Wine Walking in Surf City

July 18, 2025 – No matter how many times I visit this little enclave of wineries and breweries on the Westside of Santa Cruz, I discover something new. Things are ever-changing: some for the good, some maybe not so much. 

Regardless, it’s always fun to see our local wineries through the lens of new eyes. For this year’s edition of the Surf City Wine Walk, put on the by The Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers, I had as companions my fellow New Yorker friend Maxine and a couple from Philadelphia, who happen to be in-laws of a good friend’s sister. 

They had made a fun trip out of the dreaded cross-country journey from New Jersey, where they currently, live to Denver, where they boarded a train that took them to Vancouver. From there they flew to Portland and visited wineries in the Willamette Valley, before taking the coast road down to Aptos where their son and his family live. 

Rick and Vicky are true wine people. He’s a retired rocket scientist who spent a good deal of his career in Sunnyvale and Vandenberg, availing himself of down days waiting for launch to further his wine appreciation. Visiting Los Olivos decades ago, he fell in love with Pinot Noir. She’s a retired nurse who built out surgical centers. They’re a hoot, strike up conversations with everyone they meet and love to try new wines. Good company! 

We fueled up with a healthy lunch at Izakaya West End for the long afternoon ahead. Our first stop was Big Basin Vineyards, at the Gazelle Bikes Experience Center beyond Cat & Cloud Coffee. These bikes are made in the Netherlands (company has been around since 1892) and are absolutely gorgeous. If you’re hankering for an e-bike, check these out. 

Here, Karen Klimowski was pouring the 2023 Rosé of Grenache, Carignane, Syrah and Mourvedre which proved the right way to kick off the day. Big hit all around. The 2021 Coastview Chardonnay checked off Vicky’s boxes for the non-oaky style she prefers, and both the 2019 Old Corral Pinot Noir and the Rattlesnake Syrah got nods of approval. These folks aren’t into wines that are oak monsters. 

Then it was on to Illuminée Studio, where Inversion Wine’s Sauv Blanc and Pinot Noir were both extremely pleasant surprises. While pondering the vibrant orange peel and lemon zest of the 2024 Rosé of Pinot Noir, and eyeing the lamp I almost bought last year at this time, I was forced to confront the true impact of inflation. Talk about sticker shock. Goes to show you should never wait to buy something your heart takes a photo of and keeps haunting you. 

We all loved the 2024 Inversion Sauv Blanc from Scoville Vineyard, ripe with passionfruit and mango, a nice tropical beverage with a hint of sage. From the Graham Family Vineyard, we appreciated the earthy spice and red fruited litheness of the 2021 Inversion Pinot Noir which recently scored 93 points from Wine Enthusiast. At $48/bottle, it might be my Pinot Noir of the Day. 

David Bruce was pouring at Rove Goods, where the backpacks and bags of every permutation caught the attention of my companions, who travel far more often than I do. It really is an awesome place to stop if you are needing a new backpack or lightweight carryon bag. The most impressive wine here was the 2022 Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir, which is not from the estate vineyard. 

Visiting Rexford always proves time well spent, as Sam and Joe are a wealth of stories, and whether your tastes run to jazz or astronomy, you’re going to learn something you weren’t expecting. But the wine is always a delight. The 2023 Tondre Chardonnay was a solid winner, and its creamy, lush mouthfeel from barrel fermentation (25% new French) is complimented nicely by the lemony custard core. The Millers, who are about to open a second outpost in Capitola, were also pouring their 2018 Lester Vineyard Pinot Noir, which is finally resolving its rather stalwart tannins. Everyone was surprised at the liveliness and purity of the 2021 Zinfandel from the Raymond Burr Vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley. 

By this time, the crowds were beginning to thicken, as we headed to try Silver Mountain and Bottle Jack wines, with the Viognier from Bottlejack poured by winemaker John Ritchie, showing a lot of ripe fruit, and the 2013 Silver Mountain Alloy demonstrating its voyage-worthy prowess. It is indeed built like a battleship that will age forever.

Hanging out with Michael Sones at Sones Cellars is a perennial joy, as he wears a perpetual smile. His attitude is downright beatific, even when admitting he might have mistakenly put the Pinot Gris into what he thought was a neutral barrel, only to discover it was, oops, new. Hey, it will appeal to people who like white wine wrapped in a kiss of caramel and butterscotch. All of us thoroughly enjoyed the 2021 Torrontes from Silvaspoons Vineyard in Lodi, farmed by the inimitable varietal-loving grower, Ron Silva, who singlehandedly raised a generation of young winemakers by making his awesome fruit available in small lots at affordable prices.  

Madson Wines was definitely the “it” place of the day, with quite a crowd in their small space, and their 2023 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay, pulled from many of the small vineyards Ken Swegles and Cole Thomas farm in the region, the most notable.

We ended the walk with a visit to Santa Cruz Mountains Vineyard, where winemaker Jeff Emery popped in to pour a few of his splendid Iberian reds, including a Graciano and Tempranillo Reserve. It was the Albarino, though, that rose to the top and went home with the visiting couple, who were trying to figure out how they were going to drink all the wines they’d bought before they had to fly back to the miserably humid and hot East Coast.

Did I mention the weather in Santa Cruz was perfect for the walk? The marine layer dutifully followed orders and hugged the waterline, providing just enough of a cooling breeze to offset the strength of the July sun. 

It made for a “Wish They All Could Be California Girls” moment to remember.