After a scintillating hour and fifteen minute drive in the Mini Cooper S, we arrived at Big Basin Vineyards, 1200 feet elevation, 15 minutes above Boulder Creek. Upon opening the driver’s door, the above scene greeted me.  Vineyard proprietor Bradley Brown must enjoy a fabulous mountain view from his home above the winery and vineyard. The air was clean and clear this day, and unseasonably warm.

It’s sad but true that this vineyard is open publicly but twice a year, when friends of the vineyard are invited to a winery tasting. Highlights were nine tastes, including four Pinots, a Syrah, and a Rhone blend plus an older Rattlesnake Rock Syrah from their library collection. Adding to the sipping fun were tasty tid-bits, great music, special occasion hats and a working artist.

Now that I think about it, the environment was also a highlight. Natural mountain beauty, lush, rolling hillside vineyard, timber-frame winery barn. The aforementioned clear, clean mountain air and bright Spring sky.

Here’s Matt Jones , the working artist, shown applying paint to canvas with an on-looker’s able assistance. A more approachable working artist you will never meet. My favorite part of Matt’s work is that they are painted in such a way that they come alive  when viewed through 3-D glasses. He keeps a pair handy for demonstration purposes.

Matt’s work is also featured on many Big Basin Vineyards’ labels, and hangs in the wineries tasting room on Big Basin Way in Saratoga Village.

Inside the timber-frame winery barn is where the alchemy happens, and occasionally, the party happens. Here’s a nice touch – the take-home wine glasses were elegant 22 oz crystal wine glasses. They will see frequent use, and evoke pleasant memories of a warm spring day we spent high in the Santa Cruz Mountains sipping delicious hand-crafted wine, surrounded by a friendly vibe and  healthy dose of natural splendor.

The Fromage Twins say "cheese": Eric (L) and Don

Meet Don and Eric, identical twins who’ve lived in Los Gatos since 1986 and recently opened Fromage, a cheese store and so much more.

They shared a long-term dream of owning a business together. So how do two brothers who grew up in the construction business simultaneously land on Main Street, Los Gatos selling cheese? That’s the second part of the dream, where they both became irresistibly attracted to the siren song sung by Emmentalers, Stiltons and the rest of their cow, sheep and goat-sourced cousins. The story ends well with twin brothers adding another delicious reason to visit East Main Street.

And here’s the best part. Los Gatos now has a destination cheese shop for residents to count on and visitors to delight in. Wine and cheese is a match made in heaven. Perfect for picnics at tasting rooms in town or up in the hills and vineyards. And perfect for sipping and munching to the mojo of Jazz on the Plazz and Music in the Park. Or for everyday enjoyment for no particular reason at all except that it tastes so darn good.

Here’s some real news about cheese. It really matters how fresh it is and how it’s been cared for on its way to the shop and at the shop itself. In the wine business they call this “provenance”.  It simply means how well the product has been cared for since made.

Choose from more than 100 cheese varieties, all lovingly monitored for freshness by the Fromage Twins.

The twins are adamant believers in the importance of  provenance. They are freshness fanatics. They have stories about cheeses they’ve rejected, and one story of chasing down a customer when they realized too late that the cheese they’d sold had gone off. That’s the thing, the flavor changes with age and its environment, just like wine, so it needs to be monitored so customers can rely on a consistent experience. This is Eric and Don’s philosophy and they’re sticking to it.

If it’s diverse selection you crave, there are typically about 100 different cheeses from which to choose. Fromage also offers high-quality, organic, unfiltered, and cold-pressed olive oil. Pasta, charcuterie and other delectables fill the shelves.

If you value the chance to select and purchase cheese from a knowledgeable and passionate cheesemeister, visit the Fromage twins in their funky haven between Nick’s on Main and Billy’s Boston Chowder House. Prices are comparable to other local cheese retailers. The service , however, is incomparable because the Fromage twins are passionate about your cheese.

This year’s Pinot Paradise at Villa Ragusa in Campbell was like the previous three we’ve attended. Lots of great Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir, ample and delicious snacks, and a crowd that loves to sample, compare and discuss the finer points of this regal grape. It’s a lot of fun.

Last year I chronicled the event mostly as interactions between and among groups of people tasting wine and talking about it with others. It’s a three-part story.

This year I was inspired to shoot candid shots of wine makers, vineyard owners, tasting room managers and others who spend their lives immersed in the local wine trade.

Just faces, mostly not looking at the camera.

Below are the portraits that made the cut technically. They’re accompanied by a snippet about the person and their connection to the local wine scene.

