You’ve probably had Pinot Noir & Cab Sauv from the Santa Cruz Mtns, but how about adding a Durif & Syrah to those for a discounted 4 pack tour of the AVA!
We also specialize in less-known Iberian varieties on our sister brand Quinta Cruz - Try our discounted Iberian sample pack with some varieties you’ve probably never had before.
We are also offering a couple of very limited Library wines.
We’ve been around since 1975 making food friendly, cellar-worthy wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains - no wine here is over 14% alcohol. Below is a listing of our offerings and deals for the day, followed by a bit of our history and a get-to-know-us. Thank you so much for checking us out.
FLAT RATE SHIPPING FOR 1 PACKAGE ($20) FREE SHIPPING FOR TWO OR MORE PACKAGES
Within the US except to the following states: AK, AL, AR, CT, DE, HI, ME, MI, MS, MT, NJ, RI, SD, VA, UT (We actually CAN ship to AK and HI, but it’s very expensive so the flat rate & free shipping offer doesn’t apply.)
Our Berserker Day Offers!
Please use code BD17 for flat rate shipping for 1 purchase ($20) or free shipping for 2 or more packages for those shipping outside of CA. For those shipping within CA, the flat rate or free shipping will apply automatically.
To shop all our Berserker Day offers (except for the 2 library offers below), please visit our special Berserker deals only website HERE
Berserker Day 17 Offers
Santa Cruz Mountains Four Pack — $145 - (Discounted from $176 retail)
This four pack gives a good snapshot of the Santa Cruz Mountains through different sites and varieties, including a one-time Pinot Noir release.
Includes:
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2018 Luchessi Cabernet Sauvignon
From a steep, dry-farmed vineyard planted in 1981 near the Montebello Ridge area. Rustic, structured Cabernet that works well with food and ages gracefully. -
2021 Clos de Madrone Pinot Noir
A rare, one-time release from a cool Santa Cruz Mountains site. Old-world in feel, with bright red fruit, spice, and earth. The vineyard was lost in a landslide after this vintage. -
2021 Zayante Syrah
A restrained, Northern Rhône–leaning Syrah with pepper, wood smoke, dark fruit, and good natural acidity. -
2021 Saveria Durif (the real name for Petite Sirah)
A very rare variety in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Dark, structured, and surprisingly fresh at low alcohol. -
Order Here
Iberian Varieties Six Pack — $120 - Just $20 per bottle to experience interesting varieties you probably haven’t tried!
(30% off from $171 retail)
Under our sister label Quinta Cruz, we work with Spanish and Portuguese grape varieties grown in California — something we’ve been doing for quite a while now. This six pack brings together whites, reds, and a special library wine.
Includes:
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2021 Arinto - An ageable white variety from Portugual, fairly rich but also maintains great acidity
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2024 Macabeo / Xarel-lo - 2 of the three varieties that go into Cava. A special still wine bottling of 2/3rds Macabeo & 1/3 Xarel-lo
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2022 Castelão - One of the most planted varieties in Portugal that you’ve probably never heard of. Layered and nuanced, very complex.
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2019 Graciano - A variety usually used as a blender in Rioja it works by itself in this rare 100% bottling. It’s more about spice than fruit.
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2018 Souzão - A very pigmented Portuguese variety that is unlike any other red wine you will have had. Deep fruit but surprising acidity too. Great food wine.
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2012 Touriga Nacional (library release) - A backbone variety in Portuguese blends, it has aged beautifully and still has a lot of fruit.
These wines tend to be high in natural acidity, lower in alcohol, and especially good with food. The Touriga Nacional has been aging quietly for over a decade and is drinking very nicely right now.
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Order Here
Berserker Exclusive!!: Santa Cruz Mountains Old Vineyards 2017 vintage Cabernet 3 Pack — $199 - A $297 value!
A couple of years ago we launched what we are calling our Grand Cru Cabernet program. These are exceptional older vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains that we feel create wines of the equivalent of Grand Cru status. Two of these wines have been in release for awhile, but his is a special never before released 3 pack that adds a Reserve version of our Luchessi Cabernet Sauvignon. We bottled a very small number of bottles of a 2017 Luchessi “Reserve” Cabernet and Berserker Day seemed like a good opportunity to put together a three-pack including that wine allowing you to explore the different geographical expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Includes: (Review descriptions below by James Suckling)
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2017 Bates Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon — Southern end of the AVA - planted in 1972 - Old vines planted in 1972 lend this plush wine excellent concentration & power. Ripe tannins wrap around blue fruit & cassis, with violets & dried herbs in the background. Long & detailed. Drink or hold, but holding is better.
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2017 Staiger Cabernet Sauvignon — West side, above Boulder Creek - planted in 1973 - This is the picture of confidence & self-possession. Notes of licorice, sandalwood & citrus oil, with scrubby herbs complicating sappy cherries & chamomile, all of it cut with acidity. Remarkable. Drink or hold, but time will reward the patient.
