Get the best taste of what Carmel-by-the-Sea has to offer wine lovers in the offseason
California is all about the wine.
Consider the abundance of wine shops and wine warehouses, supermarket aisles stocked with vino, and the glut of restaurant wine lists, including the one at the Taco Bell Cantina in Pacifica.
Then there’s the Wine Institute, the authoritative “voice of the wine industry,” with these numbers: California produces 81 percent of American wine – about 716 million gallons a year – from nearly 4,000 wineries growing 110 varietals on 637,000 acres of wine-grape vineyards. Cases: 250 million. Total retail: $40 billion-plus.
One more thing: We Californians drink most of what we produce, no surprise.
We were thinking about that last part as we strolled from tasting room to tasting room in Carmel-by-the-Sea, following the new iteration of the village’s Wine Walk By the Sea.
It’s a self-guided walking tour (with a map) of 13 tasting rooms representing some of the finest wineries in a part of the state known for its diverse varietals – more than 40, from pinot noir and malbec to chardonnay and Riesling.
They’re sourced from nine American Viticultural Areas, each characterized by unique terroirs – the combination of microclimate, soil and terrain that affect a wine’s taste. In 2013, Monterey County came in No. 5 on Wine Enthusiast magazine’s list of the top-10 wine-tasting destinations in the world, beating out Oregon and Italy.
Back in Carmel, our first tasting-room stop was Galante Vineyards, where we found owner Jack Galante wearing his trademark cowboy hat. He does, after all, run a working cattle ranch and is the great-grandson of Carmel founder J.F. Devendorf. Galante opened Carmel’s first tasting room, in 2004, to give consumers a hands-on experience with his wine. “The people at the planning commission asked me, ‘What took you so long?’” he recalled.
Five more vintners quickly followed his lead, and Galante led them into the Wine Walk concept. “It initially started as a marketing arm to bring awareness to our community, and has turned back into that in recent months,” Galante said. “All the proceeds from the Wine Walk go into marketing, not to the tasting rooms.”
Now 20 tasting rooms are spread throughout 1-square-mile Carmel, 13 of which are on the Wine Walk trail (participants are limited to any 10). More than 1,200 wine-lovers sign up each year. “It’s become part of the town’s culture – not changing it, but enhancing it,” Galante said.
“We provide wine-tasters the opportunity to explore all the wines Monterey County has to offer, without having to leave our village,” said Wine Walk manager Celeste White.
What’s not to like about discovering the restaurants, shops, alleyways and courtyards of Carmel, stopping for flights along the way? Especially now, during shoulder season, when the crowds have gone home and you can actually stroll the sidewalks of Ocean Avenue without having to play dodgeball.
Tasting rooms range from small and simple to spacious and luxe. Many sell merchandise, from hats and scarves to wine-centric books.
Because of licensing laws, you won’t find elaborate food menus at the tasting rooms; expect bare bones such as cheese, bread cubes, chocolate and bread sticks, though Scratch Wine is the exception.
You should know that tasting room etiquette suggests you buy a bottle or two on your way out.
Here’s a not-so-secret industry secret: All wineries bottle their best vinos for their wine club customers.
Oh, and remember, there are no street addresses in Carmel, so navigation is done according to street designations and intersections.
We managed to visit six tasting rooms in a day, resisting temptation and saving any sipping for the next day.
Galante Vineyards
Production: 3,000 cases from 25 acres of estate-grown fruit. Owner Jack Galante also processes and bottles wine for Dawn’s Dream, his wife’s winery, from grapes sourced from other vineyards.
Flight: four tastes from a rotating list of reds, whites and two dessert wines
Signature: dry-farmed 2014 Black Jack Pasture Cabernet Sauvignon
Munchies: cheese, crackers, chocolate
Where: Dolores Street and Ocean Avenue, down an alley and through a courtyard
Hours: noon to 7 p.m. daily. “If you’re here later and enjoying yourself, nobody’s going to kick you out,” said owner Jack Galante.
Information: (831) 624-3800, www.galantevineyards.com
Scheid Vineyards
Production: 8,000 to 10,000 cases of 39 varietals from 4,000 acres of estate-grown fruit, including obscure Albariño, Touriga Nacional and dolcetto.
