Small-Production Wines in Santa Cruz: Alfaro Family Vineyards and Farm Cottage
I have long believed that the Santa Cruz Mountains are a truly special place to grow grapes. This rugged coastal range forced up by the collision of two tectonic plates has an incredible bounty of complex soils. It’s a geological kaleidoscope of ancient uplifted seabed, volcanic deposits, and metamorphic rock bent and twisted by the immense pressures below. All of this is churned up by the San Andreas fault and weathered down by several millennia of coastal storms. Check out the soil map below that illustrates just how complex the region's geology is.
A “geological kaleidoscope” of soils.
Another key influence is the proximity to the cold Pacific Ocean and nearby Monterey Bay deep water canyon that play a constant role in moderating the climate of the region with fog rolling in and out almost daily throughout the growing season. Even those vineyards that sit above the fog line still experience a significant cooling effect from the biggest A/C system on the planet! This long, moderate growing season is why the area is home to world-class wines made from cool-climate grapes like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, but also Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and other later-ripening varieties. The diversity of the AVA (American Viticultural Area) is pretty much unrivaled.
I believe there’s also a cultural element around Santa Cruz that conspires to bring creative, passionate, artistic people into the winemaking fold. There are few places on earth that have such a potent synthesis of farming, artistry, spirituality, and mindfulness that Santa Cruz can claim. I truly believe you can taste and feel those human elements in the wines of the region just as strongly as the more physical, quantifiable, elements of terroir. There is a new generation of winemakers in Santa Cruz right now making some of the most exciting wines in the history of the region. The winemakers are pulling from the wisdom and experience of those that went before them, but they’re also willing to push the envelope with experimental winemaking; holistic, regenerative farming; and a fresh, uninhibited approach to what the Santa Cruz Mountains can be.
As this wonderful, dynamic region is in our backyard here at K&L in NorCal, we try to get the team out into the vineyards and face to face with local winemakers as much as possible. There’s nothing quite like tasting wine among the vines that grew the fruit, standing on the soil that issued them forth, and breathing in the air, the natural flora and fauna, that informs so much of how the wines express themselves. It also sure beats carrying heavy cases of wine and stocking shelves, which is how we normally spend our Mondays back at the stores when we are closed for retail traffic! So, on a recent Monday we headed south from Redwood City, over the summit of Patchen Pass on HWY 17 and descended down to the Aptos/Corralitos sub-region of the mountains. This part of the AVA is where the tall, Coastal Redwood–covered hillsides meet the fertile plains of Watsonville and eventually the Salinas Valley. It’s a part of the mountains that I have long believed produces wines quite distinct from those you might find on the 2000+ft elevation ridgelines and mountain peaks. Here the influence of the ocean is at its strongest. Most of the vineyards are within a few miles of the coast. They typically sit at around 500-1000 ft elevation and are severely impacted by fog that cools the vines, filters sunlight, and slows ripening dramatically. The diurnal temperature swings here can be dramatic, as the fog recedes and temperatures rise during the afternoon, only to be quickly cooled off again by the next influx of cold air like clockwork every morning. The soils of this region tend to be heavily decomposed sandstone, mixed with clay and fine sandy loams.
Our Redwood City team at Trout Gulch Vineyard.
One of our visits that day was with second-generation young winemaker Ryan Alfaro. Ryan’s father, the inimitable Richard Alfaro, started the family winery with his wife Mary Kay back in 1997 after they sold a successful artisan bread baking business! The estate was an old apple orchard with a beautiful varied topography of undulating hills and swales. The first vines went in the ground in 1998 with more rounds of planting in ‘99 and ‘01. To date 60 acres have been planted in total. The estate is beautifully diverse with blocks of own-rooted Wente-clone Chardonnay, numerous heritage clones of Pinot Noir (Swan, Mount Eden, Martini, Pommard, own-rooted Vosne-Romanée suitcase selections) plus Syrah, and even an increasing well-renowned parcel of Grüner-Veltliner! For the past 15+ years Richard Alfaro has also leased and farmed the nearby Trout Gulch Vineyard. This vineyard, planted in 1980 to Mount Eden/Martini selections of Pinot Noir and Robert Young Clone Chardonnay, has become known as one of the crown jewels of the Santa Cruz Mountains with iconic producers such as Ceritas, Arnot-Roberts, and Kutch all working with the fruit. In 2021 the Alfaro family purchased the vineyard adding it to their true estate holdings.
