Storrs Winery
Central Coast (California) 

The Estate
Stephen Storrs and Pamela Bianchini-Storrs began the winery with the vintage of 1988. They firmly believed in the potential that the Santa Cruz Mountains held for truly great wine. They have used their knowledge gleaned in years of winemaking at other operations and in their studies at UC Davis. When they began, their case production totalled 1,200 cases. Over the years, they have steadily improved their facility and their equipment and now they have grown to a comfortable 10,000 cases.

“Hands-on family operation making appealing if slightly pricey wines from purchased grapes; estate vineyard lies in the future, lovely Two Creek Rhône blend.”
- Anthony Dias' blue pocket guide to wine 2006

The Vineyards
"As any real estate agent will tell you… it’s all about location, and it is no different with vineyards. While some would translate ‘”terroir” to mean only soil – to a winegrower it encompasses much more.
Loosely, translated, terroir refers to the macro-climate – in our case, say coastal; meso-climate which depends upon the vineyard locale (for instance, in the case of Christie Vineyard, the unique warmth of Pleasant Valley with its south-facing slope and its elevation protecting it from coastal fog); the micro-climate which is the environment immediately around the vine canopy; and the soil type – its composition, its chemistry, its arability, its drainage; the topography of the site – knolls, hillsides, swales, elevation. In a few words, just about everything that affects fruit quality.
At Storrs we believe the Santa Cruz Mountains offers such diversity that you can find a near perfect site for most any varietal.
Some, however, seem especially well suited – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and beyond that only time will tell. We feel that no other region outside of Burgundy and Chablis consistently produces Chardonnays of such complexity, depth and elegance. And cool climate Zins – ooh la la!

Winemaking wise – our philosophy is basically to step back and let nature take its course, for the most part. Our job, outside of totally hands-on vineyard work, comes when its time to select the barrels for the final wine that you will enjoy. This is the artistry of winemaking and no two domains would do it quite the same. Thus we can have many Echezeaux, but only one Domaine Romanée-Conti." - Storrs winery.

The Wines

shelf talker

#C1EE174001CHS
UPC code: 7 43382 00100 4
2006 Storrs, Santa Cruz Mountains, Chardonnay 12/750ml
The grapes for this wine were grown in a series of vineyards spanning the Santa Cruz Mountains. Each vineyard is located in a vastly different micro-climate – one enjoys the full sun of the Bonny Doon district; one the cooler, slower growing season found in Pleasant Valley; another the fog-protected heights of the historic Jarvis Road highlands and one the maritime climate of the Soquel hills. Likewise, these vineyards are cultured in different arrays… a modified Geneva-double-curtain for one, a spur-pruned bilateral cordon for the majority and a cane-pruned bi-lateral cordon for the coolest. Additionally, these vineyards benefit from different soils and different elevations. Each vineyard brings its unique assets to this cuvée creating a richly-styled classic Chardonnay – an ultimate expression of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Fragrant aromas of mountain pear and ripe apples, combined with vanilla, French oak and light toasty notes. The nose is echoed in the mouth - elegant with a generous fruit and a mineral accent. Given this wine's mountain heritage, it should age gracefully for the next four to six years.

National Retail Price: $23.95 / bottle

shelf talker

#C1EE174002CHS
UPC code: 7 43382 00120 2
2003 Storrs, Christie Vineyard, Chardonnay 12/750ml
The grapes for this wine were grown on a hillside of Pleasant Valley located at the southern-tip of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Trained to a modified-Geneva-double-curtain trellising system, the vines of this southern sloping vineyard and their clusters of fruit receive hours of mountain sunshine each day through the carefully leaf-pruned, hedged shoots. The soil composition of this mountain valley is a well-drained, powdery loam which has resulted from the gradual decomposition of granite of nearby Mt. Modanna. Given the hand-farmed nature of this "culturally-advantaged" vineyard combined with its marine-influenced meso-climate, the resulting grapes exhibit intense varietal character with enough backbone to allow the wine to age gracefully for several years.

Aromas of ripe apple and bosc pear combine with light toasty notes of French oak and vanilla to rise out of the glass and captivate. Mountain pear, ripe gala apple, a touch of pineapple with notes of French oak to accent, all complemented by a creamy mouthfeel (owing to sur lie aging) balanced by a firm structure which will allow the wine to age for several years.

National Retail Price: $29.95 / bottle

shelf talker

#C0EE174048ZLL
UPC code:7 43382 00180 6 
2005 Storrs, Rusty Ridge Zinfandel 12/750ml
This proprietary cuvée hails from a series of old vine vineyards located on the eastern edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Head-trained and dry-farmed all, these vineyards yield very minimally allowing for intensely-flavored fruit that produce wines of amazing concentration and varietal identity. Each vineyard which comes to the blend, adds something...  one brambly fruit, the other backbone and spice, the other depth and concentration. Together these vineyards create a wine that will remind all of us why winemakers engage the four-wheel drive, and then hike through the worst poison oak to uncover these gems that have nearly been forgotten to the outside world.

