May 19, 2015 – It’s been a long time coming, and Barry and Jennifer Jackson couldn’t be happier about having a new space—actually more space—where they can better accommodate their growing business. Known as the “King of Champagne” in the Santa Cruz area, Jackson has seen a noticeably stepped up demand for his special Methode Champenoise products, and is literally running out of space at his current headquarters on Swift Street.
Recently, Jackson of Equinox and Bartolo Wines took over the space in the Ingalls wine complex formerly occupied by Vino Tabi at 334C Ingalls and couldn’t be happier with the arrangement. This new spot, which is still undergoing renovations, will become the new Equinox/Bartolo tasting room, where they will have more room to welcome customers, inviting them to sit down and relax.
The long-held Swift Street location will remain the site of his winemaking and sparkling production, as well as case goods storage. The new place on Ingalls will be dedicated to tasting and retail, as well as long-term aging for sparkling wines. Jackson calls it his “Tasting Room and Aging Cellar.”
This Memorial Day Holiday weekend, May 23-24, will be as Jackson puts it, “The softest of soft openings. It’s more like a shakedown cruise on a vessel: you’re looking for the spots where it leaks.”
“Opening a new place on a 3-day holiday weekend is not my first choice, but we might as well open the doors and see what happens,” he adds. “We know we can accommodate lots of people from our experience with Passport, but any time you move to a new spot, it’s a whole lot like cooking in someone else’s kitchen: you don’t know how high to turn up their burners, you don’t know where the potholders are, you fumble for the paper towels, spatula and so forth. We just need to keep moving forward, and we’ve waited so long, we might as well just do it.”
Jackson admits he was in the middle of programming the new cash register while we spoke on Tuesday afternoon. He plans to offer flights of four wines for $5 per person. People can choose four from a list of seven. Eventually, he’ll offer premium sparkling flights, perhaps library flights. All fodder for another day.
The décor, which he describes as tasteful warehouse meets wooden accents, will provide a relaxed and comfortable setting for guests to hang out and enjoy a flight or a glass of wine. Jackson figures they will be open from noon until 6 or 7 p.m. depending on the demand for “an expanded waiting room,” as he notices people need a place to hang out while waiting for dinner at The West End Tap Room next door.
Hopefully, all the new glassware specifically for enjoying sparkling and red wines will arrive and all the interior work, including the seating for the tasting bar, will be completed in the next few weeks.
Equinox will be open noon til 5pm this Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24, at the new location at 334C Ingalls Street. He’s not sure about holiday Mondays as of yet. In the future, he hopes to expand hours to include Fridays, and eventually Thursdays. A big “welcome to the neighborhood” party will be held at some point later in the summer in conjunction with the other wineries in Ingalls, including Sones Cellars, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard and Silver Mountain. Stay tuned for the next installment.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