Flight: Choose four tastes from eight wines on two menus. For instance, the Wine Walk menu could include grenache blanc, pinot noir rose, seven-varietal white blend and tannat. Or upgrade for $10 to the reserve menu (again, four tastes from eight choices) for chardonnay, clarets and pinot noirs.
Signature: Bordeaux-blend claret reserve
Munchies: palette cleansers (bread cubes), packaged snacks
Where: corner of 7th and San Carlos
Hours: noon to 6 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; noon to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Information: 831-626-9463, www.scheidvineyards.com, www.scheidfamilywines.com
Scratch Wine
Production: Only 1,500 cases for five varietals, including grenache and an extra-brut chardonnay sparkler. The fruit is sourced from growers in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
Flight: all six Scratch wines are on the tasting menu
Signature: grenache
Munchies: The tasting room has the hippest vibe of those we visited, so it’s not surprising that it offers three types of caviar service. Also, it’s the only tasting room that shares space with an art gallery, the eclectic Winfield. Another cool thing: The owner-operator-winemaker is Sabrine Rodems, a woman killing it in a traditionally male-dominated craft. She also makes wine for Wrath.
Where: Dorlores between Ocean and 7th
Hours: noon to 7 p.m. Sundays though Thursdays, noon to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Information: 831-320-0726, www.scratchwines.com
Silvestri Vineyards
Production: 3,000 cases of estate-grown small-lot reds and whites, including pinot gris and barbera. The vineyard is the brainchild of award-winning composer-conductor Alan Silvestri, who has written the scores for more than 100 movies, including “Cast Away” and “The Polar Express.”
Flight: only three tastes – rose, chardonnay and pinot noir; add a taste of barbera for $3
Signature: 2017 Red Ranger Syrah (only 112 cases produced)
Munchies: none, and don’t embarrass yourself by showing up with a picnic basket, as some have attempted
Where: 7th between San Carlos and Dolores
Hours: noon to 6 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; noon to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Information: 831-625011, www.silvestrivineyards.com
Windy Oaks Estate
Production: The estate (a former apple orchard) sits above Corralitos in Santa Cruz County, with 26 acres in pinot noir, chardonnay and syrah, for 5,000 cases. Windy Oaks sources other varietals from the Santa Lucia Highlands and Cholone AVAs.
Flight: Choose three of four (chardonnay, rose, pinot noir, Rhone blend) or upgrade to three estate pinot noirs and one syrah. The winery makes 13 pinot noirs from the estate vineyard, all unfiltered, with the philosophy of “extreme minimal intervention.”
Signature: 2017 limited-release estate pinot noir, made with wild yeast
Munchies: wine-cheese pairing on Fridays, 3 to 7 p.m.
Where: Lincoln between Ocean and 6th
Hours: noon to 6 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, noon to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Information: 831-574-3135, www.windyoaksestate.com
Wrath Wines
Production: The 72-acre family-run winery produces 13,000 cases of 24 wines from estate-grown fruit, notably pinot noir and chardonnay. It has two rows (80 cases) planted in rare garganega, an Italian white.
Flight: The list rotates, but look for the Al sauvignon blanc in cans (“Al” is “aluminum” on the Periodic Table of Elements), chardonnay and pinot noir. You can upgrade to the Winemaker’s Tasting or the Single Vineyard Tasting flights.
Signature: the chardonnay, pinot noir and syrah under Wrath’s Sansaba marque, the best of their best
Munchies: cheese and charcuterie platters, olives, crackers, truffle potato chips
Where: In Carmel Plaza at Ocean Avenue and Mission
Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Information: 831-620-1909, www.wrathwines.com
How the Wine Walk works
The Wine Walk “passport” costs $100. For that, you get 10 tickets – each good for a flight – at any the 13 participating tasting rooms. The tickets have no expiration date, so there’s no pressure to use them all in a day or weekend. Come back in a year with your leftovers.
Most tasting rooms allow “upgrades” to their reserve wines for an additional cost.
Purchase your Wine Walk passport package online or in person at the Blair Tasting Room in Carmel Plaza (Mission between Ocean & 7th; 831-216-8070).
More information: https://winewalkcarmel.com/
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 1:48 PM.