Twenty minutes from my house.  Yikes.  Named after a mercurial mineral.  Sure.  Situated in a sleepy little town.  Why not?  Producing delicious Cab.  Of course.  Similar to the Cooper Garrod, although now I realize I am dying to taste them side by side.  I am very much at a loss for how to describe this.  Imagine a silky, translucent negligee, wrapped around a petite but curvaceous young lady.  Or don’t.  Subtle and whsipy and full.  I suspect there will be more Cinnabar gracing these pages…

paid: $26 (club price)

scored: 90

Aged 12+ months in barrel, but the lack of appellation designation should be telling that this was a mass-produced effort.  In short, nothing to write home about.  Better than most, but you should really spend the extra dollar and grab a bottle of the 337 or Chevalier or Cannonball.

paid: $13

scored: 87

The Beauregard Pinot was so smashing we picked up an interest in the grape… only to learn that it doesn’t really hang out at the $12 price point.  So…. you go up a few bucks, and land at here.  Warm and sugary on the nose, lightly bitter at first taste, and just when I thought I’d found something astounding, I swallowed and got jabbed by the finish.  It’s sharp!  I don’t really understand.  Its completely incongruous.  My fiancee had a similar expereince, and just to double check I pumped half the bottle and tasted it again the next day.  Same finish.  Sigh.  Its still very good, though, and worth your while.

paid: $16

scored: 88

We finally found Bonny Doon.  The tasting room moved to a hip, modern spot in downtown Santa Cruz.  We were sufficiently taken by the whole ambiance that we joined their wine club.  We’ll see how that works out.  They gave us our first “shipment” on the spot, 2 bottles of their Cigare Volante unfiltered “red wine of the earth”.  I’m not sure who let the hippies categorize this wine ;p.  Anyway it is a very fine specimen, a blend typical perhaps of Chateauneuf-du-pape, with 50% Grenache, 24% Mourvedre, 22% Syrah and a smattering of Carignane and Cinsault.  Smoooooooooooooth.  I wonder if it would age well. For the record, most of Bonny Doon’s vineyards are farther south in Monterrey, although its winery is in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation.  File under…?

paid: $26 (club price)

scored: 90

So four days after the Beauregard indulgence we plumped for this simple, un-assuming Cabernet/Merlot blend from Chile.  It is a little bit too spicey for my taste.  I don’t really know how a wine can get this spicey… its as if they fermeted the whole vine, stems and all.  Not bad, drinkable and all that, just out of balance by my taste.  Some people may find it rather appealing.  I’m glad we got it on a half-off sale.

paid: $7

scored: 81

Another backyard but top-notch operation.  We found this winery by accident after mountain biking around Wilder Ranch down in Santa Cruz (we were looking for Bonny Doon).  After sampling their wares, we couldn’t leave without this Pinot.  It has a delicious fruity aroma that only gets better when you taste it.  Light, mineraly, balanced and incredibly smooth.  For the cynics who would be tempted to conclude that at this price, it better be a jewel… take note: the other Pinot on offer (different vineyard, up the road a bit) was not nearly as tasty yet cost every bit as much.

paid: $50ish

scored: 92