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Associate Member of   
Wine Enthusiast Rates
SC Mts. Wines 90+ Points
Bud Break 2012
For the third year in a row, cooler temperatures prevail. Rainfall has
been notably lower this winter until March when we began to catch up. Many
vineyards irrigated during this dry spell to store water in the soils for
anticipated bud break and initial shoot growth. By early April, most of
the final pruning was completed throughout the appellation. Some vineyards
are a month late for bud break ... and still waiting! It will be
interesting to see if the relative coolness continues throughout the growing
season as it did the past two years.
Burrell School Beauregard Alfaro
Family
Vine Hill
Fogarty Ellie's Vineyard Muns
Vineyard
Meetings & Events
- November
2011 Newsletter and
Fall 2011 Vine Talk on seasonal practices.
See more advice for
seasonal practices on the
Vine Talk page.
- June, 2011 Newsletter
and
Late Spring Vine Talk on seasonal practices: Late bloom, rain,
tissue sampling, and more. See more advice for seasonal practices on the
Vine Talk page.
- 2012
Organic Wine Trail, April
21: In
recognition of Earth Day, four Santa Cruz Mountains wineries will showcase
their CCOF-certified organic vineyards and practices with a wine trail and
vineyard tours on April 23: Alfaro Family Vineyards; Vine Hill Winery; Silver
Mountain Vineyards; Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards. Learn more about growing
organic winegrapes. See the website.
Additional CCOF-certified vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains include:
Kathryn Kennedy; Portola Vineyards in Portola Valley; Four Gates Vineyard in
Santa Cruz.
- October 23:
Pinot on the River, Healdsburg: 11 Santa Cruz
Mountains Vintners Showcase Our Terroir. Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir
will be highlighted at Pinot on the River by a contingent of our vintners
showcasing our mountain terroir in a regional seminar and tasting, as well
as at the Grand Tasting that follows:
Jeffrey Patterson, Mount Eden
Vineyards; Jim Schultze, Windy Oaks; Sal Godinez, Vine Hill; Nathan Kandler,
Thomas Fogarty; Jeff Emery, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard; Ed Muns, Muns
Vineyard; Bradley Brown, Big Basin Vineyards; Dave Moulton, Burrell School
Vineyards & Winery; Ryan Beauregard, Beauregard Vineyards; Richard Alfaro,
Alfaro Family Vineyards & Winery; Rhys Vineyards. See our news release
here.
For more information about the Appellation and Pinot
Noir in the Santa Cruz Mountains, see 'About
the Appellation'.
- Membership Application:
Membership dues for 2012 are due at the beginning of the year.
Membership is open to those sharing an interest in viticulture in the Santa
Cruz Mountains. Annual dues are $50 paid each
calendar year. Renewals should also include the membership application to
convey any changes of information.
Latest News
- 2010 EQIP Funding through the NRCS: The deadline for funding
applications is Nov. 13, but before then you need to:
- Fill out and sign a standard
Request for
Assistance form, and submit it to the county-appropriate NRCS
representative listed below. This will initiate the scheduling of a site visit
and resource assessment.
- Then you will need to contact and meet with the USDA Farm Services Agency
in Salinas to start the eligibility determination process. Contact Vivian
Soffa, 831-424-1036, ext. 108
There is EQIP funding in every CA county:
- In Santa Cruz County:
Rich Casale, (831) 475-1967
- In Santa Clara County contact Bob Rohde
or Athena Pratt at (831) 637-4360.
- In San Mateo County contact Jim Howard at
(650) 726-4660.
For more information about EQIP, read this
program description provided by Rich Casale.
- "Discovery
of European Grapevine Moth"
- The Santa Cruz Mountains is "the finest place within California to grow
Pinot. It is interesting to see such a small area have such an impact on this
varietal."' - Scott Clemings, Epicurean Traveler, in a video interview
at Pinot Paradise. See the
interview on the VASCM YouTube Channel.
