Monterrey - Carmel

Monterrey - Carmel

McIntyre Tasting Studio

red wine swirling in the glass - Pixabay

Originally planted in 1973, the 80-acre McIntyre Estate Vineyard (with 60 acres planted) is home to some of the oldest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines in the Santa Lucia Highlands. Another estate property, the 81-acre Kimberly Vineyard in Arroyo Seco, complements the winery’s holdings. Proprietor Steve McIntyre, a highly knowledgeable viticulturist, also owns and operates Monterey Pacific, overseeing 16,000 acres of vineyards in Monterey County. The McIntyre Estate Vineyard was one of the first in the Santa Lucia Highlands to earn SIP (Sustainability In Practice) Certification.

The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA has quickly risen to prominence, with 6,000 acres of vines—primarily Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah—thriving on the terraces below the Santa Lucia mountain range. The region benefits from a unique climate shaped by daily morning fog and strong winds channeled through the Salinas Valley from Monterey Bay. This combination gives the Santa Lucia Highlands one of California's longest and coolest growing seasons.

Had an excellent time here. The gentlemen doing the tasting was very personable and informative, I highly recommend.

Shale Canyon Wines

bottle of wine and glass with chateau in background - PIxabay

Shale Canyon Wines is a new producer vinting small lots . Trry the Blair Pinot Noir, the Shale Canyon Merlot and Shale Cab Franc. Very good wines for a great price.of hand crafted varietals of Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. 2008 and 2009 production will be about 850 cases per year. Long term production goals are between 2,500 to 4,000 cases per year. Production will be focused on six to eight varietals, including our own estate wines from recently planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, Tempranillo and Mourvedre

ROAR Wines

glass of wine

Gary and Rosella Franscioni founded ROAR Wines with the conviction that Pinot Noir had a bright future in the Santa Lucia Highlands, coupled with the aspiration that their farming expertise would translate into exceptional grapes and wines. In 1996, they planted Rosella’s Vineyard on their home ranch, followed by Garys’ Vineyard in 1997 in partnership with the Pisoni family. The inaugural vintage of ROAR was released in 2001, crafted from these two vineyards. From the outset, the couple’s mission was to create wines they themselves would enjoy drinking, a vision that garnered critical acclaim almost immediately. About a decade later, they expanded their endeavor by planting two additional vineyards: Sierra Mar and Soberanes. Today, Gary and his sons continue to enhance and innovate in both the vineyards and winery, striving to produce the highest quality wines their land can offer.

Hahn Winery

vineyard at sunset - Pixabay

This is a great vineyard and they make fantastic wines! The view from the deck is beautiful. The tasting room itself is nice. The drive up to the tasting room is beautiful and they have a lovely estate with rows of roses and trees, next to the vineyards. The service is fantastic and they are generous with the pours! I highly recommend going for a visit and enjoying the nice weather and scenery. They make a number of really nice wines and bottle under a number of labels. You may be surprised just how many different labels they have. They have some nice little snacks in the fridge there, but they are just enough to stave off hunger, so don't plan on getting stuffed with their snacks before tasting. I recommend getting a bottle and sitting on the deck with your own salami and cheese assortment.

Pessagno Winery

glasses of white wine - Pixabay

Calling to book with Pessagno was super smooth and the tour itself was incredibly cheap! $10/person! The tour ran about 90 minutes, which included a wine tasting. The property was not big, but the personality of our tour guide Chris was huge; what a nice, generous fella! Huge tasting room- with records playing for background music. We were told we can even bring your own '45; if the staff approves, they will play it. They also had cheese platters available with Brie, Manchego, other varieties, nuts and dried fruits. Great Pinot Noirs, Ports and Port Varieties. This vineyard's production is low, but quality is significantly high, especially for the price point.

Hahn Estates

Logo for Hahn SLH wine label

Grown on over 1000 acres in Monterey County, the diverse vineyards of Hahn Estate make up some of the best Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah plantings in the region. The unique qualities of the vineyards coupled with the sunny days and foggy nights helps to create wines of depth and complexity.

At Hahn Family Wines, a family-owned and operated winery, founders Nicky and Gaby Hahn arrived in the Santa Lucia Highlands in the late 1970s. The Swiss-born couple swiftly identified the area's capacity to yield wines with remarkable nuance and character, deserving recognition on a global scale.

They expressed their vision: "We produce world-class fruit from meticulously managed vineyards. Therefore, we merit recognition through our own premium pricing and an exciting appellation that wine writers can discover, acclaim, and celebrate."

