Santa Clara & San Benito Wine Heritage

WINE TALK
41

Thanks for the heads up, Nate!

Did you see the “Gregory Carignan” barrel on this thread (from MTP’s FB page)? I contacted the owner of the “Under the Mountain” Vineyard via email a while back. It is being sourced by Bedrock Wine Company as well as Storrs in the recent past. There’s some great history around Redwood Retreat Road! I hope to get my hands on a bottle of the wine you mentioned!!! :slight_smile:


From Mr Philip Gregory of the “Under the Mountain Vineyard”:


"Our vineyard is predominately made up of mixed blacks (which is about 80% Zinfandel). We have one block of Petite Sirah which contains some mix of Alicante Bouschet. And additionally we have a couple of acres of Carignane. It may be of interest to you that we are ‘clearing’ a former block of Muscat that had been let go and returned to forest. The old vines have survived in spite of sharing the acreage with oak trees. Our intention is to clear the block by hand and bring the old Muscat vines into production.

“The property is a dry land farm. In California that means the vines must survive from May through October without rain. As a result each vine produces less fruit, but it is much richer and we believe makes a far superior wine.”


Historic Vineyard Society page for the “Under the Mountain Vineyard”

42

Santa Clara Wines “Member Wineries Map”

Screen-shot-2013-06-25-at-7.39.20-PM.jpg
• Homepage for Santa Clara Valley Wines

• Santa Clara Valley Wines: “Wineries”

• Santa Clara Valley Wines: “News”

Wineries of Santa Clara Valley
P.O. Box 562
San Martin, CA 95046

43

I found a blog with a 3-part visit to wineries in the Santa Clara area:

Winery-Sage Santa Clara Valley, Part 1

“Wineries Visited:
• Lightheart Cellars – production: 1,000 cases
• Clos LaChance Winery (we forgot to get the total production on this one – hey no one’s perfect)
• Sycamore Creek Vineyards – production: 2,500 cases
• Aver Family Vineyards – production: 1,200 cases
• Jason Stephens Winery – production: 15,000 cases”

Winery-Sage Santa Clara Valley, Part 2

“Wineries Visited:
• Kirigin Cellars – production: 3,600 cases
• Fortino Winery – production: 15,000 cases
• Sarah’s Vineyard – production: 5,000 cases
• Solis Winery – production: 4,500 cases”

Winery-Sage Santa Clara Valley, Part 3

“Wineries Visited:
• Guglielmo Winery – production 50,000 cases
• Morgan Hill Cellars – production 1,500 cases
• Satori Cellars – production: 2,400 cases
• Sunlit Oaks Winery – production: 500 cases
• Thomas Kruse – production: 2,000 cases
• Creekview Vineyards* – production: 1,400 cases”

*Of greatest interest to me is the latest release of Creekview Vineyards’ Santa Clara County “Old Vine” Mourvedre. Just where are they getting their fruit??! :astonished:

44

This is my home ground and I have tasted most of these. Sarah’s has been a fav with their riper take on Pinot and Chardonnay which helped me lay a solid base to start real tasting from. Always grab their Charbono. Aver makes lovely Rhône grape blends in rather small batches. They are more restrained in their approach. These are not cutting edge or sommelier favorites. They are California versions of Village wineries. Farmers working the land and making the best wine they can and make a living. Met some wonderful people who spent real time with me and shared their passion. I spend more in the Santa Cruz Mountains now, but love these Valley folk who helped me learn.

45

Thanks for chiming in as a local in-the-know, Robert!

46

Thomas Kruse winery shut down a few years ago and the property was bought by a really nice family with roots in the Willamette and San Jose. The winery has been leased out and now three or four labels operate out of it as Blended: a winemaker’s studio, including Ted Medeiros’ label. We take all the cab off the 25 year old vineyard for our P’tit Paysan Cabernet. Jason Stephens has moved into a custom crush facility near the outlets, and the Dorcich family will be taking over the winery and tasting room space next spring with their family’s wine label (they are the property and vineyard owners and farmers). Also missing from the list is Stefania, which has a tasting room on Day Road open a couple saturdays a month, and Martin Ranch, which is technically in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but only about a mile or two from Sarah’s Vineyard.

