The following is excertped from an article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times in May 2005. Click here for the article on The LA Times online (registration required).
A wine region whose roads are less traveled
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir fans can explore the relatively undiscovered delights of Santa Cruz Mountain wineries.By Janis Cooke Newman
Special to the Los Angeles Times
In an area known for wineries with spectacular views, Silver Mountain may have the best. Perched at 2,100 feet, its vistas stretch from the Monterey Bay to the Bay Bridge. We gazed, stunned, until Oscar and Nessie, the winery dogs, sniffed out our tri-tip sandwiches. We rescued our picnic, then walked down to the plain building that serves as home and winery for Jerold O'Brien.
The wine at Silver Mountain is organic. But "free-range" grapes aren't the main reason to drink it. The 2001 Silver Mountain Chardonnay has a seductive velvety finish. The Bordeaux blend, appropriately named Alloy, has about 43 layers of flavor.
"You don't make wine up here unless you're passionate about it," O'Brien said. And he's a good example of that. In the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and a subsequent fire, he lost all his vineyards and his winery. Within four months, he had begun rebuilding.
We ate our slightly dog-gnawed sandwiches on the big deck outside the tasting room, surrounded by views and Labradors, and never made it to another winery that day.
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