- Recent Press on Santa Cruz Mountains wines made from our winegrapes:
"The Varied pinots of
the Santa Cruz Mountains", by Laurie Daniel, San Jose Mercury News,
April 15, 2009
- Rusty Gaffney MD, The PinotFile,
in his March issue has completed an extensive and enthusiastic
review of Santa Cruz
Mts. Pinot producers and Pinot
 Noirs.
Included are: Thomas Fogarty; Clos de la Tech; Black Ridge; Mount Eden; David
Bruce; Mountain Winery; Burrell School; Loma Prieta; Muns Vineyard; Silver
Mountain; Clos Tita; Hallcrest; Heart O'the Mountain; Wines of Vine Hill;
Martin Alfaro; Pleasant Valley Vineyards; Windy Oaks; Plus: Clos la Chance;
Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard (Bailey's Branciforte Ridge); Salamandre (Meadowridge).
- New Sub-regions for the Santa Cruz Mountains: VASCM has worked with
AppellationAmerica.com on a series of tastings evaluating Santa Cruz Mountains
wines produced from our vineyards, and in the process we have defined five
subregions characterized by distinct flavor profiles. They are: Skyline; Los
Gatos/Saratoga; Summit; Los Ranchos (Hwy. 17 corridor to Santa Cruz);
Corralitos/Pleasant Valley. Read more about the subregions and their flavor
profiles here. Read more about the subregions
and flavor profiles of the three varietals we evaluated -- Chardonnay,
Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon/Bordeaux -- on the
AppellationAmerica.com website.
- World of Pinot Noir (WOPN) Panel Presentation on the Santa Cruz
Mountains: A group of local winemakers and growers showcased Santa Cruz
Mountains Pinot Noirs in a special regional wine tasting and provided an
introduction to the new subregions on March 6 at WOPN in Shell Beach. Speakers
were: Jeffrey Patterson, Mount Eden (representing the
Saratoga/Los Gatos subregion); Ed Muns, Muns Vineyard and
Jerold O'Brien, Silver
Mountain (representing the
Summit subregion); Nathan Kandler, Thomas Fogarty (representing the Skyline
subregion); Sal Godinez, Wines of Vine Hill (representing the Los
Ranchos/Santa Cruz Coastal Foothills subregion); and Joe Martin, Martin Alfaro
Wines (representing the Corralitos/Pleasant Valley subregion). Plus, David
Bruce was there and contributed his observations on the 'spicey and mineral' character of
Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir. Patrick Comiskey of Wine & Spirits Magazine
moderated the session. Read his
posting about the session on WineReviewOnline.
- Light Brown Apple Moth: local vineyardists have reported inspections at
their vineyards sites near Soquel and Santa Cruz.
- "One Nation Under Vines"
- A PR campaign initiated by the California Assn. of Winegrape Growers (CAWG)
"highlights how California's growing conditions, experience and sustainable
growing practices make a difference in creating world-class wines." The VASCM
has been working with CAWG to make sure that the Santa Cruz Mountains is
included as part of this campaign.
- Santa Cruz Mountains
Pinot Fact Sheet
Members of the Viticulture Association of the Santa Cruz Mountains (VASCM)
are premium winegrape growers in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation.
Meetings are held bi-monthly with topics that promote quality winegrape
production.
Our Mission
To serve the common interests of all Santa Cruz Mountains appellation
winegrape producers, and to enhance the quality, profitability and
reputation of winegrape production in the appellation through promotion
and education.
Association Profile
President: Mary
Lindsay
Vice President:
Rachel Ormes
Secretary: June Salsbury
Treasurer:
Bruce Manildi
Past Presidents: Prudy Foxx,
Bruce Manildi
Contact Information
- Media Contact
- Mary Lindsay
- Telephone
- 408-984-7242
- FAX
- 408-353-6107
- Postal address
- P.O. Box 8092, Santa Cruz, CA 95061-8092
- Electronic mail
- General Information:
info@vascm.org
Webmaster:
webmaster@vascm.org
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Viticulture Association of the Santa Cruz Mountains