The old vine Mourvedre for Creekview comes from a plot east of the 101 in San Martin. It’s a 2+/- acre vineyard of old vines, with some Mataro, Zinfandel and other things, on the corner of a couple of side streets just a couple block off the 101. It’s owned by a old gentleman, whom I spoke to a couple of years back when I was driving by. He was difficult to understand, so I didn’t glean a lot of information from the conversation.

Ian

47

Thanks for the heads up, Ian!

I am always thankful for your contributions to this thread (and other ones, of course)!

As I have been expending the limited resources available online, I am finding myself performing more and more searches for wineries/vineyards in Santa Cruz and the SBC areas. I am doing my best to stay within the parameters of the OP, so any contributions from locals are appreciated! :slight_smile:

48

Work in Progress…I want to have a good understanding of the vineyards of the Santa Clara County. As for San Benito, I think there are fewer than ten or so vineyards…

Santa Clara County:

Gilroy

• Besson Vineyards: Syrah, Carignane, Grenache (Hecker Pass Hwy, Gilroy, CA)

• Dorcich Family Vineyards Syrah, Mourvedre (Watsonville Rd, Gilroy, CA)

• Dos Rios Vineyard: Grenache (Redwood Retreat Rd, Gilroy, CA)

• Rositano Vineyard: Carignan (Redwood Retreat Rd, Gilroy, CA)

• Sarah’s Vineyard: Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul Blanc, Grenache (Hecker Pass Hwy, Gilroy, CA

• Summers Ranch Vineyards: Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel (Dryden Ave, Gilroy, CA)

• Under the Mountain Vineyard: Zinfandel, Carignan, Petite Sirah, Palomino, Muscat (Redwood Retreat Rd, Gilroy, CA)


Hollister

Morgan Hill

• Chirala Estate Vineyard: Grenache, Mourvedre (Sunrise Ave, Morgan Hill, CA)

• Moniz Vineyard: Zinfandel (1020 Peebles Ave, Morgan Hill, CA)


San Martin

• Lion Ranch Vineyards: Viognier (San Martin Ave, San Martin, CA)


http://laviedansantewines.com/our-story/our-vineyard-partners/

To Be Used:

49

Article featuring the DeRose Winery in San Benito County:


SanBenito.com
“It’s a Family Affair at DeRose Vineyards”
by Chrissy Bryant
October 28, 2014

"…Located high in the Gabilan Mountains in Cienega Valley, with elevations more than 1,100 feet, DeRose has a fairly cool growing climate.

"‘We’re a late season region. We ripen later than most regions,’ Pat said. Even before you arrive at DeRose Vineyards you get a sense of history as you drive through miles of winding mountain roads, surrounded by land that has yet to be touched by commercialization.

"…With Zinfandel vines that were planted in the late 1890s and Negrette vines that are more than 115 years old, DeRose Vineyards has a history unlike others in the area.

“‘We’re the oldest existing winery in California. There are wineries that could be older than us, but (they) either shut down or changed ownership,’ Pat said. ‘We’ve never shut our doors since 1851.’"

Note: I am not certain of the verity of this statement, for several reasons. Also, one of the most distinct qualities of the San Benito wine growing districts (Paicines, Lime Kiln & Cienega Valleys,…) is the high proportion of old vineyards.

"…Pat’s love for making wines has been passed on to his son, Alphonse DeRose.

“‘I’m passing the torch on - he’s now the head winemaker,’ Pat said.

"…With ancestors who made wine for more than 10 generations, Pat and his family decided to buy the winery in 1988.

“‘My son and I own the equipment and the inventory, but the property is owned by the entire family and there are 13 of us involved: the DeRose and Cedolini families,’ he said.
When the winery was purchased, the vineyards had been abandoned for eight years.

"…There are 50 acres of vines and half of them are more than 100 years old—the other half are about 28 years old. Along with old vines, DeRose Vineyards is a historical landmark with the San Andreas Fault running through the property.

“‘Part of our vineyards are on one plate and part are on another,’ Pat said. ‘The property moves about three centimeters a year.’"

8410263afeb9f3b7e63a66c8d360323507fbe6be

"DeRose Vineyards uses all natural fermentation, which means no store-bought yeast, only native yeast produced during natural fermentation.

