Black Cat Hats on North Santa Cruz invariably tickles the fancy of men (boys) and women (girls).
Full disclosure- I’m on the team that organizes this event, so as not to appear unduly immodest, I’ll let a dozen images do the talking. To me they show folks celebrating Spring, the nectar of the grape, the great downtown of Los Gatos and each other’s company.
Significant about this Spring Wine Walk was that the Los Gatos Visitors Bureau, the organizing group, entertained an additional 100 tasters and added several more wineries, so the larger entourage of tasters didn’t result in longer waits at the tasting tables. The Old Town Amphitheater crescendo drew a throng of tasters to this final stop on the walk, where music, six of the 27 wineries, free bottles of water and complimentary food from six eateries awaited. The happy wine revelers coalesced in the center, wound their way up the stairs across the tiered seats and spilled onto the upper terrace. What a great way to end a wine walk, a throng of high-spirited tasters
Also for the first time, most of the wine being poured could be purchased at the Amphitheater. For many tasters, immediate gratification is an appreciated convenience, as many of these wineries don’t have tasting rooms or other local distribution.
OK, enough gloating…here’s the evidence!
First impressions are as important in Wine Walks as they are in meeting new people. Efficient, friendly volunteers moved tasters quickly through registration and acquisition of the all important custom wine glass
Early comers share a laugh with Patti Rice, pouring for Regale Winery and Vineyards in Cambric women's boutique.
Part of the fun of the Wine Walk is discovering stores into which you've never ventured. Clearly, the folks pouring Poetic Cellars wine for merry tasters in the Sierra Toy Soldier store are unperturbed by the F-14 fighter banking overhead.
Besos lingerie store and Black Cat Hats offer up their inner courtyard for tasting. Joyce and John, two owners of Villa del Monte Winery, introduce their offerings to a steady stream of tasters.
Mary and Ed pour Muns Vineyard for hundreds of tasters who ventured into the Butter Paddle, which opened relatively recently on Santa Cruz Ave.
Bill and Doris Cooper greeted tasters to the Amphitheater with pours of their Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards wine which is produced in the hills above Saratoga.
Organic farmer and winemaker Jerold O'Brien always seems to draw a happy crowd at these events with his Silver Mountain Vineyards wines.
Down on the floor of the Amphitheater, Ben, CEO of Campo di Bocce, fills a glass to accompany the sumptuous spread of complimentary food they also served. This summer, Campo di Bocce will host the national Bocce Championships at their Los Gatos and Livermore facilities.
A look up from the floor of the Amphitheater shows the party that marked the final stop of the Wine Walk.
This image encapsulates the goals of Los Gatos wine walks - happy tasters sporting new hats and a shopping bag full of goodies.