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Marin Wines

grape cluster - ai pixabay

Natural winegrowing for us means producing the finest quality wines while working in harmony with nature and protecting the health of the earth and its people. As a CCOF - Certified Organic winery, we encourage environmentally friendly practices at many stages, from conserving soils and water, managing pests and using a natural approach in winemaking

Joyce Vineyards

ai generated grape cluster - Pixabay

The origins of Joyce Winery trace back to 1972, when Russell Joyce’s father, Francis, discovered the small rural town of Carmel Valley, California. Francis was searching for a place where he could establish both a dental practice and a race shop for his race cars, reflecting his professional racing career. The proximity to the renowned Laguna Seca Raceway and the rural charm of the area appealed to him, especially as a small-town farm boy from Wisconsin. After settling down and starting a family, Francis embarked on a new passion: winemaking. In 1986, he planted a small 5-acre vineyard around the family home, marking the beginning of Joyce Winery.

Russell Joyce, born in 1986, grew up immersed in vineyard work from a young age. His childhood involved tasks such as pulling weeds, hand-terracing vineyard rows, and pressing grapes in the small micro-winery on the property. This early exposure nurtured a passion for winemaking, even though he was unaware of it at the time. A self-taught winemaker, Russell dedicated his adult life to transforming Joyce Winery into a sustainable and thriving business, hoping to one day pass it on to his children. His work in produce and metal fabrication in the Salinas Valley helped support him financially, but his passion for winemaking remained unwavering.

The next chapter for Joyce Winery began with Russell and his father setting up a small production winery in an industrial building in the Salinas Valley, which operated from around 2006 to 2019. Facing space constraints, Russell and his wife Charlotte sought a rural property, vineyard, or winery to purchase and develop into a family estate. After several unsuccessful attempts, Russell found the old Ventana Winery in Soledad, California. Despite its dilapidated appearance, Russell saw potential in the site due to his familiarity with the Arroyo Seco AVA from years of fruit purchases. In 2020, a handshake deal was reached with the former Ventana Winery partners, marking a new chapter for Joyce Winery.

Russell has since revitalized the old winery and developed much of the surrounding barren land into a new organic vineyard. He has collaborated with the original Ventana Vineyard owners to plant new Gamay vines. All long-standing fruit contracts are with neighboring family-owned vineyards located within a 10-mile radius of the winery.

Chesebro Wines and Art

vineyard at sunset - Pixabay

I love this tasting room. There is lots of space in the place and art to amuse you in between the tasting. The wines are fantastic and even though they are not widely advertised, they are a good buy. The service is great and they enjoy spending time talking to you about the wine. Definitely check this place out if you are in Carmel Valley. I really enjoyed the red blend from Arroyo Seco.

Winemaker Mark Chesebro

Mark took a crush job at Bernardus Winery under Don Blackburn in the fall of 1994, and ended up staying until the spring of 2005. First working in the cellar, then as Enologist, he eventually became Winemaker in January of 1999. He basically held every production job available at this 50,000 case winery. Mark notes that this was truly his real winemaking education. It taught him not only about winemaking, but also about the extreme importance and impact of farming. He candidly observes that wine is very easy to botch up in the winery, but it can never be better than the raw materials. Respect for this concept became the guiding force in his approach to the production of fine wine.

Since Spring of 2021 Mark has had the pleasure of working with his son Will as co-winemaker . Will grew up with winemaking at Bernardus and at Chesebro Wines. He has worked harvest jobs at Hobo Wines and Thomas Fogarty. He also ran the laboratory at  J Lohr Winery's white wine facility.

Together they are currently launching their Cedar Lane Vineyard label featuring wines from the estate vineyard of that name in the Arroyo Seco AVA. These wines were previously bottled under the Chesebro label but they wanted to highlight the source vineyard and have the Chesebro label focus on wines from the Carmel Valley AVA.

Taste Morgan

wine glasses by the fireplace - Pixabay

Very impressive Pinot vintages. The ever so delicate grapes are grown right in the St. Lucia highlands where the cool coastal air enters through an inlet in the valley and keeps the berries cool and mild. The result is an amazing explosion of flavors that hints of fruit varietals suitable for any occasions. The sommelier on attendance was particularly witty and knowledgeable, a fine value of entertainment for $5. The tasting room's ambiance looked affluent but nothing pretentious, we felt welcome and greeted with smiles and laughter...well, a bottle of good Pinot Noir will always produce a smile.

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