Where gourmet restaurants and vineyards are at your fingertips

Tucked into the base of California’s Santa Cruz Mountains, a peaceful small town has everything the traveler needs for an escape, whether for a weekend or a mid-week retreat. Los Gatos is a city of narrow streets made for strolling past appealing shops and plazas. Its gourmet restaurants create marvelous scents that float out their doors, and the nearby hillsides are filled with redwood trees and live oaks.

And if that’s not enough, vineyards and wineries with great wines are scattered about on the hillsides and at the top of the mountains with gorgeous views all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Los Gatos can be a day trip, as I have done from my San Francisco Bay Area home. But when I stayed a chunk of days, instead of going merely for lunch and quick shop visits, I had time to walk trails by the creek that runs through town. I ate breakfast with the locals at the Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company where some customers sat outside on sidewalk benches to chat and sip lattes and cappuccinos. I devoured dinners in restaurants manned by talented chefs. There was time to pop into museums like the history museum in the old Forbes Mill built in 1854 and the art museum on Main Street.

One afternoon I took an arranged van-tour with a group to learn about the wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation. We stopped to taste at three Los Gatos wineries a few miles up the mountains and listen to winemakers explain the methods they choose to grow grapes, about the terrior, the harvest and, finally, how their wines become winners.

The first stop, Loma Prieta Winery, was also the newest winery we visited. Some Loma Prieta grapes grow up the mountain as high as 2,400 feet. We tasted several wines from the patio on a warm fall day while overlooking vines on the steep hillside. The amazing view from the patio takes in Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Owner Paul Kemp raved about the view of the sunsets and he plans a trial “Sunset Tasting” soon. Amy Kemp, co-owner with her husband, poured the tastings, all smooth and flavorful, but the Loma Prieta 2006 Saveria Pinot Noir was the star. No wonder—three gold medals in 2008.

Next stop: Silver Mountain. We traveled a twisting road through the Santa Cruz Mountains, still Los Gatos, to its gated entrance. Fences are common in these mountains. The deer like grapes. Silver Mountain has been in the Santa Cruz Mountains for 30 years. It has the distinction of being one of two truly certified organic wineries in the region. The owner, Gerald O’Brien, said that to be certified organic, he must use no pesticides, no commercial fertilizer, and even use untreated posts to hold the wires and the vines. To replace treated posts is expensive and hard work and deters some wineries from becoming certified.

As we heard about some of the winery’s history, we tasted an Estate Chardonnay from grapes grown high in the mountains, a boon to flavor. Silver Mountain chardonnay wine has twice received gold medals. Another stunner is the light and fruity 2006 Rose of Pinot Noir.

Continuing the drive along the top of the mountains to the next winery, the Burrell School Vineyards and Winery, we entered a historic schoolhouse. The school tradition has become the theme of the winery and its creative wine bottle labels continue it. Their wine club offerings bear labels of Estate “Teacher’s Pet” Chardonnay, “Dean’s List” Cabernet Sauvignon (already a Silver Medal winner), and “Extra Credit” Cabernet Franc that we sampled (soon to be a winner).

As we sipped and swirled (the mantra for the winery, “I promise to sip my wine, I promise to sip my wine“) and tasted, we watched owner David Moulton demonstrate hand-crushing of grapes in one of the tanks outside the house. This has to be done around the clock for up to two days.
In downtown Los Gatos on Main Street, the Fleming Jenkins Tasting Room is open daily to visitors. Besides learning about their wine from “up the mountain,” visitors can see memorabilia from Peggy Fleming’s days as an Olympic Gold Medal winner for her ice skating. The wine is good, too.

Forbes Mill Steakhouse serves outstanding dishes such as braised short ribs with pear and ginger glaze, extraordinary with Savannah-Chanelle Chardonnay. At California Café Bar and Grill we sampled finger-friendly appetizers, one a scrumptious grilled lamb chop, all extra good with Testarossa wines from its vineyards above town.

“Just walk up the hill to Testarossa,” someone advised. An old-timer remarked, “It may be close enough to walk if you’re a mountain goat.”

It had been a 19th century Novitiate Winery housed in a hand-carved stone building. Testarossa’s distinction: it’s the fourth oldest continuously operating winery in California (they made sacrament wines during prohibition).

Another day, we were treated to a special tour of the winery estate of the Dorsas who make La Rusticana d’Orsa wine. The grapes for this winery grow on the hillsides of their estate, closer to Los Gatos than the top-of-the-mountain wineries we had seen earlier. The restored buildings of the estate sit about 1,000 feet up in the hills along with grape vines, olive and fruit trees, rescued goats, sheep and dogs. Except for the native redwoods and oaks, it could be mistaken for a villa in Tuscany.

Frank and Marilyn Dorsa talked with pride about their property that they bought 20 years ago. They have turned crumbling structures and wild growth into beauty. Rough rock walls, quarried from the 42 acres of property, line the driveway that travels high up the mountain to a reservoir; Italian fountains pop up in the midst of a clearing; garden niches hold rock barbeques and steps that serve as seats when the clearing becomes an amphitheater.

What magic carpet lifts you to this enchanting place? Belong to the La Rusticana d’ Orsa Wine Club, support some of Marilyn’s events given for charities, or go to the quarterly Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Passport Days.

After all the touring, I would go back to the lovely, peaceful, Mediterranean-style Hotel Los Gatos. The hotel, complete with a serene spa, is down the street from all the “old town” shops and restaurants. The hotel has an independent restaurant on its premises: Dio Deka. The restaurant emphasizes superb Greek food amidst its lovely setting.

There’s even more to this small historic town of 30,000, just 50 miles south of San Francisco. Sundays you will find a big Farmer’s Market in the park downtown. Holiday festivals keep things lively several times a year. Shops in vintage houses attract visitors. Many wineries are open to tasting all year, and every three months—January, April, July, November—visitors can tour the Santa Cruz Mountains wineries during Passport Days for a nominal tasting fee.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NELL RAUN-LINDE

Nell Raun-Linde has been published in AAA, Senior, inflight, wine and regional magazines, web magazines, as well as San Francisco Bay Area and other U.S. newspapers. She has a passion for reading, history and family. An almost-around-the-world traveler, she’s still trying to get to Egypt.