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2017 Luchessi “Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon — Unreleased - From the proven Cab Sauv area of Cupertino/Saratoga - planted in 1981 - Singed mint, smudged sage & chamomile aromas soar before flavors of green olives, sandalwood, incense, cherries & currants. Finely structured & muscular tannins with touches of birch & pencil shavings. So layered and long. A classic style.
At current pricing, these would normally add up to about $297. For Berserker Day, we’re offering the three bottles together for $199.
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Order Here
Special Library Wine Vertical offer:
2 very special one-of-a-kind Pinot Noir bottlings from 2003 - Never in general release - a $385 two-pack for only $200
2003 Pinot Noir - Vine Hill Reserve - Santa Cruz Mountains
2003 Pinot Noir - Wine Club Cuvée - Santa Cruz Mountains
Our “Vine Hill Reserve” was a unique one-time bottling of the very last harvest of our original Estate Vineyard (planted in 1969) and the very first harvest of Bailey’s Vineyard (planted in 1999). It’s a one time, never to be repeated blend of older vines and brand new vines. Last harvest and first harvest blended together. It still drinks like it is only about 10 years old instead of its 22 years. Listed on our Library Release page for $200
The second 2003 vintage Pinot Noir is our first-ever exclusive bottling for our at that time brand-new Wine Club. We selected our favorite barrels from the Branciforte Creek Vineyard that we thought had the best potential to age gracefully, and it certainly has. It has very youthful complex fruit and a lovely development of savory elements from time in the bottle and the fact that this is 100% Pommard clone of Pinot Noir. Listed on our Library Release page for $185
We are offering just a handful of these 2 packs for Berserker Day at the ridiculous price of only $200 instead of the list of $385. They are gone when they are gone, as we don’t want to part with too many of them knowing they both still have at least another decade to develop.
Since these library wines are part of my personal cellar and not the current winery business, the payment interaction won’t be executed through a web link but by a follow-up personal exchange between us by email. The same shipping states apply to this offer, and the same shipping applies: Flat rate $20 for one package, free for two or more of any of the BD17 offers
To purchase, simply send me an email with what you desire and your contact information. I will follow up with you. I will keep track of the order of responses and allot the sales accordingly. Needless to say, quantities of these items are very limited and I’ll fulfill the sales in the order I receive them. jeff@santacruzmountainvineyard.com
Shipping
$20 flat-rate shipping for one order, free shipping for two or more packages.
If you purchase more than one Berserker package, shipping is FREE
Shipping within the U.S.only. Some state restrictions apply. See the top of the post for states we cannot ship to.
A Bit About Us
Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard was founded in 1974, and I’ve been making wine here since 1979. We focus on the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA and a small number of other sites that we believe are especially well suited to balanced, long-lived wines. These are wines meant to be enjoyed at the table — whether that’s tonight or many years down the road.
Thank you very much for checking us out on Berserker Day 17 — and for supporting small, independent wineries.
— Jeff Emery
Proprietor / Winemaker
Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard & Quinta Cruz
Comment when you purchase and get entered to win a bonus bottle!
(We tend to be generous and will award more than one winner if sales go well!)
The original winery library on Jarvis Road
Other Library Wines Available!
More info
Through the years we have intentionally stashed away multiple cases of each release we thought would improve with age.
Some of the earliest wines we sold a long time ago now, but we had four pallets (over 200 cases) of what I’ll call “mid-aged” wines, all wrapped up and aging. We kept thinking these are too young to release, but we’ve had to finally admit that wines from the late 1990’s through the first decade of the 2000’s are actually mostly over 20 years old. So it’s time.
There are too many to list here, and in some cases there are only a few bottles available. But we are happy to send you a list of the wines, the prices and how sales and pick-up of the wines can work. If interested, send us an email at info@santacruzmountainvineyard.com.
Winery History
Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard was founded in 1974 by a man named Ken Burnap. He had a passion for Pinot Noir that led him on a journey to discover the best location in California to produce Pinot Noir that would be equal to that of Burgundy. After a lot of searching, he settled on the Santa Cruz Mountains. When he discovered that his ideal Pinot location was a plot of land currently for sale, he couldn’t resist (decision making aided by a bottle of celebratory Champagne). In 1975, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard’s first vintage of Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir was released (a wine that is still drinking beautifully out of our cellar today). In 1979 Ken hired our current winemaker, Jeff Emery (age 20 at the time), to help with cellar work and vineyard management. An old school apprenticeship was established and Ken and Jeff worked together for 25 years until Ken’s retirement. At that point, Jeff found he couldn’t possibly get a “real job”, thus he took over the brand in 2004.
__Founder Ken Burnap 1981 __ and Jeff Emery punching the cap c. 1995
Join Our Wine Club! Wine Club — Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard
Wine Club Info
Our wine club is all about bringing you small lots of very interesting wines, club shipments are always red! Members get 15% off every purchase, two free tastings every time they stop by the winery, exclusive access to release parties (free!) and more! On top of all this, members get a one time 25% off discount on any purchase when they sign up. For more info on our wine club, go here.