Pietra Santa Winery

Recently went on a tour and tasting with a few friends thanks to a Groupon deal and we all had a wonderful time.

We started out by taking a tour of the facilities while our host explained the history of the winery and pour us a few glass of varies wines to sample. After the tour itself was finished, we were seated downstairs at a large table. Our host opened up the large wooden double doors which opened up to the main driveway. Here we finished the tasting itself accompanied with a cheese, fruit, and meat platter. I won't go into specifics regarding the varies wines, as this isn't a wine review, but I particularly enjoyed the Sassoline, Pinot, and the Cab. Good wines for the money.

Afterwards, we all made our way up to the tasting room and we splurged on a few bottles of wine. I personally walked away with 10 bottles. I couldn't help myself. Some were for me to add to my collection and a few were purchased to give away as gifts.

This was my first wine tasting in the Cienega Valley. Thanks to my experience at Pietra Santa, I definitely plan on checking out some of the other wineries in the area. I wouldn't hesitate recommending Pietra Santa to anyone looking for a nice tasting and tour in the area.

I was really impressed by the wine in Hollister. While this was my third favorite winery in Hollister, it is definitely worth a stop. It has one of the coolest buildings with great views. They hired a new wine maker recently, so the hope is that the wines will get even better in the next couple of years.

The tasting fee is $10 for 5 wines, and they will waive the tasting fee for people in the wine industry with a business card. Colleen was in the tasting room and was super cool.

Enveloped by hillsides and natural beauty, this winery is pretty, tranquil and timeless. Off the beaten path on the Hollister wine trail and located just behind DeRose Winery, first timers can get lost and or confused, so plan ahead and map it out. There is no cell service, so get lost on purpose!
Best way to enjoy this winery is pack a picnic, taste some wine, buy a bottle of what you love, sit outside and enjoy! They do offer some really great wine club member promotions and from what I hear, host some really fun events. Cheers!!

Recommendations:
-Sangiovese
-Merlot

Could not have had a better time on a Saturday afternoon in Hollister. General tasting had 7 (7!!) tastings. I drove there, but the bf had to drive back. ;)

Left with a bottle of the Pinot Noir, though every single wine we tried was drinkable and delicious. Noshed on a plate of fruit, cheese, and salami ($5); wines all paired great! The ladies behind the counter were hilarious, and we got a great tour of the winery and olive oil press.

Vineyards for acres, olive trees, and a beautiful (if newly built) Spanish-style main room. The upstairs tasting room has the best views, and everyone there (plenty of locals/ wine club members) was extremely friendly and talkative. Completely unlike the touristy side of Napa.

For those classier folks, I recommend hitting the Taco Bell on your way out of town. Nothing better than some Pinot with your pintos.

Go!

First of all, this place is BEAUTIFUL!
I have always had friendly service here, just joined the wine club. I'm in love with all of their wines. Such a local treasure!

"We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It's our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better."
-- Jeff Bezos

Sidney Gets Caught Up On Winery Reviews Part X

The final review in this series. This time, its personal. Or maybe, this time, it is for real. Or, this time, the rules will be broken and lives changed forever ;) Or maybe, just when you thought you knew everything, you learn you know nothing.

Or maybe this time, we just rag on The Winery That Shall Not Be Named by highlighting yet another place with such good service and personality that I give them a bit of a pass on less than inspired wine.

Pietra Santa is located about 1/4 mile behind DeRose Winery on the Hollister Wine Trail. I considered walking from DeRose but it was hot. On a more normal temperature day it would not be such a bad walk. Beautiful views of the Vineyard and faux Chateau. The Estate has been in operation since 1989 and owned by the Blackburn Family since 2005. About 120 acres are planted with grapes and another 20 or so with Olive trees. This site has a rich winemaking history dating back to the 1850's.

