October 4, 2016 – With the harvest season almost over, winemakers Alex Krause and John Locke are preparing to open the first tasting room for their Birichino wines. To be located on Church St. in downtown Santa Cruz, the 1,200 sq ft building will house both tasting room and business offices for the 8-year-old label.
“We needed a place to meet our customers and distributors, it was the missing element,” says Locke. They have been running the business out of their homes and make most of their wine at Ian Brand’s custom crush facility in Salinas.
“There will be no barrels and no plastic grape clusters,” he promised. “It will have a pretty cool atmosphere.”
Architect John McKelvey is designing the new space and Suna Lock of Stripe Design is handling the interior, which will feature a custom-made pewter bar and artwork by Krause, an accomplished photographer.
“We want the place to visually tell the stories of the vineyards and the people involved, the growers and the workers,” he adds.
The Santa Cruz winemakers, both Bonny Doon Vineyards alums, are known for their bright and original, exotically-perfumed wines and silly sense of humor. Their wine notes for the flagship Malvasia Bianca describe the 2013 vintage as “reminiscent of a Hawaiian vacation.”
“What I learned from Randall Grahm is that if I can make a great wine and then add a little extra story on top, it’s magic,” says Locke.
The much-lauded label has slowly grown and matured to an estimated production of 7-8,000 cases this harvest season. It is now sold in 15 states and international markets, such as Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and even France—where consumers love Birichino’s Besson Old Vines Grenache and Santa Cruz Mountains Old Vines Zinfandel.
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At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