"…‘Everything in the winery is 100 percent run on solar panels. We’re very green-oriented here,’ he said.

"With California’s continued drought, having enough water for vines to produce at their full potential can be an issue.

“‘We’re 100 percent dry farm,’ Pat said. ‘We don’t irrigate or water anything.’ But with dry farming and very little rain, ‘our vines are producing somewhere in the 15 percent of their 100 percent - we’re going to have a short year.’

"DeRose Vineyards produces approximately 5,000 to 7,000 cases of estate wines on a good year. Due to the drought, Pat estimates DeRose will produce about 700 cases this year

"Luckily, it also imports about 4,000 cases from Chile, France, Italy, Spain and Argentina.

“…Visit DeRose Vineyards at 9970 Cienega Road, Hollister.”

DeRose Vineyards Homepage


According to a 2004 document from the California Regional Water Control Board, Pat Rose and Tony Cedolini own a 100-acre portion of the old 700-acre “Almaden Vineyard” as well as its former winemaking facility and the disposal/percolation pond on Cienega Valley Road.

California Regional Water Control Board document:
item29_staff_report.pdf (92.8 KB)

50

Here are two articles - the first includes a succinct historical overview of the region - discussing the “San Benito County Wine Trail” I cannot attest to what operations are still open today.


SanBenito
“A Taste of the Grape”
by Theresa Martin
January 4, 2008

"Here is a list of Cienega Road wineries which are open all year:

"DeRose Winery
9970 Cienega Road
636-9143
http://www.derosewine.com
Tasting room hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Classic car museum hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month

Pietra Santa Winery
10034 Cienega Road
636-1991
http://www.pietrasantawinery.com
Tasting room hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Calera Winery
11300 Cienega Road
637-9170
http://www.calerawine.com
Tasting room hours: 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

Flint Wine Cellars
13160 Cienega Road
636-8986
Tasting by appointment only

Enz Winery
1781 Limekiln Road
637-6443
Tasting room hours: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Open Saturday and Sunday

Summerayne Vineyard
Limekiln Road
902-5638
Tasting at Enz Winery

“For information on wine trail events, visit http://www.sbcwinegrowers.org.”

This website is down. Please check out http://www.discoversanbenitocounty.com/food-and-wine/wineries-and-craft-beers


Edible Monterey Bay
“San Benito Wine Trail”

"San Benito Wine Trail Vineyards, Wineries & Tasting Rooms Open to the Public:

"AIMEE JUNE WINERY
“A small, family-owned winery that makes hand-crafted wine in an all-natural, old-world winemaking style without fining or filtration. Each bottle features hand-drawn or hand-painted artwork.”

106 3rd St., San Juan Bautista
Tastings 12–5pm Saturday and Sunday
408.739.1920
californiabestwine.com

ALICATS WINERY
“Alicats is the personal label of Alessio Carli, winemaker for Pietra Santa Winery. The name comes from the first names of the family members: Alessio, wife Catherine and their twin daughters, Alessia and Catia.”

10 Nash Rd., Hollister.
Tastings during special events only.
831.636.7311

BONNY DOON VINEYARD
“Bonny Doon’s 280-acre ‘Popelouchum’ in San Juan Bautista is a biodynamic polyculture ranch where Grahm is seeking to hybridize 10,000 new vinifera grape varieties from seed. The aim is to create a truly unique American wine and produce grapes that are particularly well suited to our region and its changing climate. The vineyard may be visited during special events only; a weekend pop-up restaurant is planned.”

bonnydoonvineyard.com

CALERA WINE COMPANY
“Established in 1975, owner and winemaker Josh Jensen specializes in Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Viognier. His Mount Harlan wines exhibit minerally characteristics of their unique limestone-rich vineyards. The tasting room and nearby picnic tables offer sweeping views of the surrounding countryside.”

11300 Cienega Road, Hollister
Tastings daily, 11am-4:30pm
831.637.9170
calerawine.com

CASA DE FRUTA WINERY
“Growing since 1908, the Zanger Family produces unique fruit wines including apricot, plum, raspberry, blackberry, and pomegranate. Varietal wines include Zinfandel, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, and Merlot.”