The current crop of wines include a Merlot, Cabernet, Red Blend, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and a very tasty Chardonnay/Pinot Grigio Blend which was the only bottle I purchased (and unfortunately being discontinued in favor of a straight Chardonnay). The reds seemed undeveloped and lacking in structure especially given $40-$50 price points.

But the two young women serving in the gorgeous if weirdly designed tasting room (located upstairs in the facility) were so pleasant and welcoming, and passionate about the winery, that you couldn't help but enjoy the visit. Other people followed me in and it turned into a bit of a lively scene. Remember way back when at the time that Clos LaChance chastised me for calling her servers "girls"? Well, my reply was since they were ill-trained by her they could not be called women. These two at Pietra Santa obviously enjoyed their jobs, were trained well by the owners, and could definitely be called women. I wonder if the Winery That Shall Not Be Named ever learned anything from the various reviews complaining about their poor service or like that Crazy Amy in Tuscon, just delusionally blame their issues on someone else?

I guess like Gail Collins retired her references to Mitt Romney's mistreated dog, someday I guess I will retire my references to Clos LaSucks in my winery reviews. I'm not quite there yet though ;)

This is a recommended visit and I do hope they decide to keep that white blend instead of discontinuing it. Such a lovely summer sipper and a good match with seafood or Asian food.

Looks like Pietra Santa has closed and will reopen as Eden Rift. This has been a hit and miss winery over the 11 years I have been in Hollister. Great facilities and they had some great events there but the wine was inconsistent from year to year.

I am hoping the Edge Rift program gets it right! We need another good winery in the area. They have two neighbors that make great reds on the same road and there are two others on Fairview that do a great job with their wines.

Good Luck Eden Rift. We'll be checking you out soon!

Update: Was there for the Hollister County Passport Weekend and all I wanted to know was who did I have to kill to live there! Perfect picturesque Italian setting in the rolling hills of 'who would have guessed' Hollister. The 02 Chardonnay, the Sassoliono, and the Zinfandel were fabulous --- they don't seem to make an undrinkable wine. Their Olive Oils aren't shabby either.

The 2001 Zinfandel is spicy and a pleasure to drink as a stand alone - like candy!

Imagine a two-story working winery with a red brick facade, complete with twin bell towers, cut glass windows, carved wooden doors, and a pair of matching palm trees framing the front entrance. Situate this winery in a secluded, amphitheater-like valley with olive groves, ancient oaks, pungent pines, and fragrant chaparral. Surround it with beautifully trellised vineyards arranged in neat rows and along rolling contours that hug the landscape for acres around. Take away all unnecessary indications of roads, signs, billboards, commercial spaces of any kind. Make it quiet in winter, low 60 degree temperatures in the middle of January.

Now, with help from El Nino, saturate the land with rain and cloud, so that the vines can rest and drive their roots even deeper into the rich mixtures of stone and soil, divided by one of the world's most famous fault lines - the San Andreas - and then plant French and Italian grapes all over the place: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel. Make all of your wine on the estate, saving the best plots and barrels for reserve releases ("Signature" label, $25-50) and pricing the rest competitively in the $15-20 price tier. Build an attractive second floor tasting room with outdoor patio and interior glass-topped barrel tables where visitors can sample the wines in semi-private intimacy, or while socializing with wine club members and devoted locals directly from the tasting room bar. Release the wines at various intervals of aging in French and American oak, or in stainless only: 3-7 years for most reds, 1-3 for the whites and rosado. Make these aromatic and light on the palate with lingering finishes, distinctive flavor profiles, and food-friendly balances of ripeness, acidity, and tannic structure.

If necessary, bring in your winemaker from Northern Italy. What's that? Alessio C.? Originally from Siena, with prior experience in Tuscany and Napa? Been making wine exclusively on the property for more than two decades? Well, then. I suppose so! That will just have to do.