I always like  putting a face to name, and in this case, a brand and some really good wine. I hope you enjoy it, too!

Ladies first! Katy Lovell is the owner and winemaker of Poetic Cellars. This was my first shot of the day and the only one of Katy. One shot was enough. And that rarely happens. Yes, this was a Pinot event, and we're also very fond of her Rhone varietal Mourvedre.

Jerold O'Brien, owner and winemaker of Silver Mountain Vineyards, also has the look of a farmer, which he is. Not just a regular farmer, either. He's been organic for decades and uses many sustainable practices, including solar power.

David Fenyvesi is the tasting room Manager for Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards, which sits atop a hillside ten minutes above Saratoga Village. Three reasons to visit Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards: 1. Winemaker Tony Craig's delicious Pinots, 2. The tasting room's friendly staff, 3. Spectacular view of the Valley and great spots to picnic.

Meet Chris Schloss and able teammates. Chris is the Executive Chef at Cin-Cin Wine Bar & Restaurant in Los Gatos. Chris continually comes up with dishes we order as a group and consume as a tribe. Great bonding food. If you like a warm, friendly vibe, imaginative wine offering and fresh, tasty small plates, Cin-Cin is a great bet.

Bradley Brown grows grapes way up high in the Santa Cuz Mountains, and from his and others' bounty makes Big Basin Vineyards wine, which he offers at their tasting room in Saratoga Village. Bradley also makes some very tasty Syrahs.

John Overstreet always seems to be in high spirits at pouring events, which is usually where we run into him. Sometimes we see him at Villa del Monte Winery, where he and partner Neil Perrelli produce their mountain nectar. These guys work day jobs and must devote most of their other waking hours to making and selling wine. They are passionate!

If you've visited Black Ridge Vineyards in the hills just above Los Gatos, then you've probably met Jennifer Flippen, gracious hostess and Tasting Room Manager. Black Ridge is another of the local vineyards that rewards visitors with a spectacular view and lovely picnic grounds.

Dave Moulton and wife Anne own Burrell School Vineyards and Winery on Summit Road, less than 10 minutes off Highway 17. In addition to farming grapes and making wine, Dave is also instrumental in the annual production of Pinot Paradise.

Jingle bells, red bows, an open white carriage, two stout, shiny horses, and tails and top hats set the stage for an elegant ride up Big Basin Way

Here’s something that lots of people enjoy – a horse-drawn carriage ride along the streets of two iconic Silicon Valley towns. Of course these would be Los Gatos and Saratoga, the Gem of Silicon Valley and the Gateway to Wine Country. It’s worth noting these events in your calendar because on one day in November and many days in December you can board a bell-bedecked carriage for a leisurely ride into the past.

This year Saratoga will kick off the holiday equine season with its open-air Holiday Open House and Wine Stroll. It’s a day-after-Thanksgiving tradition for Saratoga Village to fill with holiday spirit and the sounds of jingle bells as horses clomp their way up and down Big Basin Way hauling loads of cheery families and snuggling couples.

Before and/or after a carriage ride, a libation at the Wine Stroll! Here, wine makers John Overstreet (left background) and Neil Perrelli (seated) pour several of their Villa del Monte varietals. Twenty wineries served strollers in businesses up and down Big Basin Way.

Santa delighted little and big kids alike!

Street-side trees festooned with lights illuminate carolers, musicians and merry bands of wine strollers seeking the next vintage to sample. I’ve told many folks that on this night, in this Valley, Saratoga Village is the festive holiday “place to be”.

Los Gatos horses around on an even larger scale. On more than a dozen days in December, multiple carriages take riders on a twenty-minute tour of the Almond District in the historic downtown. Passengers parade by historic homes brightly decorated in their finest holiday livery. It always transports me to another, slower, simpler time, if only for a moment.

Of course, another significant benefit of a Los Gatos carriage ride is that before and after the ride, you’re parked in Los Gatos, the best place in the valley for dining, tasting, shopping and strolling. Happy Holidays!

In Los Gatos, take your pick of carriages and roll back in time. Immensely popular with families and couples seeking a romantic interlude. Great way to impress your sweetie.

So if you feel like horsing and sipping around this coming holiday season, make a note to self: day after Thanksgiving, Saratoga Village; every weekend in December, carriage rides in Los Gatos!

Dogs welcome, wine and wine-talk aplenty, conviviality abundant and the great forested outdoors steps away. That’s owner and winemaker Neil behind the bottles.

Several weeks ago , Dianne and I cruised south and up the hills of Highway 17,  horseshoe-turned our way back over the highway and up Summit Road five minutes to our final destination of the day – Villa del Monte Winery.