10021 Pacheco Pass Highway, Hollister
Tastings daily, 9am – 7pm
408.842.7282
casadefruta.com

CETANI VINEYARDS
“This family-owned and operated winery was founded in 2008, and focuses on handcrafted European-style red wines. Estate-grown Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.”

741 Riverside Rd., Hollister
Tastings by appointment
831.636.7590
cetanivineyards.com

DEROSE VINEYARDS
“Established in 1988 on land supporting some of the oldest vines in California, this family-owned winery sits directly on top of the San Andreas Fault. DeRose offers some unusual, unique wines such as the Cabernet Pfeffer and Negrette.The vineyard also opens its museum of vintage cars the first Saturday of each month.”

9970 Cienega Road, Hollister
Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 a.m.-4:00p.m.
831.636.9143
derosewine.com

GUERRA FAMILY CELLARS
“The vineyards of Guerra Family Cellars were planted in 2006 after the family purchased the 600-acre ‘Pepper Tree Ranch’. Malbec, Petite Sirah, and Viognier varietals are grown along with olive trees for oil. The vineyard also offers a summer concert series in an outdoor offers a regular summer concert series called Hollister Concerts in an outdoor amphitheater backed by spectacular views. The 2015 series kicks off on July 11 with La Vation, a U2 tribute band. See Guerra website for full details.”

500 John Smith Road, Hollister
Tasting Room open April to November, weekends 12am-5pm
831.902.9106
guerracellars.com

LEAL VINEYARDS
“Founded by Frank Leal, Leal Vineyards uses old-world winemaking techniques and close monitoring of vines to produce award-winning wines.”

300 Maranatha Drive, Hollister
Tastings open daily 10am-4pm, half days on holidays.
831.636.8925
lealvineyards.com

PIETRA SANTA WINERY
“This winery dates back to the 1850s. Its name is Italian for ‘sacred stone’, a reference to its remarkable soil, which is laced with granite and limestone. Pietra Santa also produces organic and infused olive oils from its five varieties of trees, and offers picnic tables next to its vineyards.”

10034 Cienega Rd, Hollister
Open: Thursday – Sunday 11am to 5pm.
831.636.1991
pietrasantawinery.com

SUMMERAYNE VINEYARD
“Focused mainly on Zinfandels, Summerayne was founded in 1998 and remains family-owned.”

1781 Limekiln Rd., Hollister
Open by appointment
831.902.5638"

51

I dug through the Wine Berserkers archives and discovered a history of the now-defunct Hecker Pass-area Mary Carter Vineyard, compliments of our own Tom Hill!

Wine Berserkers
“MaryCarter Vnyd in HeckerPass/Gilroy”
by TomHill
October, 2013

Modern California’s first varietally-bottled Grenache was produced by David Bruce Winery using grapes harvested from the “Mary Carter Vineyard”.

Image: Mary Carter Parcel Map

Mary Carter Parcel APN 75632010
Mary Carter Parcel APN 756320101053×1045 128 KB



The uprooting of this old-growth vineyard led Bonny Doon Vineyard’s Randall Graham to the nearby “Besson Vineyard” in his pursuit of high-quality Grenache.

Besson Family Vineyards continues to provide old-vine Grenache and Zinfandel for Birichino, A Tribute to Grace, and others.

52

From a 1986 interview “The Evolution of a Santa Clara Valley Winery” with the Mirassou brothers:


"E.A. Mirassou: I have a list of principle grapes grown in the early 1930s.* In Santa Clara County it gives Alicante, Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah, Mission, Grenache, Mataro , Sauvignon vert, Mourastel, Rio Nero - I don’t know that one.

"Traminer, Burger, Palomino, Colombard, and Riesling. Those were said to be the main Santa Clara County grapes at that time.

“That Colombard is not the French Columbard that we speak of today. The other name for it was Sauvignon vert; that is the correct name for it , but it was called Colombard in those days. The Saint-Macaire is not on that list; it was never planted in great quantities in this area, but I know that it was in our vineyards here, and it was also in the vineyards of Schilling at that time, which was later the Cribari ranch.

*Typewritten list in the library of the Wine Institute, source not given but probably a state agency.”