Vinification: destemming; fermentation in small lots in open top fermenters. Over the next three weeks, the grapes were macerated using the traditional punch down method. The whole-berry fermentation combined with the cooler temperatures maintained in small lot fermentation allow to produce a rich Zinfandel, with all of its abundant fruit intact. Following the wine's initial fermentation, we barreled the wine in a combination of air-dried American (80%) and French (20%) oak.

Deep ruby with a purple edge. Ripe brambleberries – raspberry, loganberry and boysenberry — with accents of black pepper and vanilla. Quite full-bodied, with a very supple palate. You'll again encounter the rich brambleberry notes especially boysenberry complemented by soft vanilla owing to long-term aging in small oak cooperage.

National Retail Price: $24.95 / bottle

shelf talker

#C0EE174049ZLL
UPC code: 7 43382 00250 6 
2004 Storrs, Lion Oaks, Zinfandel 12/750ml
This wine hails from a very old vineyard located on the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains at a vineyard known as Lion Oaks. The old-timers in the region know it as the Carter Ranch, named for the family that has farmed this vineyard since early 1900's, and they were not the first... Well over a century-old, the gnarly vines of Lion Oaks are dry-farmed, head-trained, and cane-pruned – the “real thing.” Comprised of sandy, meager soils, the vineyard floor is divided into two roughly equal halves by a small creek which meanders north to south leaving each parcel with a sloping southeastern exposure. In spite of rather large individual berry size, the vineyard typically yields less than 3/4 tons per acre of intensely flavored grapes filled with vibrant esters of blackberry, and olallieberry.

100% Zinfandel; 100 years old vines.
Vinification: destemming; fermentation in small lots in open top fermenters; maceration using the traditional punch down method. The whole-berry fermentation combined with the cooler temperatures maintained in small lot fermentation allow to produce a rich Zinfandel, with all of its abundant fruit intact.
Aging in a combination of air-dried American (70%) and French (30%) oak.
Deep ruby with a purple edge. Ripe blackberry and boysenberry leap from the glass followed by a soft vanilla. Very bold and full-bodied, with a very supple palate. You'll again encounter the rich brambleberry notes complemented by soft vanilla owing to long-term aging in small oak cooperage. Long lingering finish.

National Retail Price: $39.95 / bottle

shelf talker

#C0EE174003MRM
UPC code: 7 43382 00155 4
2004 Storrs, Central Coast, Merlot 12/750ml
Black cherries, ripe plum, black currant and sweet oak, with an accent of granite. Full-bodied, soft on the palate. Fruity aromas (raspberry, black currant and black cherry) with soft vanilla. A lush texture with firm tannins. 


National Retail Price: $18.99 / bottle

shelf talker

#C0EE174075PSL
UPC code: 7 43382 00160 8
2004 Storrs, Santa Cruz Mountains, Petite Sirah 12/750ml
Black cherries, ripe plum, black currant and sweet oak, with an accent of granite. Full-bodied, soft on the palate. Fruity aromas (raspberry, black currant and black cherry) with soft vanilla. A lush texture with firm tannins. 
These grapes were grown in a vineyard located on the warm slopes of Pleasant Valley on the western foothills of Mount Madonna. Given a meso-climate punctuated by a fine, gravelly sand soil structure (once the bottom of an ancient river bed), daytime temperatures in the mid-80’s during the majority of the growing season and cool, fog shrouded evenings due to its proximity to the coast (less than 4 miles due west), these vines produce grapes which possess balance, bright varietal aromas and structure to spare. The vines are cultured on a lyre-trellis to maximize sun exposure and the the resulting quadrilateral cordon is cane-pruned. These elements combine to allow the grapes to ripen to their fullest so as to develop the rich fruit and spicy components that are a hallmark of this grape, while maintaining a more elegant structure than is typically encountered in this varietal.

The grapes were handpicked in late October of 2004. Yields were low, 1.5-2.0 tons per acre. Arriving at the winery, they destemmed the grapes and fermented them in small lots, utilizing the punch down method for cap management and maximum flavor extraction. The “whole-berry” fermentation combined with the cooler temperatures maintained in small lot fermentation allow them to produce a rich Petite Sirah, with all of its abundant fruit and spice intact, yet with softer, more subdued tannins than typical of this California varietal. Following the wine’s initial fermentation, they barreled the wine in a combination of French (40%) and air-dried American (60%) oak. The wine was bottled in early May of 2006.

Deep purple-black color. On the nose, jam packed with ripe black raspberry and cherry fruit, with accents of pepper, spice and moderate oak. Full-bodied, with a lush texture and generous flavors of black cherry, ollallieberry and notes of vanilla. Supple tannins under the fruit promise a long life ahead.

National Retail Price: $28.95 / bottle