American Independence day, they say is best celebrated with hot dogs and ice cream or barbecued food. I beg to differ, given that I chose to celebrate the 4 of July that just went by, with Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Merlot among other exotic tastes, at an idyllic location tucked away in the thickets of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Situated on Montebello Road — monte-bello, which itself is said to mean beautiful mountains — the Picchetti Winery is a paradise for those who love wine and music and beautiful surroundings. Anything to beat that?
Picchetti Winery dates back to the 1800s and is proud to be one of the oldest wineries in California. This place came about when the Picchetti brothers, after whom this place is named, bought some land on the beautiful mountains, began cultivating different kinds of grapes and supplying local wineries with their produce. Then in 1896 these Italian siblings built a winery and tried a hand at selling their own wines. Success was theirs and the winery was handed over to the next generation of Picchettis.
Unfortunately, the winery later fell into bad days, we are told, and parts of the estates had to be sold and other fruits had to be grown to meet the expenses of the winery and ranch, until one day the winery too had to close. However, it was reopened in the 1990s and went on to flourish once again. The new owners chose to keep the name as well as another feature that is almost a symbol of the Picchetti era: the peacock. John Picchetti, one of the second generation Picchettis here, who loved birds had built an aviary on the premises when he took over the winery.
Now visitors to the Picchetti Winery have the honour of being welcomed to the property by the lovely peacock. With its elegant green and blue bird, the greenery around and the log cabins flanked with numerous casks, people who have been to Picchetti will agree that this place itself is visually inebriating.
Walk up the little hill and you see a brick building, the very winery that was built by the Picchettis in 1896. This red structure continues to be the place whence the intoxicating grape-based drink flows.
Not that Independence Day meant drinking spree; it was just some wine tasting that I indulged in that day. Who says that only sommeliers could have fun with the fermented goodness of grapes: swirling, smelling and sipping it.
The Picchetti winery lets you try five tastes for a five dollar fee and if you have a partner you can taste ten wines for double the fee. That’s a good deal don’t you think?
Inside the tasting room.
After we were done with our tasting we left the tasting room with a bottle of wine and even got one person’s fee refunded for that purchase.
From there we moved to the picnic tables outside and enjoyed our home-made fast food while a band of three people entertained us with music and song. That undoubtedly was one lovely afternoon, a perfect way to spend the Independence Day holiday: the taste of freedom and the taste of wine. (And by the way, it was a jovial Englishman who served to us at the wine bar. )
Red wines were our choice for that day. Now, if only there were blue wines to go with that to make it a perfect way to celebrate America!
Next post: (more) Pictures from Picchetti Winery
[…] wineries in California. You can read more about the winery, our visit and wine-tasting –> Swirl, Smell, Sip the wine. This post features some pictures from Picchetti Winery, situated on the Santa Cruz […]