Greetings Berserkers!
We are excited to be back with Berserker Day 16
Sandar & Hem crafts transparently made wines from distinctive sites within the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. Our winemaker Rob Bergstrom launched Sandar & Hem to explore the unique and diverse expressions of vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains after working harvests at Rhys and Mount Eden.
Santa Cruz Mountains wines have a compelling character driven by the altitude and aspect of the mountain sites, strong ocean and bay cooling influences, and diverse soil and geology brought by the upheaval of the San Andreas Fault running through the region. The wines exhibit a purity of fruit and fresh acid, mineral, and tannic structure that can yield delicious wines of balance, that are at their very best paired with food, and which can age gracefully, often for decades. To complement this character, our winemaking approach is to pick relatively early, just as phenolic ripeness is reached and then to foster the grapes with a light hand to allow the sites to speak. We have chosen each special vineyard site based on a number of factors including the history of the site and vine age, compelling plant material (e.g. heritage clones, own-rooted sites), farming (organic and biodynamic practices preferred), interesting geology, and microclimates. We have built great partnerships with growers with some of the most historic and compelling sites in the Santa Cruz Mountains and also are farming a couple of stunning 40+year-old Chardonnay sites ourselves.
You can learn more about the vineyards and winery at our website: About Us - Sandar & Hem Wines
We also posted a Wine Berserkers newbie thread a several years back: NEWBIE INTRO – Sandar & Hem Wines - BerserkerDay 12 Newbie Intros - WineBerserkers
BD16 Offers
First we have two incredible six-pack deals on our 2022 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay and Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir. These wines are made from a blend of barrels from our best single vineyard sites and represent a killer value at $19 for the Chardonnay and $20 for the Pinot Noir.
Next we have a 6-pack single-vineyard Chardonnay sampler on offer. We love Chardonnay and its range of expressions in the Santa Cruz Mountains and these sampler packs will give you a good idea of what our wines are all about. Our samplers include the 2021 release from the Le Boeuf Vineyard, a dry farmed site with 50+ year-old vines we farm ourselves using all organic practices. It also includes our recently released 2022 vintage Chardonnay from the legendary Mountain Winery Vineyard which was planted by Paul Masson around 1900 and is one of the first California vineyards planted to Chardonnay from cuttings brought back from Burgundy by Masson. Finally it includes a ripping Chardonnay from the Bozzo Gulch Vineyard. Lime and white floral aromatics, intense mineral and chalk mouthfeel, and a mouth watering finish. Oysters anybody?
We are also offering a 6-pack sampler of our single-vineyard Pinot Noirs. Both Pinot noirs come from stunning mountain sites just a few miles from the ocean and showcase floral aromatics and that bright, pure, and ethereal fruit that the Santa Cruz Mountains is renowned for.
Next we have a 6-pack red Bordeaux Variety sampler from Bates Ranch Vineyard. This historic mountain site has been planted to Cabernet Sauvignon since the early 1970s. This sampler pack includes two vintages of our Bates Ranch Cabernet and as a BD16 exclusive, the debut of our 2022 Petit Verdot. With our Bates Ranch bottlings we have achieved lighter-bodied Cabernets of finesse, with a pure and elegant profile with classic Santa Cruz Mountain Cabernet notes of currants, balsam fir, chaparral, and spring flowers. For the 2022 vintage we learned of a tiny parcel of Petit Verdot hidden on the end of one of the upper blocks and decided to add it to our usual production of Cabernet Sauvignon to create a Bordeaux-style blend and liked is so much that we bottled a barrel alone. It’s worth noting for those who remember, there were fires in 2020 but Bates Ranch is 20 miles further south than our other vineyards and was so far from the fires that it was not affected.
Finally, we are offering the Rick Anzalone Fundraiser - Mystery Library 6-Pack. Rick Anzalone is a third-generation Italian family vineyard guru in the Santa Cruz Mountains who is one of the most incredible people we have had the pleasure of meeting since launching Sandar & Hem. Rick is always a welcome site in the vineyard, with a big smile, incredible intuition for the vines, and chock full of incredible stories of past vintages, lost vineyards, and historic characters from our region. Rick has had an extended hospitalization due to a lung infection so we are donating $60 per pack directly to him to take care of medical bills. Pick up some of our incredible library wines at a steal and honor Rick who is always The Most Interesting Man in the Vineyard.
As a bonus on BD16, Any Berserker joining our wine club will receive a three pack of 2023 Pinot Rosé or 2023 Pinot Grigio with shipping included for $1. Please feel free to reach out with any questions!
Also any Berserker leaving a comment here in our sales thread will be entered into a drawing for a magnum of our sold-out 2019 Mindego Ridge Pinot Noir. Berserkers making a purchase will get an additional entry. Winner will be announced Berserker Day (Friday) by 7:30pm PST.
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Shipping is included for all BD16 orders - Use Discount Code BD16SHIP
We ship to: AZ, CA, CO, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, MO, MC, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, NY, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VT, WA, WI, WV, and WY
2022 Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains 6-Pack
(Retail: $216) That’s $20 per bottle! Shipping Included - Use Discount Code BD16SHIP
2022 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains 6-Pack
(Retail: $204) That’s $19 per bottle! Shipping Included - Use Discount Code BD16SHIP
Chardonnay Single Vineyard Sampler 6-pack
(Retail: $312) Shipping Included - Use Discount Code BD16SHIP
Two Each:
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2021 Le Boeuf Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains (92 pts, WE)
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2022 Mountain Winery Vineyard Chardonnay (94 pts, WA, 93pts WE)
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2021 Bozzo Gulch Vineyard Chardonnay (91 pts, WE)
Pinot Noir Single Vineyard Sampler 6-pack
(Retail: $336) Shipping Included - Use Discount Code BD16SHIP
Three Each:
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2021 Deerheart Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains (94 pts, WE)
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2021 Mindego Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains (93 pts, WE)
Bates Ranch Vineyard Bordeaux Reds 6-Pack
(Regular: $324) That’s just $24 per bottle! Shipping Included - Use Discount Code BD16SHIP
- 2019 Bates Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains QTY2
- 2020 Bates Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains QTY3
- 2022 Bates Ranch Vineyard Petit Verdot, Santa Cruz Mountains QTY1
The Rick Anzalone Fundraiser Library Mystery Reds and White 6-Pack
(Regular: $300+) Shipping included. Our winery platform doesn’t allows mystery packs but just comment here to request “The Rick Anzalone” and I’ll reserve one and reach out to arrange payment.
$60 per 6-Pack goes directly to Rick Anzalone to pay his medical bills
- Six bottles selected by winemaker Rob from Chardonnay, Pinot and Cabernet from our single-vineyard library wines - feel free to mention what wines you like to drink. Request the “Big Rick Anzalone” and I’ll select two of our library magnums for you instead of six regular bottles - magnum orders is limited to first five Berserkers requesting them
- Legendary vineyard guru Rick Anzalone who has been working in the Santa Cruz Mountains for 40+ years has recently had an extended hospitalization. We want to help him out so he can pay his medical bills and get him back on his feet and out in the vineyards. Photo is of Rick working the vines at the Peter Martin Ray Vineyard on Mount Eden
- don’t miss Rob’s Sandar & Hem wines. Some of the best SCM wines being made.