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Wines & Winery Reviews

In 1945, retired Sheriff Deputy Amos Beauregard bought 13 acres of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay from Quistorf who originally planted the vineyard circa 1880. Amos farmed the land at the newly named Beauregard Ranch until his final days. Amos’ son Emmit (Bud) Beauregard, the founder of Shopper’s Corner Grocery Store in Santa Cruz, farmed the family land for a lifetime while running Shopper’s.

Bud’s son Jim Beauregard took to farming at a very young age with his grandfather Amos. In 1982, Jim worked rigorously to establish the Ben Lomond Mountain AVA, a distinctively different terroir than the rest of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Over the years, Jim has planted hundreds of acres of vines throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains and still maintains his 68 acres of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon.” You can’t find a better deep rooted history of a winery in Santa Cruz Mountains than the Beauregard Vineyards family.

  Driving up to the tasting room, it was very familiar, because it took over the historical building “The Lost Weekend Bar” 1950-1983, it was once home of the Bonny Doon tasting room.

The cozy tasting room offers plenty of places for you to sit down on the comfortable chairs, the beautiful couch or over 12 seats by the bar. On a nice day, take a walk outside, the spacious yard with a few tables, a perfect spot for a picnic, you can bring your snacks. You just need to call and reserve that outdoor table in advance.

   It was our lucky day. We got to Mr. Warner Strejan, their Director of Sales, gave us a winery tour includes a wine tasting, a private guided experience to our old world winemaking facility. Beauregard Vineyards is offering guided cellar tours Saturday and Sunday at noon by appointment only. The tour includes in detail a tasting, a vineyard overview and tour of the winery and barrel room.

These winery tours are ideal for corporate groups, business team building experiences, event planners, or other more groups. Tours are free with the purchase of a $10.00 Tasting Fee.

It was so quiet and peaceful up here. Beauregard Vineyards Tasting Room is overlooked to the beautiful Pinot Noir Vineyard that the 4th generation winemaker Ryan Beauregard has planted and planning on release that vintage in 2017.

   For a small fee, you get to taste quite a few wines. There were a few lovely wines that surprised me.

– 2012 Pinot Gris Orange Wine, from Reagan Vineyard, quite lovely, bright and vibrant and orange in color with perfect clarity. it’s a perfect bottle for a hot summer day.

– 2011 Chardonnay Bald Mountain, bright green apple with floral notes, a well- balanced acidity, beautiful finish. A bit of oak, light buttered toast and vanilla, only 150 cases made. I adore this wine.

– 2012 Pinot Noir, Coast Grade Vineyard, inviting notes of berry and spice box, a sense of place, speaks of a bed of limestone in the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking the coastline, a medium body Pinot Noir that’s perfect with a grilled fish dish and seafood. Less than 50 cases made, a must try.

– 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Beauregard Ranch, a perfect cab to pair with your steak or lamb chop.

I got to meet 4th generation winemaker Ryan Beauregard over a winemaker dinner at Bourbon Steakhouse, at Levi’s Stadium over the Summer.  Sommelier Jenna Boyer of Michael Mina Group was introduced us to the winemaker.  I follow Somm Jenna at all her” Vine to Table” dinner events at Bourbon Steak. This winemaker dinner was fantastic. And listening to Ryan Beauregard was refreshing. “It took me over ten years to make the wines and the styles that I truly love.” Says Ryan. An old world wine style, less oak, minimal intervention, native yeast, organic, well-balanced, good acidity, and to pair well with food. He undoubtedly makes some of the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Santa Cruz Mountains.

I also met the  3rd generation viticulturist Jim Beauregard. He was also at the winemaker dinner. “We want to go all organic, and this is the way Beauregard Vineyard will be.” says Jim.

Ryan was so passionate in his speech to the diners. He speaks from his heart, and how sincerely he believes in what his family does. “My technique to accomplish this valued combination starts with the absence of chemical manipulation from the crush pad to the bottling line. Instead of using commercially manufactured yeasts that may impact flavors from other areas of the world, I use yeasts that are present in our vineyard and cellar. All wines are aged ‘sir lees’ creating vintages of notable minerality, expressive of our coastal mountain terroir. Finally, I use minimal percentages of high-quality oak barrels to ensure that the fruits are expressed and not covered by the flavor of the oak.” Says Ryan.

So if you are taking a trip here, it’s only 15 minutes drive from Santa Cruz on this scenic drive North on HWY 1 and 1.5 hours drive South on HWY 1 from San Francisco.

Award-winning wines for a fraction of what you pay for Napa Valley wines, price ranges from $20.00-$65.00, so drive a little, explore your palate, and you will be in for a real treat.

Beauregard Vineyards
10 Pine Flat Road
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Phone: 1 (831) 425-7777 X1

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by Manda Bear