THE VINE
Celebrating Our Award
Winning Wines
By Kyle Fanthorpe
Kyle Fanthorpe is a UC Santa Cruz alum and Gilroy native. Over the past several years he has worked in
various aspects of the wine industry throughout the Bay Area, including traditional wineries in Santa Clara
Valley and urban wineries in San Francisco. Currently, he is the General Manager at Bella Viva Wine Bar
in Gilroy where he handles operations and events. When Kyle is not wine-tasting or attending tradeshow
events, he’s an avid traveler and writer.
W
hen you look up Santa Clara
Valley in any of the major
wine books, if it’s mentioned
at all, the region tends to be relegated to
just a paragraph or so. Some mention the
region’s long history of wine production
until Silicon Valley’s tech boom uprooted
countless acres of vineyards. Unfortunately,
there’s too little mention of the quality of
the wines, the large array of wineries, or the
beauty of the valley itself. This is changing.
And so it was encouraging when the
Wineries of Santa Clara Valley, a non-
profit organization, and the Morgan Hill
Downtown Association gave an enthusiastic
nod to the burgeoning Santa Clara Valley
AVA (American Viticulture Area) last April
at the Morgan Hill Community and
Culture Center. They hosted an event
called Our Award Winning Wine Region
Celebration to highlight the much-
deserved accolades earned by our local
vineyards. Specifically, the ceremony
acknowledged the numerous awards
won by local winemakers at the 2014
San Francisco Chronicle Wine Tasting
Competition. The event featured thirteen
wineries, pouring their award-winning
wines alongside food pairings from seven
downtown Morgan Hill eateries. This was
the first event of its kind and included
prominent speakers from the community
and raffle prizes for attendees.
I arrived a few minutes early and
checked in. Attendants walked me through
the agenda and handed me a length
of perforated tickets which could be
exchanged for a taste of one of the wines
being poured. Upon entering, I couldn’t
help but admire the decorative flourishes.
Purple and green balloon arrangements
framed the hall in the shape of giant wine
grape clusters. Round tables dotting the
center of the room were adorned with
cleverly designed cork art centerpieces.
Dapperly dressed attendees included a
who’s who of the South County wine scene.
Winemakers and kingmakers mingled
freely with general enthusiasts and tasting
room staff.
Most of the wineries represented were
familiar to me. They were set up in two
rows along either side of the hall. Wines
from J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Kirigin
Cellars, and Medeiros Family Wine
were paired with the food stylings of
Huntington Station and The Good Fork.
Selections from Martin Ranch Winery,
Sunlit Oaks Winery, Fortino Winery, and
Creekview Vineyards were paired with
Mama Mia’s cuisine. I set immediately to
sampling. While in the middle of sipping
a plush Cab from J. Johr’s Paso Robles
vineyard, I was interrupted.
The President of the Morgan Hill
Downtown Business Association, Cheri
Devlin, came up to the podium to
introduce the event. She was followed by
Gene Guglielmo who heads the Wineries
of Santa Clara Valley nonprofit. Guglielmo
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
JULY/ AUGUST 2015
outlined the groups mission, to foster and
promote the winemaking heritage of SCV.
He also touched on his family’s 90-year
history pursuing that end. (A feature on
the Guglielmo winemaking legacy was
included in the May/June issue of gmh
Today.) The last speaker was Morgan Hill
Mayor Steve Tate. He took the opportunity
to reiterate the importance of Morgan
Hill’s support, along with the communities
of Gilroy and San Martin in continuing
to build Santa Clara Valley’s wine culture.
After they concluded, I continued on my
tasting circuit and met Thérèse Martin
of Martin Ranch. She poured for me
both an outstanding Syrah and Cabernet
Sauvignon. I was happy to share with
Thérèse that I was introduced to our SCV
wine initially by trying one of Martin
Ranch’s Cabs at Bella Viva in Gilroy.
Moving on — Lightheart Cellars,
Castillo’s Hillside Shire Winery, and Sarah’s
Vineyard wines were paired with food
from Bubbles Wine Bar and Ladera Grill.
Vintages from Jason-Stephens Winery,
Guglielmo Winery, and Aver Family
Vineyards were coupled with delicious fair
from local restaurants Odeum and Rosy’s at
the Beach. I had the opportunity to speak
with Tim Slater of Sarah’s and Jason Goelz
of Jason-Stephens. Sarah’s was pouring the
2011 vintage of its signature Pinot Noir,
which boasted a bright juicy aroma of ripe
cherries. I had the pleasure of working
for Tim at Sarah’s Vineyard last summer
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