Aptos Vineyard To Open Aptos Tasting Room in Mid-Summer

May 9, 2023 – It’s been bubbling on the back burner since Jim Baker—woodworker, educator and wine enthusiast—revived the Aptos Vineyard label in honor of his longtime friend, the late Judge John Marlo, in 2018. 

Finding a potential tasting room site was initially in the “nice to have” column, instead of the “essential” column, but it moved steadily towards essential as the reinvigorated brand grew.

And grow it has, from a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah-focused brand built around Lester Family Vineyards fruit, with John Benedetti as sole winemaker, to one that is embracing various vineyards and varietals, as well as different winemakers. And as if that weren’t enough, they’ve got a completely new, eye-catching label. 

First, the tasting room news, shared recently by Alexandra Baker and her grandfather Jim, while nibbling on olives and charcuterie at VinoCruz, as they shared their vision for the evolution of Aptos Vineyards. 

They will be taking over the Armitage location next to Starbucks in Aptos at the beginning of July, at which time winemaker Brandon Armitage will be moving his tasting room to the Heart Of The Mountain estate in Scotts Valley. He plans to host tastings by appointment there. Aptos Vineyard expects to open their tasting room by the end of July or early August. 

Talk about kismet. What are the chances that a turnkey tasting room would become available in Aptos, just when a new portfolio of wines is ready to launch? They’ve long admired the wines Armitage makes, and as part of their effort to showcase a variety of winemaking talent in the region, they recruited him to make a Merlot for them under the Aptos Vineyard label. Fittingly, the fruit comes from Blue House Vineyard, on the way up to the old Hitchcock estate in Scotts Valley. 

“This is such a beautiful vineyard site! And we love the owner Brooke Lipman, who pretty much does all the farming, with some input from (viticulturist) Ken Swegles,” says Alex. “We called the wine ‘Exhibit 3B,’ for Brandon, Blue House and Brooke. 

We’re holding the May release party at the Blue House vineyard, which will be amazing, as Brooke is such a wonderful hostess. She has chickens and fruit trees and berry bushes, and loves making jams and jellies. The property is just beautiful!” 

The Blue House vineyard is believed to be 30 years old and is dry farmed. Alex and Jim expect Brandon Armitage will continue making this excellent Merlot for them, with its varietally perfect aromas and flavors of leather, dark cherry, cedar and fine tobacco.  

Another new release is the 2022 Aptos Vineyard “Blanc Sein” Sauvignon Blanc from the Tiolo Vineyard on Hecker Pass that winemaker Rob Bergstrom found. “We really are fans of Sandar & Hem wines,” explains Alex. “Having tasted them at Cantine at wine events, we came to appreciate Rob’s touch and wanted to partner with him to make one of our white wines.”

Adds Jim, “We were looking for Sauv Blanc or Pinot Grigio, and we really wanted to stay within the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation, but there is so little fruit available. We figure it’s ok to source from a neighboring AVA.”

For now, they are planning to stick with this source of SB, while keeping their options open. This 2022 “Blanc Seign” Sauvignon Blanc, named for the legal term “Blank Contract,” has an extremely floral and perfume-driven nose, with gardenia, honeysuckle and jasmine dominating. Among the three wines in the May release, Alex says it reminds her of applesauce, with its sweet ripe apple and delicate hint of cinnamon. 

There is also a 2022 “All Rise” Rosé of Syrah from Lester Vineyards, made by core winemaker John Benedetti, which was just bottled. “This is our first Syrah rosé,” Jim notes. “We made a Pinot rosé in the past, but Pinot is just so expensive.” 

Alex notes they love the 2021 Pinot Noir rosé Benedetti made, which is still available, and might revisit that idea again. The 2022 Syrah rosé, after getting past the copious SO2 in the nose, is meaty and grippy, with a great body and mouthfeel, showing nice ripe guava notes and a bit of papaya.    

These three new wines all sport the completely redesigned Aptos Vineyard label, done by Alex Baker’s partner Sean Foster, who also designed the initial labels, and does all the photography for the website. 

Says Alex, “We felt it was time to do something that really spoke of place, and Sean did this amazing rendition of the Cement Ship in Santa Cruz, and this was before the big storm! Who knew it would be destroyed?” Talk about kismet yet again. Not only is the front label visually striking with its gold flecks amidst a sea of blue and green suggesting sunlight on the ocean, but the back label is laid out cleanly and clearly, delivering essential wine information like vineyard name and location and winemaker, so you don’t have to scavenger hunt for it. 

We also learned that Tony Craig is now making the Aptos Vineyard Pinot Noir from DaLarDi Vineyard, a change that began with the 2022 vintage. This is largely due to the amount of fruit this vineyard, managed by Coastal Range, produces, and the logistics of hauling it to Aromas where Benedetti processes his wines. Now, the fruit will have a much shorter trip just up the road from Stetson to Silver Mountain, where Craig makes his Sonnet wines, and where he processes custom crush fruit. 

Benedetti remains the Aptos Vineyard winemaker for all fruit from Lester and Saveria Vineyards. The 2021 Chardonnay from Lester Vineyard, 2021 DeLarDi Pinot Noir and 2021 “Judge’s Reserve” Pinot Noir from DeLarDi, all made by Benedetti before the handoff of DeLarDi winemaking to Craig, will be released in the fall. 

But before we get too far ahead, there’s a Spring release party to plan, a tasting room to redecorate and staff, and the ongoing search for additional Santa Cruz Mountains fruit (they’re looking for Zin from some little backyard vineyard), while the woodworker side of Jim isn’t turning wood on his lathe. 

Case in point, Jim gifted me his latest gem, a handsome sycamore bowl, which came, naturally, with a story. At one point he was principal at the Mintie White School in Watsonville, established in 1928, and still active. The school trustees had planted sycamore trees all along the campus fences, creating a hail of enormous leaves each fall that the children relished playing in and that the groundskeeper dreaded. Making this bowl reminded him of the happiness those trees brought to those children and he suggested I pour a glass of Aptos Vineyard wine and reflect on that carefree time. 

You’re invited to do the same.