Shopping and Sipping at the Aptos Wine Wander

December 12, 2023 – The 2023 holiday Wine Wander in Aptos, held on Saturday, December 9, was blessed with the blue skies and sunny warmth that was certainly missing from last year’s near washout. 

The crowds were festive and in a great mood to buy, as evidenced by the number of people carrying shopping bags from local establishments like Warmth & Co, where Wrights Station was pouring their Arena Block Pinot Noir and estate Cuvée Chardonnay, and Magnolia Fine Gifts, which hosted Muns Vineyard. 

A very popular shopping destination was the well-stocked Calicoastal Boutique, filled with fine clothing and tableware accessories, where Big Basin Vineyards was pouring. Winemaker/proprietor, Bradley Brown, explained that his 2021 Rodnick.Farm Pinot Noir, which exuded the dried herbs and warm earth and sand of the brushy chapparal in Chalone, was from clone 943 and Pommard. A photo of the tiny berries, with their low skin to juice ratio, gave context to the dry, concentrated mouthfeel. This is a wine for rosemary encrusted lamb on the grill, although the handsome ram on the label would doubtless find that suggestion particularly unsavory. Brown explained that former Scheid COO Kurt Gollnick, the current owner of the Rodnick vineyard that was formerly called Antle, uses sheep for weed control and fertilizer. Full circle farming, for sure.  

The crowd favorite was the big-hearted, full throttle 2018 Big Basin Vineyards Gabilan Mountain GSM. Brown told me that the last fruit he brought in from this year’s protracted harvest was his estate Roussanne, which he feels would be better served as a sparkling: he and winemaker Blake Yarger are discussing making a Pet Nat from it. 

Windy Oaks wines, including the barrel-aged Sauvignon Blanc and Terra Narro Pinot Noir, were being poured at Sarah’s European Skin Care, where the holiday music was festive and the food welcome. In fact, many of the shop owners wisely and kindly provided a good spread of food. 

Steve Johnson and Ed Lane were pouring a 2021 Sparkling Rosé of Pinot Noir, a 2020 Domingo Pinot Noir and 2019 Syrah at Lester Family. But it was a wine that wasn’t present that Johnson talked of most: the 2021 Chardonnay, which he says is the best they’ve ever made. Lane told me I’d best get over to the tasting room to try some before Johnson drank it all. 

Rob and Recha Bergstrom of Sandar & Hem were set up in the wine room at Cantine, where the turquoise leather couch and beautifully carved arm chair, made a perfect spot to enjoy the Bates Ranch Rosé of Grenache, filled with strawberries, guava and pure joy, and the 2021 Mountain Winery Chardonnay, with its whipped marshmallow core and delicate hint of apple strudel. The most impressive of the lineup was the corduroy textured, raspberry truffle-laden Deerheart Vineyard Pinot Noir, from a knoll on Skyline Boulevard that gets afternoon sun. Scott Sisemore of Waxwing Wines used to make extraordinary wine from this site, and when he exited the wine business, Bergstrom pounced on it. Good move.

A big shoutout to the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association for organizing a group of makers for a mini Maker’s Market in front of the New Leaf where the check in and bottle booth stations were positioned. 

And a big shoutout to all the stores who hosted wineries on their premises, because having lots of people drinking wine in small spaces filled with treasures can end up in disaster. Pelican House Swimwear was among the tiniest of all. Owner Justine, who makes stylish and reversible custom swimwear from really cool fabrics meant to stand up to actual water exposure, not just lounging about a cabana with umbrella drinks, was just putting up her signs and organizing her abalone jewelry when I walked in. It was the first day her shop was open. 

The Aptos hills resident was born in Sonoma, studied Marine Biology at UC Santa Cruz and when her career at the Monterey Bay Aquarium plateaued, she decided to turn her love of making fine gold jewelry, along with her talent for sewing bathing suits, into a fulltime gig.  

I glanced with some amount of trepidation at her pure white couch, covered with a white sheepskin throw, along with the white gauze tablecloth where the wine was to be poured and thought, “Uh oh.”  But truth be told, people were respectful and careful and only one small amount of wine was spilled on the floor. I was seriously nervous, though, when a large man plopped down on her pure white couch with his glass of red wine and asked if she could make him a suit. 

Before the stroll even started, a customer came in to pick up her custom bathing suit. She explained that she only drinks white wine, and when I asked her what she likes, she rattled off Etna Bianco, Gruner Veltliner and dry Riesling, without hesitation. My kinda gal. There were many more attendees like her who only drank white wine. Finding out what you like and don’t like is a great reason to attend wine strolls like this. Plus you get the added benefit of browsing and shopping for gifts in the process.