Soquel Bargetto has the prettiest tasting room and patio overlooking a creek and wilderness. Getting to the wines, the Sauv Blanc and Pinot Grigio are pretty good and well balanced, the Chard not my preference. The reserve reds are quite delicious and the sweet wines are good if you are into the sweeter wines.

The winemaking heritage of Bargetto began with brothers Phillip and John Bargetto, who emigrated from Castelnuovo Don Bosco, a small town in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Bringing with them years of winegrowing experience, they established BARGETTO WINERY on the banks of Soquel Creek in California.

Some History 

Phillip was the first to leave Italy in 1891 at the age of seventeen. In 1909, John joined his brother in San Francisco.

The original Bargetto family winery was located in San Francisco from 1910 to 1917, operating under the name South Montebello Vineyard and Wine Company. With Prohibition on the horizon, the winery was closed, and the brothers relocated to Soquel in 1917.

In 1918, Phillip and John purchased the current site of BARGETTO WINERY and began producing wine in an old barn on the property. During Prohibition (1919-1933), the brothers continued to make wine for family and friends while selling produce to local customers and growing apples at their family ranch in Soquel. When Prohibition ended in 1933, they devoted more time to the wine business, expanding into a wholesale operation while maintaining their produce sales.

Phillip Bargetto passed away in 1936, leaving John as the sole owner of the business during the 1940s and 1950s. John continued to produce and sell wine both wholesale and retail, with the support of his sons Ralph and Lawrence during these years.

When in wine country, some enjoy a Disneyland experience -- fake castles & dungeons, tram rides, huge gift shops, docents, buses, limos, and a million things to distract you from the wine. And then, there's Coturri. The production is tiny. The facility is a garage. Check out the Syrah, Zin, or anything that they might happen to have on hand to share...and you'll get a great bottle of hand-made wine with little intervention of any sort.

B Wise is just off the 12 in Kenwood. The tasting room is elegantly decorated. Allison was friendly and opened new bottles to make sure we tasted the wine at its best. Easily one of the better wineries in the area. While they only really make small batches and prices are escalated because of that, the wine really speaks for itself.