh Jensen of Calera and Bradley Brown of Big Basin Vineyards, all the while tasting and discovering what makes your heart flutter, or sputter.
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The other option is to simply sit down and enjoy dinner with fellow Pinot lovers, another opportunity to meet some of the area’s superstar winemakers.
On Friday, March 22, Pinot Paradise kicks off with technical seminars that explore the minerality of Santa Cruz Mountains Pinots with local winemaking legends, followed by a fabulous wine dinner with multiple wineries at the historic Mountain Winery, where Paul Masson first planted Pinot from his wife’s family’s vineyard in France.
On Saturday, March 23, there’s Pinot Pathways, a self-guided tour throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, where you can taste barrel and library samples in some of the areas’ most beautiful vineyards. A festive winemaker dinner follows at Shadowbrook, in Capitola, with Executive Chef Ashley Hosmer.
The crown jewel of the three-day event is Pinot Paradise, held on Sunday, March 24, a grand tasting of strictly Santa Cruz Mountains Pinots by more than 30 producers, accompanied by gourmet food from leading Bay Area chefs and caterers. Held at beautiful Villa Ragusa in downtown Campbell, this is truly the event of the year for Pinotphiles in the Bay Area.
A special three-day Pinot Paradise package, priced at $295, provides access to all the main events.
- Technical session and VIP "meet the winemaker" reception (value $65)
- 2 winemaker dinners - one on Friday and one on Saturday (value $250)
- 1 Pathway to Pinot Paradise of the Santa Cruz Mountains (value $25)
- 1 VIP Grand Cruz wine and food tasting, 12 noon-5 p.m. (value $100)
(Total savings of $145)
Or, you can build your own experience by selecting from these individual events:
Friday, March 22: technical session: $65 per person, 1-4 p.m., Mountain Winery in Saratoga. Minerality: Taste vs. Terroir: Unlocking the secrets of Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir
Presentation, tasting and panel discussion
Friday, March 22: VIP "meet the winemaker" reception (free to tech session attendees), 4-6 p.m., The Mountain Winery in Saratoga.
Ultimate Pinot Noir winemaker dinner: $125 per person, 7-9 p.m., The Mountain Winery in Saratoga. Executive Chef: David Sidoti
Participating Wineries:
Menu:
First course: Delicate lettuce with glazed walnuts, fresh raspberries and creamy brie, and raspberry red wine vinaigrette
Main Course: seared fresh salmon fillet served with rosemary whipped potatoes, roasted carrots, assorted heirloom squash; pink peppercorn, chardonnay mustard sauce
Dessert: lemon curd parfait: layers of lemon curd and sponge cake with whipped mascarpone and biscotti
Saturday, March 23: Pathway to Pinot Paradise: $25 per person, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. A self-guided wine tour of the Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir producing wineries. Your chance to taste barrel samples of Pinot Noir at participating wineries, as well as limited library wines at some locations.
Saturday, March 23: Ultimate Pinot Noir winemaker dinner: $125 per person, 6-8 p.m., Shadowbrook Restaurant in Capitola.
Join us for the Ultimate Pinot Noir Winemaker dinner at Shadowbrook Restaurant in beautiful “Capitola By the Sea." Guests will dine with many local Pinot Noir winemakers, sampling outstanding wines and enjoying a true culinary experience featuring locally sourced ingredients, crafted by Executive Chef Ashley Hosmer. Seating is very limited.
Participating Wineries:
Menu:
First Course: Pinot pork belly sous-vide in Pinot Noir, spicy pickled onions, mache, local quail egg
Intermezzo: sparkling Plum-Pinot sorbe
Entree: Wild salmon surf and turf—local salmon roulade with leeks and moroccan spices and beef short rib braised in local Pinot and aromatics
Dessert: Honey lavender panna cotta and rhubarb soup
Sunday, March 24: VIP Grand Cruz Wine and food tasting
1-2 p.m.—VIP tasting: $100 per person
2-5 p.m.—Grand Cruz tasting: $75-$85 (advance/day-of pricing)
Venue: Villa Ragusa in historic downtown Campbell
Join more than 30 Pinot Noir winemakers of the Santa Cruz Mountains and taste through more than 150 sensational wines, while feasting on a tempting array of delectables from over a dozen gourmet restaurants and artisan vendors from the Bay Area.
Purchase tickets at scmwa.com. Hope to see you in paradise!