Regional profile: Santa Cruz Mountains

Born of the geological turmoil that created the California landscape, this high terrain is home to a tenacious breed of winemaker, with the focus on wines of balance and longevity, reports William Kelley

William Kelley finds heritage producers and dynamic new players in this rugged Californian terrain

PERChED high AbovE the Pacific, the hillside vineyards of the Santa Cruz Mountains bask in splendid isolation. Exploring this landscape’s precipitous escarpments and wooded ridges, the hustle and bustle of nearby San Francisco feels a world away. it’s only at sunset that modernity intrudes, the lights of Silicon valley shimmering on the horizon below.

both burgundy and bordeaux varieties excel in this rugged appellation, conveying a singular sense of place: vibrant fruit is tempered by savoury nuance, while tensile tannins and bright acidity offer the promise of remarkable longevity. These qualities play into the hands of producers committed to a classical aesthetic that emphasises balance and complexity over ripeness and impact.

Standard bearers such as Ridge and Mount Eden have led the way, eschewing the fashions of the moment and crafting wines built for the cellar, and their ranks are being bolstered by increasingly confident newcomers, attracted by the potential of these mountains and inspired by their heritage of high quality.

Vineyards in the sky

one of this appellation’s defining features is its maritime climate. on this stretch of the California coast, two nearby bodies of water moderate the warmth of the state’s balmy Mediterranean climate: to the west, the Pacific ocean itself; and to the east, the gentler cooling influence of the San Francisco bay. While the mountains’ eastern sector is correspondingly somewhat warmer, the mountains as a whole are decidedly cooler than most of California’s landlocked grapegrowing regions.

The impact of altitude sharpens – and complicates – the picture. This American viticultural Area (AvA) was among the first to be defined by elevation, and its official boundaries trace the fog line around the mountains. From that threshold, which begins at between 120m-300m, the highest vineyards extend up to fully 820m. At these higher elevations, daytime temperatures are cooler than on the valley floor below. Nights, by contrast, are somewhat warmer up here, out of reach of the chilly maritime fog that rolls in from the coast every evening. This felicitous confluence of climate and topography favours a long, even growing season; unhurriedly ripening grapes while retaining the vital acidity that can be so easily lost in warmer regions.

On the fault line

Lifted up by tectonic forces some 15 million years ago, the Santa Cruz Mountains reveal a faulted and folded geological jumble of bewildering complexity, neatly bisected by the San Andreas fault. To its west lies the so