An Afternoon on Mount Eden

April 17, 2012

This past weekend I was lucky enough to sneak off to Mount Eden Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Before we attended a wedding in Campbell, my wife and I met with the fine folks at Mount Eden and took a brief tour before the heavens opened over the hills of Saratoga. I have written about Mount Eden before (available on the old site here), but in brief, the winery and its vineyards are situated in a fairly quiet and still relatively unknown neighborhood. Located only a stone’s throw (and incredibly steep climb up a dirt road) away from downtown Saratoga, the views from Mount Eden are nothing short of breathtaking. Perhaps only slightly less fascinating than the views was the weather. In the hour or so we spent at the winery – it was warm and sunny, cold and windy, wet and warm, then finally cool and sunny again.

Though these pictures were taken on an old digital and don’t do the area justice, it should give you an idea as to why Mount Eden has been labeled “Vineyards in the Sky” more than once. And as for the wines? Pick up a bottle of their Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon and after a glass or two, a sense of place from their roots on the steep hillsides should become evident. Harvested from dry farmed vines, the struggle is for the vines to survive and visitors to get up the hill to the winery – not for the wine drinker to understand how something so delicious can wind up in their glass.

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