Norbert C. Mirassou and Edmund A. Mirassou, “The Evolution of a Santa Clara Valley Winery”, 1986

53

Tom was wrong about the Mary Carter Vineyard being ripped out. It’s being restored, and was the source of the one-off Carignane from Left Bend. You might want to ask the folks at Bedrock about it…

54

We have been working with the Gregory family for three years now starting the process of restoring the beautifully situated vineyard off of Redwood Retreat Road. Unfortunately the blocks of Grenache are beyond restoring along with an older block that had some CS in it as well. That said, the Zinfandel and Carignan blocks are making huge strides and the wines from them are promising. Our first Heritage wine from the vineyard, a blend of the Zinfandel and Carignan and a few other interplanted varieties, will be released in the Spring as “Vineyard Under the Mountain Heritage Wine” (which is what the new owners want to call it). There is also a block of mixed Petite Sirah that still goes to Storrs Winery I believe.

55

Great! I look forward to trying that. A '70 David Bruce Carignane from there was one of the best wines I had all year a few years ago. (Then, another bottle purchased on release and lovingly stored at an old DB tasting we did last year was awful.) I thought the Left Bend take was excellent, masterfully bastardized with 15% Syrah.

Isn’t there some Black Muscat there, too?

56

A very positive Cellar Tracker note (by you, Wes?) of the 1970 David Bruce “Santa Clara” Carignan, along with a re-reading of Patrick Comiskey’s book American Rhône, inspired me to search for information on the “Besson Vineyard”.

Mr TomHill’s Wine Berserkers post is fascinating. Though I have read many of Randall Graham’s blog entries, I completely forgot about the “Mary Carter Vineyard”. This now-uprooted planting is mentioned in Mr Comiskey’s book on page 71:

“…This is how, in 1969, Bruce bottled the first dry varietal Grenache table wine in the modern era, from a single vineyard of older vine fruit owned by Mary Carter in the Santa Clara Valley, planted by her father, and at least thirty years old.”

I never knew that Phil Gregory’s “Under the Mountain Vineyard” was the very same site! That’s awesome! :slight_smile:


*** EDIT ***

To the best of my knowledge, they are not the same vineyard.

The “Under the Mountain Vineyard” is located to the North of the old “Mary Carter Vineyard”.

Grapevines within the “Mary Carter Parcel” were situated near the ridgeline along Mount Madonna’s eastern slope.

The Gregory family’s vines date back to the early 1910s, while the “Mary Carter Vineyard” reportedly was planted around 1940.

Image: “Under the Mountain Vineyard”

HVS Under the Mountain Vineyard
HVS Under the Mountain Vineyard1080×809 132 KB



Wes, concerning the “Under the Mountain” Muscat vines, Mr Gregory’s original email stated:

“It may be of interest to you that we are ‘clearing’ a former block of Muscat that had been let go and returned to forest. The old vines have survived in spite of sharing the acreage with oak trees. Our intention is to clear the block by hand and bring the old Muscat vines into production.”

On an additional note, I would like to draw attention to this post on Ken Zinn’s forum thread, detailing his Sante Arcangeli winery Grape-Nutz Trip Report:

“… I emailed John Benedetti of Sante Arcangeli this morning and he replied that the Zin was from ‘Lion Oaks Vineyard’, on Redwood Retreat Road near Martin Ranch.”

57

I am immensely grateful to you, Mr Morgan, for contributing to my little echo chamber. :slight_smile:

I am always hopeful of input from experts and locals on the “Santa Clara & San Benito Counties Wine Heritage”, “Contra Costa Wine Heritage”, and “What, No Mourvedre Appreciation Delegation?” threads here on Wine Berserkers!!!

58

I have been trying to find more information on the Enz Vineyard in San Benito County.

From Mr Ryan Stirm’s website:

“…Enz vineyard, which sits in it’s own appellation called the Lime Kiln Valley. This appellation is defined by a warm to hot climate, similar to Wirz, but with less wind. The soils are comprised of deep granitic sand, that is very well drained and in places has limestone cobbles. The limestone from this area was once mined and used for a variety of industrial purposes, hence the ‘lime kiln’ reference. The vineyard was planted first in 1895, with additional blocks planted in 1922; it’s been dry-farmed it’s entire existence.”

