Elevate your taste with wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains; wines of extraordinary complexity and pedigree.
Overlooking the renowned Silicon Valley, the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA is a premier winegrowing region where high tech gives way to high altitude. Located at the convergence of coastal mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and Monterey Bay, it is the first California appellation whose rugged borders are defined by elevation, geology, and biology. Since the 1870s, this area has been recognized as one of California’s finest growing regions.
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Wineries
More than 80 wineries and 200 growers make up the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA and produce wines shaped by the ocean’s cooling influence at elevations that begin at 400 feet and soar to more than 3,000 feet. The region yields elegant wines from small producers who specialize in pinot noir, chardonnay, and cabernet sauvignon, sharing distinct aromas and flavor profiles derived from variable soils and mountainside vineyards that welcome the cooling marine effect from nearby bays and open ocean.
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Spanning nearly half a million acres, the Santa Cruz Mountains is a broad region best experienced across several days or several visits. Just minutes from the city of San Jose and an hour south of San Francisco, the region is easy to explore by car. Idyllic small towns nestle at the base of steep mountain vineyards, offering plentiful tasting rooms, dining options and overnight accommodations.
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