Quinta Cruz

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard has been making European-style, food-friendly, cellar-worthy wines since 1975. They were formerly located on the site of one of the oldest operating vineyards in California, originally established as the Jarvis Brothers Vineyard in 1863. Ken Burnap was well-known for making Pinot Noir that can age beautifully for three decades. In 2008 they launched a second brand, Quinta Cruz, which features only varieties that originated on the Iberian Peninsula but are now grown here in California. These Portuguese and Spanish varieties include Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Verdelho, Souzao, Graciano, and Tinto Cão.

 Jeff Emery is the current proprietor, winemaker, truck driver, mechanic, wine sales dude, and basically anything else he needs to be to make this small business work. He first came to Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard in July of 1979 and ended up working with Ken Burnap, the winery’s founder, in what can best be described as an old-fashioned apprenticeship. Jeff took over the business in 2002 when Ken retired.

Graciano Clement Hills
Graciano is a Spanish grape variety that is grown primarily in Rioja and is very rare in the New World. It is a low-yielding, aromatic, and intensely flavored variety that typically provides a deep core of fruit, spice, aromatics and acidity. The wines of Rioja are primarily composed of Tempranillo, with some Garnacha (Grenache), and sometimes a small percentage of Graciano. Even in Spain, it is very, very rarely bottled as a single varietal. From the research we have done it looks like there are fewer than two dozen 100% varietal bottlings of this grape variety in the world. Bokisch Vineyards is located in the Sacramento Valley between Sacramento and Lodi.
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