Tag Archives: Santa Cruz Mountains

Beauregard Vineyards, Ben Lomond Mountain AVA, A Premier Santa Cruz Mountain Wine Tasting Experience

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Wines & Winery Reviews

In 1945, retired Sheriff Deputy Amos Beauregard bought 13 acres SF Napa Michelin Star 001of 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 SF Napa Michelin Star 009his 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.

Beauregard 1  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.

SF Napa Michelin Star 020   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.

Beauregard 3   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 Beauregard 2cases 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 Ryan Beauregard Jenna Boyerthe 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 Ryan Beauregardhis 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 SF Napa Michelin Star 024Santa 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 Beauregard 4palate, 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

Regale Winery & Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountains, Silicon Valley, California

I can’t believe that living in the Bay Area for this long and I P1030332
haven’t been here to Regale Winery and Vineyards at all. Even the winery is in Los Gatos, but it’s actually deep inside the Santa Cruz Mountains, just a short drive of 10 minutes from downtown Los Gatos and 20 minutes from downtown San Jose, the heart of Silicon Valley.

The Tasting Room Open to the Public Saturday and Sunday from Noon-5 PM by appointment only, but Regale Winery and Vineyards are strictly for  members only and during the week, they often rent out for corporate events and weddings.

Regale Winery and Vineyards is so beautiful with gorgeous Italian IMG_2832inspired landscape, garden, water fountain, and a breathtaking view of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the vineyards. It’s peaceful, tranquil, and romantic. I can see why it’s such a great place for a wedding.  A spiral herb garden, outdoor fireplaces, a bocce ball court, and a traditional wood-fired oven. Three varieties of olive trees line the property from which they hand-pick and press the olives to produce their Estate Olive Oil. Wait till Summer, when they harvest their tomatoes, it’s so much fun to be here.

We were lucky enough to get to meet the winemaker Larry Schaadt and his brother, the men behind this operation. He makes wines with a passion, besides their vineyards, the winemaker sources the grapes from all over Sonoma to Napa Valley to make his wines and bottling it here at the winery.

The winemaker is such a charmer, with a warm personality, and IMG_2827beautiful blue eyes. (OK, so that got nothing to do with wines, but you know what I mean.) He and his brother were so gracious chatting up with us and sharing with us their story behind the winery.

Instead of tasting a selection of 5 wines limited productions, we got to try a few more rare wines, never before seen; from Pinot Noir from different appellation to Cabernet Sauvignon, to sparkling wine. Everything was delicious.

On our third visit, we got to try the new release 2013 Regale regale-cabRussian River Valley Pinot Noir which was quite nice and the Super Tuscan.  You can do tasting flights here or you can order a bottle of wine on the menu to share with your group. They focus on Pinot Noir and Cabernet, but they also feature limited-production Italian varietals such as Sangiovese and Barbera as well as their popular Chardonnay.  It’s a perfect way to spend a beautiful weekend afternoon with your friends and loved ones.

My friends and I enjoyed our visit and the hospitality of the staff there from beginning to finish.

They also offer the wine club members with a lot of benefits you can find more details on their website:

P1030367Wine Benefits
* Bi-Monthly shipments of 2 or 4 bottles
* Generous discounts on wine purchases
* Access to limited production member-only wines
* Free tasting for you and your guest(s)
* Membership privileges at their new Regale Wine Bar which is Rendezvous in Campbell, CA opened in late 2014.

Event Benefits
* Private member-only events for you and your guests
* Generous discounts on special events
* Special discounts on private events at Regale Winery and Wine Bar

IMG_2828Exclusive Estate Privileges
* Members-only wine tasting lounge
* Priority reserved seating
* Priority access to bocce, patios and terrace areas

Spa Privileges
* 15% Off spa services at The Spa ~ Los Gatos, Monday – Friday

I love the space and the gorgeous garden they offer, from the balcony of the second floor, you can enjoy the peaceful but breathtaking view of the mountains.  The wines are good and also very reasonable in price. Regale Winery and Vineyards is such a great place to throw a party, wedding, or corporate events.

Follow them on Twitter: http://twitter.com/regalewinery

Regale Winery and Vineyards
http://regalewine.com
24040 Summit Road
Los Gatos, CA 95033
events@regalewine.com
wineclub@regalewine.com
Phone: (408) 353-2500

by Manda Bear – @1MandaBear