Drinking, dining rules differ
Wineries in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz counties deal with restrictions.
Dan Lokteff, owner of Wright’s Station Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, stands on the patio overlooking the vineyards. To comply with Santa Clara County’s requirement that wineries serve food with their pours, Lokteff has been offering two reserved seatings on Saturdays featuring tasty bites created by a licensed chef.
From a winery perspective, county-by-county rules about reopening are presenting a great deal of confusion. If you’re in Santa Clara County, you must sell food to serve wine. Not so in Santa Cruz County, which, along with Monterey County, was able to reopen without the food requirement. Still, social distancing, sanitation and protocols set by the state are altering the wine-tasting experience. Los Gatos wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains are located in both Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties. Burrell School, Loma Prieta, Regale and Silver Mountain are all in Santa Cruz County, and fortunately, all have plentiful outdoor seating. All but Regale are pouring flights as well as making bottle sales. Regale is offering wines only by the glass and bottle. Loma Prieta Winery is offering a flight of four wines to be enjoyed overlooking its vineyards and panoramic Monterey Bay vistas. Wrights Station, also off Summit Road, is in Santa Clara County and so must serve food along with wine. Proprietor Dan Lokteff has been offering two reserved seatings on Saturdays that require a food purchase. He’s been featuring tasty bites created by a licensed chef. It’s definitely a lot of work, but Lokteff says, “People, of course, are very happy to be back and would stay all day if allowed. The vibe was very positive.” Rob Jensen of Testarossa in Los Gatos says, “Wine Bar 107 is now open, by reservation only, to all of our club members Thursdays through Sundays. With true social distancing of at least 10 feet between tables, which allows a minimum distance of 6 feet between any two guests, we have fewer seats that we had before, despite expanding the total square footage. “By the end of the month,” Jensen adds, “we hope to be able to hire back enough staff to expand our wine bar offerings to our patio, where we have replaced the old picnic tables with expanded shade and nicer outdoor furniture.” In Saratoga, COVID-19 dealt the wine-tasting scene a major blow. Mindego Ridge and Lexington shuttered their joint tasting room in March and will not reopen. Lexington wines will be poured at Fogarty Winery in Woodside. Big Basin Vineyards has reopened for tasting Friday through Sunday at the winery in Boulder Creek in Santa Cruz County. They have put a pause on the Saratoga location. Their home tasting kit of six wines, guided by Big Basin personnel, is great fun. Roudon-smith’s Al Drewke is waiting for restrictions to relax, as his small tasting room in Saratoga isn’t set up for serving meals. “I am working to get a couple bar-height tables, with spacing at the bar for three parties,” Drewke says. “Along with seating in the window area, I will be able to support as many as six small parties with social distancing requirements met.” Jim Cargill of House Family Winery in the Saratoga foothills, who also serves as board president for the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association, has a commercial kitchen and recently opened for outdoor tasting. “We are reservation only and heavily shifted to wine club members. We are letting some of the public in. I am working with the county Board of Supervisors trying to get a gauge on when Santa Clara will follow San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties on reopening limits.”