Santa Cruz Mountains – A Study in Terroir

The Santa Cruz Mountains remains one of the most distinctive appellations in California, with an ever-increasing number of world-class Chardonnays, Pinots and Cabernet Sauvignons that merit serious attention.

Big Basin’s estate vineyard, with the Rattlesnake Rock parcel and winery below

Stanford’s campus, Silicon Valley, major highways and a number of other landmarks are all visible from high-up on the ridges that form the Santa Cruz Mountains, yet this collection of rugged hillside vineyards remains quite isolated, almost completely detached from the bustling world below. The San Andreas Fault runs right through the Santa Cruz Mountains and acts as a natural border between the cooler, western part of the appellation, where Burgundian varieties thrive, and the more inland, eastern side of the region, which is more hospitable to Bordeaux varieties. Over the last few years a handful of top winemakers from outside the immediate area have begun sourcing fruit here, including Wind Gap, Ceritas and Arnot-Roberts. Their wines serve to further illustrate the huge potential and sheer greatness these sites are capable of.