That same year Ryan Alfaro fully took the reins of the winemaking program and seems to have injected a new sense of energy and vibrancy to the lineup of wines that was already very good, taking them to the next level. Every wine Ryan poured for us, as we walked the old rows of dry-farmed vines, was spectacular! The winemaking is very non-intrusive, he gently guides the quality of fruit into the bottle, but sometimes the lightest, most nuanced hand in the cellar can be the most difficult thing to achieve with consistency. These are very much wines to keep an eye on. The quality is excellent across the board and the wines represent incredible values, too.
2021 Alfaro "A" Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay $19.95 91WE
One of the best deals you'll ever find in Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay. Alfaro's "A" Chardonnay is entirely estate grown including fruit from the famed Trout Gulch Vineyard plus fruit from the original Alfaro estate plantings in Corralitos. The wine spends a relatively short 7 months elevage in French oak, mostly neutral, just 20% new. It is bright, vibrant, textural and superbly delicious.
2021 Alfaro "A" Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir $22.95 93WE
Another exceptional value is the entirely estate grown “A” Pinot Noir. Once again, this wine is a combination of the various blocks at Alfaro’s home estate in Corralitos plus about 25% Trout Gulch Pinot Noir from the 41-year old plantings. Fermented with a small amount of whole-cluster, native fermentation, matured in mostly neutral French oak. Bright juicy berries, coastal forest, chaparral, baking spice, dusty loam soil. Quaffable and delicious but also pretty serious wine for a very inexpensive price point!
2021 Alfaro "Trout Gulch Vineyard" Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay $29.95 93DC
I love what Ryan is doing with the Trout Gulch Chard. The old, dry-farmed, Wente (Robert Young) Clone vines produce incredibly concentrated fruit with small berries, clusters with a high skin-to-juice ratio. Therefore, Ryan’s winemaking is more about keeping all that natural intensity in focus. The wine is fermented in stainless steel before being put to entirely neutral oak for 10 months maturation on lees. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration. It has great tension and minerality that pierces through the golden orchard fruit, quince, yuzu, and salted lime flavors.
2021 Alfaro "Lindsay Paige Vineyard" Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir $39.95 95WE
A special Pinot Noir bottling from a very distinctive block on the estate, Lindsay Paige comes from a hillside parcel of mixed Dijon clones planted in 1998 at a super-high density of almost 2000 vines per acre! More richly fruited and effusively aromatic than typical for Alfaro, this is a powerful wine with pure ripe cherry and boysenberry fruit, baking spice, hot stone, dry leaves. Silky smooth on the palate with beautiful freshness.
2021 Alfaro "Trout Gulch Vineyard" Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir $39.95 93WE
Trout Gulch has almost three times the planted acres of Chardonnay compared with Pinot Noir. So this wine emerges from just four acres of 1980-planted Mount Eden, Martini, and Pommard clones. Organic practices and dry-farming have been the norm here for decades. This wine really captures the sense of place with wild berries, black raspberry, redwood forest, mountain chaparral, wild flowers—all soaring on the nose. The palate has similar pristine berry fruits and savory nuances, some truffle perhaps, too. Once again a magical, silky, supple texture that is a hallmark of Ryan’s wines. Incredible value given the quality and pedigree.
Farm Cottage
Beyond the Alfaro Family wines, Ryan has also ventured out with his own label, Farm Cottage. Named for a small house on the Corralitos estate where he now lives, Ryan makes use of his family’s wealth of exceptional vineyard blocks to make some spectacular wines of his own, where he is free to experiment and craft more “avant-garde” wines than you might find under the long-established family label. The production on these is even more miniscule than the family wines but they are not to be missed and are among the very best artisanal wines being made in California today.
2021 Farm Cottage "Trout Gulch Vineyard" Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay $39.95 95WE
A decidedly racier wine than under the family label, exhibiting notes of white flowers, preserved lemon, crushed quince, chalky minerals, raw almond, barley water. Electric acidity, with so much tension and verve. I love the energy and vibrancy here. Mouthwateringly delicious!
2021 Farm Cottage "Trout Gulch Vineyard" Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir $49.95 95WE
For such a young winemaker, Ryan Alfaro sure does serve up a masterclass of whole-cluster Pinot Noir with his Farm Cottage label! The purity and texture of this wine is just incredible! His “secret,” he says, is very gentle racking and returns of the juice several times per day during the ferment. This keeps the cap wet and ferment healthy but with minimal harsh extraction. Well, whatever it is, the results speak for themselves! This is an incredibly graceful, aromatic expression of Pinot Noir with fantastic purity, poise, and silky textures. Up there with the very best Pinot Noirs you’ll find at any price point, anywhere.