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DIARY DAY FIVE JULY 5 STORRS WINERY The Director and I drove into Santa Cruz around noon, singing "We are the Goon Squad, and we’re coming to town, beep beep!"
We were meeting Jason Brandt Lewis at Storrs Winery, and we were running a little late. Ever the staunch champion of the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation, he’d agreed to spend the day introducing us to some friends of his who just happened to be very gifted winemakers, Pam and Stephen Storrs, and Salamandre Cellars’ Wells and Sandy Shoemaker.We pulled into Storrs at about 12:05. The winery is located in Santa Cruz’ Old Sash Mill, an old lumber mill dating back to the 1880’s. It has been reconditioned to be a pleasant collection of shops, studios and a restaurant or two. We found Jason in the warehouse located one building over from the winery itself, helping Stephen Storrs bring some cases back to the tasting room, where we met staff-person Narcisa. (Pam would join us shortly.) Stephen and Jason provided us with an overview of not only the SCM appellation, but of specific vineyards and the difference in terrior between the east and west sides of the mountains.Jason provides background on this family owned and run winery:
He also noted the winery used to be Frick; the owners lived in San Francisco, and finally realized that it was dumb to drive down to Santa Cruz to do Sonoma grapes, so they sold out and moved north. The Wines: 1996 Storrs Santa Cruz Mtn.
Chardonnay Christie Vineyard We tasted some wonderful wines for breakfast, and in true Gang tradition, we didn’t spit, but we did dump a little. (The crackers were good too!) Telling us they’d made six different Chardonnays this year, Stephen started us out with their ’96 Christie Vineyard, a lovely medium gold that featured pretty spicy oak that dresses up nicely, but never overwhelms, the tropical fruit flavors. It has good acidity and will probably be a good example of why Jason insists that SCM Chards age better than those from most other California appellations. I liked it so much, I bought the winery…; uh, make that a few bottles.(A subsequent taste of this gave me the opportunity to flesh out these notes a bit: medium gold; smoky/toasty oak; overripe pear/tropical fruit/good acidity/creamy mouthfeel; hints of canned green beans and asparagus add to, rather than detract from the complexity and charm of the wine.) The ’96 Vanumanutage shows nice varietal character, with less spice than the Christie. While we tasted this, we browsed in the tasting room, taking in the various ribbons, awards and other displays. Of particular interest was their latest vest button popper to date, the Golden Bear given to the 1994 Storrs Petite Sirah as Best of Show in the California State Fair’s Commercial Wine Competition. Next Stephen opened a ’97 Viento Vineyard White Riesling. This is a fine example of what can be done with the varietal in California, showing pretty floral qualities, while avoiding the excess sugar of some. Stephen noted that this had cold fermented at 52 degrees, with Steinburg yeast. An extended fermentation brings out added complexity.Their ’96 Viento Vineyard Gewurz has nice spice and again, great varietal character. It is also a Gold Medal Winner at the Orange County Fair. I picked up one of each of these for Dolphin Girl, who has a special affinity for the Alsatian/Germanic whites. The ’96 Storrs Central Coast Zin is made from fruit from two old vineyards; initially Pam and Stephen were going to make two wines, but liked the blend so well they opted in that direction. It shows lovely spice, perfume and proportion. Calling it "refined," Narcisa added, "Less is more." While we tasted two Merlots, Pam arrived with sons Aaron and Morgan in tow, and The Director took advantage of an excellent photo opportunity. An old friend of Pam, Stephen and Jason, Kay Guffy, showed up at about the same time, joining us for a taste and offering more insight into this fine family winery. Meanwhile, I continued to consider the wines. Madame described the ’96 San Ysidro Merlot as having a "canned peas" element to it. I found this three vineyard blend to have nice red fruit. A hint of sulfur blows off of the nose of the ’95 Mann Vineyard bottling, revealing a more concentrated wine than the San Ysidro, one that might boost my opinion of Merlot, if I were to linger over a few bottles for a few nights. After the photos, we walked through the winery itself, taking in fermenting tanks, barrels, the lab, and in back, the Europress, just like the one that Milan was waiting for. We learned that Pam is always tinkering with yeasts, using a different one in each barrel. They use a variety of barrels as well, always striving for that next subtle nuance. The final wine we tasted was the ’96 San Luca Sangiovese, which Madame immediately fell in love with. Rich, concentrated and delicious, this was awarded a Gold Medal at the Orange County Fair and we bought four to bring home.
At that point, the Storrs had to leave for a birthday party, so we expressed our appreciation for their time and the terrific wines that they make, bid them adieu, and went off with Jason and Kay to enjoy a nice lunch at Gabriella's Café in downtown Santa Cruz. Storrs wines are available at the winery and are sold in 18 states. Storrs Winery, Old Sash Mill, 303 Potrero St. #35, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; 408.458.5030, 408.458.0464 (fax). After lunch, we said goodbye to Kay, who had places to go and things to do. Then we hopped on Highway 1 south to Aptos, and Jason gave us some background on our destination.
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WINES: 1996 Storrs Santa Cruz 1996 Storrs Santa Cruz 1997 Storrs Santa Cruz 1996 Storrs Santa Cruz 1996 Storrs Central Coast 1996 Storrs Santa Cruz 1996 Storrs Santa Cruz 1996 Storrs Contra Costa 1996 Storrs Santa Cruz
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