According to the STiRM Wine Company, the old blocks from the Enz Vineyard include: Mission, Mataro/Mourvedre, Carignan, Orange Muscat, Palomino, Alicante Bouschet, Zinfandel, Cabernet Pfeffer, and possibly others.

http://www.stirmwine.com/inventory/los-chuchaquis-gabilan-blanc

http://www.stirmwine.com/inventory/los-chuchaquis-mezcla-de-campo-ros

I rediscovered the 1987 article below, highlighting the Enz Family’s winery and vineyard. The piece makes me wonder why are a red and a white Zinfandel, a Pinot St George, a DRY Orange Muscat, and even Chardonnay and Sauv Blanc among the wines once bottled by the Enz Family, but no Mourvedre?

• According to the Ser Winery website:

“Enz vineyard is located in Cienega Valley on the east side of the Gabilan Mountain Range. Soils are decomposed granite and limestone. The Mourvedre vines are ~100 years old, head trained, dry farmed. Cool climate for Mourvedre, the fruit typically ripens in the last week of October or early November.”

http://www.serwinery.com/enz/

According to sales/tech sheets from Kenneth Volk Winery, the 7-acre Mourvedre plot was planted in 1992.

How old are the Mourvedre vines at the Enz Vineyard? If the older interplanted blocks of the site include Mataro/Mourvedre, AND there are newer (1992) plantings of the grape, what vine material was chosen for the 7-acre addition?

59

Geographic Location of the “Enz Vineyard” in the Lime Kiln Valley AVA, San Benito County

Historic Vineyard Society profile: “Enz Vineyard”

images.jpeg
Details from a document permitting expansion of the Enz mining/quarry project:

The Enz Vineyard:

"Owner/Applicant: The 2001 Enz Family Trust

"Location: 1781 Limekiln Road, Hollister, CA 95023; Approximately 11 miles south of Hollister California, and 5 miles west of State Route 25, in San Benito County.

“The appropriate map for determining the boundaries of the Lime Kiln Valley Viticultural area is: ‘Paicines Quadrangle, California, 1968, 7.5 minute series’.”


https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2016-title27-vol1/pdf/CFR-2016-title27-vol1-part9.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjG6--N5efYAhUBRqwKHbVNCIcQFjADegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw13NQNSq9PIUxjqBAeaUvyd


USGS Map Site for ‘‘Paicines Quadrangle, California,’’ 1968, 7.5 minute series:

http://servlet1.lib.berkeley.edu:8080/mapviewer/searchcoll.execute.logic?coll=histopomon&xsearch=Paicines+Quadrangle+7.5-minute
Enz Vineyard Map Assessor Parcel.png
The “Enz Vineyard” is located in the center-right parcel that is Tetris-shaped. Sorry for the poor image quality and tiny size.


Google Maps Locations:

· Address from Mining Application: 1781 Limekiln Rd

· Address for Enz Vineyards & Winery: 14078 Cienega Rd


Lime Kiln AVA

The creation of the diminutive Lime Kiln Valley AVA was accompanied by an outsized share of controversy. Calera Cellars’ Josh Jensen fervently opposed its creation.

In Jensen’s comments to the ATF/TTB, approval of the AVA petition would provide Enz Winery, as sole wine producer within AVA boundaries, a monopoly over the area. Calera regularly bottled a Zinfandel at this time, and confusion could result from necessary label changes to its Cienega Valley Zins.

Lime Kiln Valley AVA was established June 4, 1982, and it’s boundaries were amended on February 27, 1987.

“ATF/TTB Lime Kiln Valley AVA Petition” by Robert Enz, October, 1977 (PDF):[/b]

“ATF/TTB Lime Kiln Valley AVA Petition Comments” by JE Jensen of Calera Cellars, October, 1981 (PDF):

“ATF/TTB Lime Kiln Valley AVA ‘Final Rule’ Report”:

https://www.completingthemap.com/lime-kiln-valley-ava/

60

Here are a some older articles highlighting the wineries and growers of San Benito County:

San Benito County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau
“World-Class California Wineries”
by Michael Albright
September 10, 2015


Napa Valley Register
“San Benito - California’s Hidden Wine Region”
by Paul Franson
June 27, 2008


Teague Vineyards website: “Assets”
“San Benito County: Life After Almaden”
by Tim Patterson [downloads as PDF]