Next, situate all of this in one of California's oldest wine-growing regions that is also one of its least discovered, where locals from Hollister drive in for Sunday wine tasting after biking to the top of Fremont Peak or sipping freshly roasted coffee in San Juan Bautista. Or possibly after riding their dirtbikes at the nearby (but too distant to be heard) off-road vehicle recreation area. Charge moderate tasting fees for a mixed flight of 5 wines for $10 or 6 higher-end reds for $15. Waive the fee with the purchase of two bottles of wine (or $40 equivalent). Have samples of estate-pressed olive oil and cheese at a side table, for snacking with the wines. Stay open in winter 4 days a week (Thursday-Sunday), allowing visitors to enjoy the classic wine-growing downtime in-between fall harvest and spring budbreak.

Do not, under any circumstances, move this place out of the Cienega Valley. Do not add any unneeded bells and whistles. Adhere to the "if we bottle it, they will come" philosophy and be patient about attracting too much attention. Let the landscape express its essence through the vines. Believe that American wine drinkers will come to love a great 2009 Dolcetto ($20), with its alluring almond and licorice notes; or a limited production (fewer than 250 cases) hillside-grown 2013 Pinot Gris ($24), a truly unique, Alsatian-oriented expression of this misunderstood grape; or an award-worthy reserve 2012 Pinot Noir ($35), replete with wild berry and dried lavender aromatics and intriguing hint of white pepper smoked spice. If Miles from "Sideways" had ever gotten his anxiety-ridden hands on a bottle of this liquid beauty, he'd have moved from L.A. to San Juan Bautista in a heartbeat.

Adhere to some simple rules along the way. Never peak too early. Keep all your eggs in one winemaker's basket without fiddling or fidgeting. Let the sacred stones speak in their own mysterious but satisfying ways, one growing cycle and vintage year at a time.

If you haven't visited an estate winery before (not exactly a Scarlett Letter offense, in any case), and if you don't want to run herd with the Napa or Healdsburg or Paso Robles-bound masses, give Pietra Santa a go. First time drinkers will be well served, and jaded palates accustomed to Old World imports will find something about the Cienega Valley AVA to appreciate.

As for all the rest of us who fall somewhere in-between, there is always that deliciously crisp and velvety smooth Pinot Gris to keep us contentedly happy, the elegant, classically structured reserve Pinots and Merlots to tickle our taste buds, and the densely textured and teasingly tempting Dolcettos and Sangioveses to inspire our creative Cal-Ital culinary imaginations.

The postcard pretty views of vines, wines, and valley ain't too shabby, either!

Awesome awesome awesome. Went here for a tasting before playing a round at San Juan oaks and the servers make this place awesome! We had a female who I cannot remember he name but she was very knowledgable and even gave us a free tour of the facility and giant olive oil press they have in the back sh!
Great wine as well and you can enjoy the wine down on the picnic tables with some house olive oil and bread on a beautiful day. It is off the path and a little bit of a drive but totally worth the drive!

This was our first time at the Pietra Santa vineyards and tasting room and it was fantastic. My girlfriend drove me out here to surprise me for my birthday. We had a tasting and tour scheduled for 11:30am. We arrived a little early, around 11:15am and walked in and was greeted by Lori. She was our guide and wine pourer for the day. She made us feel very comfortable and was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the vineyards as well. She gave us a tour of the estate and even took us back into the fermenting room and the olive oil room which was definitely a spectacle. Very interesting in how everything is produced.

After the tour she took us back up to the tasting room (yes the tasting room is upstairs) to pair a few wines with some food. She brought out a cheese and meat platter to pair with a bottle of 2010 Sangiovese. Delicious, tasty, and well rounded is how I would describe the pairing. After that we were given a plate of chocolate to go with a bottle of 2007 Platinum bottle of Cab Sauv. Once again we were amazed on how well the two paired together! So good.

Overall our experience was pleasant, fun, and knowledgable. My girlfriend and I are still relatively new and still learning about the world of wine, but Lori was happy to answer all of our questions and definitely help expand our knowledge of the many wines they have there. If I could, I would give more than 5 stars. We will definitely be back in the future for the upcoming events and look forward to it.