loma prieta winery

Liked the wine, the views from the patio, the servers and the whole experience at this winery. They were recommended by friends who go wine tasting regularly and I would agree with them that this is a great place to go wine tasting.

The spectacular view of Monterey bay across the Santa Cruz mountain range is breathtaking from their lovely outdoor terrace. I recommed stopping at the Summit Store on the way to pickup picnic supplies. And this winery is the only one I know with Pinotage...a great red blend.

Wine is becoming the "thing" to do everywhere; so when you are also greeted by a gorgeous view and super friendly servers, Loma Prieta stands above the normal. After a beautiful drive, one arrives at a spacious overlook with a drop-dead view of all of Santa Cruz. Picnics are encouraged and go well with a bottle of Pinotage.

The trip to get up to Loma Prieta is a little daunting but well worth it. The fairly large patio area looks out over Santa Cruz and the ocean and has the best bocce court I've seen at a winery. There was a plentiful supply of food to taste and I particularly liked the viognier but the tasting we did was reasonably priced and we got a glass afterwards to sip on and look out to the sea on a beautiful day.

I'm not wine expert, but I think their wines are good. However, to sip wine with the expansive view of the entire Monterey Bay area makes it worth the drive up the hill.

Outstanding views of vineyards and the Monterey Bay while relaxing on the patio enjoying top class wines and nice snacks. Great way to pass an afternoon, any time of the year.

Loma Prieta Winery was the first stop in our wine tasting trip to the Santa Cruz mountains. It is on the Summit to the Sea wine trail. Well, this is the summit, there is nothing higher than this winery. It is up a winding road, and takes a little while, but entirely worth thr drive. The view is breathtaking when you get out of the car and walk toward the tasting room. Being a boutique winery, the prices were a bit higher than our budget($45-50 range), but the tasting fee of $5 is applied toward the purchase. The gentleman pouring (a shame I can't remember his name) was very knowledgeable of the winery and the wines, very friendly, helpful, a delight to visit with. They had a variety of wine I had not heard of before, Pinotage. It has a very strong coffee bouquet, but doesn't have the coffee taste at all. They also have a very good port that we couldn't walk away from without buying. At the suggestion of the pourer, we drove back up after dark to see the view at night. Very beautiful. They had salami to pare with one of their tastings, and they had a nice spread of cheese, bread, and crackers. And of course, chocolate to pare with their port. They also had a bubbly wine that was very tasty. They had a huge patio where you could bring a lunch and eat. A very nice visit and we plan to come back the next time we are in the area.