The winery is a client of ours, and we’d heard they recently expanded their tasting room to the great outdoors. We wanted to see for ourselves so we rolled down the residential drive, and then traversed the final 75 feet at the steepest angle this side of Lombard Street. We later heard a story about the descent of a run-a-way scissor lift down this final grade and then about the subsequent rescue of said scissor lift from the forest below.

Never a dull moment in the mountains.

Once safely parked at the winery, we were greeted by a gathering of tasters, closing out the afternoon in the waning sun amidst towering redwoods and happy friends; new, old and in one case, furry.

The Villa del Monte Winery team in full force. Three owners poured in Los Gatos: Neil right foreground, John in the middle, and Joyce reaching for a glass.

Neil, one of the four owners, is usually the one manning the tasting room when they’re open. We ran into Neil Perrelli, his wife and owner Joyce, and owner and co-winemaker  John Overstreet September 24 at the Los Gatos Fall Wine Walk.

They were one of 34 wineries pouring their finest for the steady stream of tasters who strolled through Besos Lingerie and Black Cat Hats to a shared inner courtyard. The tasters were greeted with shade, and a strong lineup of delicious Villa del Monte wines.

I’ve said this before about the many winery owners we know – they are a passionate, hard-working bunch, often holding down day jobs in addition to operating their fledgling businesses.

The rest of us get to savor the literal fruits of their labor, with them, at their winery, less than 20 minutes from Los Gatos.

Lucky us.

This activity is highly recommended for those seeking to defuse the tension of an intense work week and for those looking for a very comfortable spot to hang out with friends as the sun goes down.

Wine by the bottle and glass, awesome ambiance for free.

Good cheer, music and rose liven up a late Saratoga afternoon.

Bocce balls are anything but drab.

I learned a little bit about the colorful side of bocce today at the Campo di Bocce in Los Gatos. The balls for instance. I’m accustomed to the drabber monochromatic rental balls I’ve handled the half dozen times I’ve played the game. Apparently, if you’re serious about bocce, you strut your stuff with lavishly detailed and colored balls that add a festive element to every roll.

Bocce players are anything but drab. Check out the matching socks.

Behold the opening ceremonies of the 2011 U.S. Bocce Championships. Ben Musolf, President of Campo di Bocce and master-mind behind bringing the Championships to Los Gatos and Livermore, opened the festivities with the Mayor and Vice Mayor (left front and rear) lending support.

As this was the opening of the National Bocce Championship Tournament, there were introductory comments by Ben Musolf, president of Campo di Bocce and recently crowned national champion of volo, a bocce variation played on a dirt court with different balls. There was a stirring a cappella rendition of the Star Spangled by gentleman with a certain Joe DiMaggio-ishness to his stately presence. Mayor Joe Pirzynski declared bocce the official sport of Los Gatos and then he and the vice-mayor Steve Rice literally pitched in and rolled the opening balls.

Mayor Joe Pirzynski, citing the powers vested in him, declared bocce the official sport of Los Gatos, much to the delight of the crowd. You can barely see Joe's bandages earned the day before when he rescued a Yorkie from the jaws of a large terrier, forever winning the dog-lover vote.

Vice Mayor Steve Rice shows impeccable form in front of a large crowd of expert bocce players as he and Joe opened play with ceremonial rolls.

The ceremony was a wonderful slice of Italian-American patriotism and community. And then commenced the gentle, good-natured sport of bocce.

This is the way it's done by the experts. Actually, there were innumerable styles of throw, some soft as an evening breeze, others as fast and violent as a thunderstorm. I enjoyed watching the teams work out strategies to counter the moves of their opponent.

I learned today that it’s almost as fun to watch these skilled players as it is to play  myself. For starters, when I play, there’s always great food and drink within arms reach. That’s the awesome thing about bocce – it’s totally competitive and skill-based, and easily played with a slice of pizza in hand.

If you haven’t tried this game, consider giving it a try. We’ve always come home smiling.

One of the delights of a Saratoga Wine Stroll - discovering a new wine from The Mountain Winery and elegant Yolatea yogurt shop in the Village of Saratoga. These happy folks were served by Joan LeMahieu, General Manager of The Mountain Winery.

I love this shot for its symmetry and and wacky spontaneity. The Posh Pet laid out a colorful and nutritious complement of food to compliment the MJA Vineyards wines poured by Cathy Bentley, Tasting Room Manager.

Saratoga and Los Gatos recently have stepped up to the plate to solidify their reputations as gateways to the Santa Cruz Mountains wineries. In the past 18 months, these two towns have hosted  five downtown wine walks and strolls (more on the difference later).  Together,  the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce and the Los Gatos Visitors Bureau  have enticed about two thousand tasters to the two towns. Each town has another stroll or walk planned for the fall.

These events are significant to merchants and wineries, nearly all of whom are small businesses struggling to be seen and heard amidst the barrage of commercial messages we receive every day from larger competition.

And now to the Stroll vs.Walk semantics. The stroll thinking goes something like this – walking the tasting path on a stroll is more leisurely in the smaller confines of a village than in a more expansive downtown. But mostly the difference is a “you say potaytoe, I say potahtoe.”  And it seems seems reasonable to differentiate the two for clarity. In any case, one walks, one strolls – the journey and destination are the same.

Black Cat Hats and Bags of Los Gatos made it easy for strollers to acquire stylish sun protection for some Saturday promenading along Big Basin Way in Saratoga Village.

Below are  are images captured at the May 21 Saratoga Wine Stroll, further titled  “Bonnets and Blooms”. The day dawned glorious after many preceding days of rain, and with Saratoga Heritage Day bringing in an early crowd, the village bustled from mid-day, and then swelled at mid-afternoon when tasters filled the sidewalks.

For tasters, what better way is there to sample a wide range of wines (35 different wines served) in a short time in pleasant conditions? One thing I’m learning from working to help organize these events – tasters come to have a good time sampling wine and interacting with other like-minded people. Local merchants host the wineries, which draws many first-time visitors into their business. Tasters discover new wine favorites and new places to shop and dine. Everybody wins!

Sergio played some energetic foot tapping flamenco-styled guitar solos for tasters at Bell Tower Bistro. Next time you hear about Sergio playing at Bell Tower, make a point of dropping in. There's also a wine bar just to Sergio's left and a patio for sitting, sipping and listening.

Bill Cooper is the winemaker of Cooper-Garrod wine, all crafted from estate grapes grown minutes from and hundreds of feet above Saratoga Village. It's always fun to visit their wine tasting room because it's co-located with Garrod Farms Stables and can be quite picturesque with fine-looking steeds clomping about.

On this Spring Wine Stroll day, father Bill Cooper (above photo) was accompanied by his daughter who helped with pouring duties at Montalvo Realty, another stop along the Stroll.

Ristorante Da Mario's street-side patio pouring proved popular all afternoon. Greg Richtarek introduced throngs of folks to several Guglielmo wines and Mario, in red, served delicious samples to accompany the wine.

Bella Saratoga restaurant hosted The House Family Winery on their street-side patio, ensuring high visibilty and lots of tasters.

Just outside the Chamber of Commerce registration area classic rock from The Ones called to tasters. Having live music play throughout the Village really juiced up the vibe and had folks walking with a bounce in their step.

This scene from ouside of Casa de Cobre restaurant is a sign of Wine Stroll success....sidewalks full of happy village visitors discovering new wines, restaurants and retailers.

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.

I suppose it's no surprise that the nectar of the grape brings out the vocal muse in many of us. What is surprising, and wonderful, is how often this seems to happen at Poetic Cellars.

Incredulous? Yes! When I heard about a food and wine pairing offered at Poetic Cellars Winery a couple of weeks ago, I did an auditory double-take. Doughnuts and wine? Are you kidding me?

I’m well acquainted with the wines made by winemaker Katy Lovell, and am particularly fond of her Mourvedre varietal, but even still it stretched the limits of credulity to imagine this, or any other wine, satisfactorily matching up with fancy doughnuts.

Now,  Psycho Doughnuts has built quite a reputation for themselves in a very short period of time. Their doughnuts  are fresh, imaginative,  and delicious in  unexpected ways.  Maybe that’s the point of pairing them with wine. Unexpected, imaginative and definitely fun.

It’s probably the “unexpected” element that attracted Highlighting Entertainment out of LA to videotape the wine-doughnut tasting for a proposed reality show episode that would air on national cable networks. We missed the actual filming portion of the day due to a prior commitment, arriving at 3:30 to find only crumbs as evidence of the earlier festivities. Like most everyone else, we’ll have to wait for the episode to air and experience this culinary coup from the eyes and tongues of others.

In the meantime, we’ll have to satisfy ourselves with the more traditional approach to wine tasting at Poetic, which as you’ll see below, has often included spontaneous bouts of music and singing. If only I could hold a melody as well as I hold a stemmed glass.

The inviting entrance to the Poetic Cellars tasting room, housed under the same roof as the working winery and barrel storage in a new facility Katy purpose built into the side of a mountain.