Rexford Winery, Santa Cruz ...sourcing the finest

You know when you find that spot-on combination of flavors? Such as sweet and salty, or tart but refreshing. Well, my visit to Rexford Winery in Santa Cruz was spot-on. My husband and I visited Rexford's tasting room one afternoon and found marital wine union. I think their wines really met my husband's wine tastes and my wine preferences on common ground.

This was my first introduction to Rexford, but that has more to do with my catching-up, considering Joe Miller has been making wine since the early 1970's. He and co-winemaker Sam, his son, source grapes from local vineyards in Santa Cruz county as well as other fine vineyards in California. His relationship with these wine growers opens the door for him to source beautiful fruit year after year for his fine wines.

You can see their respect and love for the grape and
the wine in their wine making process. They handle
their wines as little as possible; without fining or
filtering their wines. Fining is when additives are
stirred into the wine so the sediment then adheres to
the additive. It eventually settles and can be
removed from the wine. Filtration is pretty much what
it sounds like—filtering wine to remove any bits. But
Joe feels that filtration can be a stressful process for
the wine. It also exposes the wine to more air which
can end up forcing the wine to age quicker, vs. letting
it age gently on its own. I often prefer unfiltered wine.
It tends to have a bit more substance and depth to it.

Rexford Winery lets the varietals take center stage. Sometimes bold, sometimes gentle, other times in a
layered, complex light. In other words, he lets the wines
be what they are meant to be. Rexford wines are varietal focused; such as Pinot Noir from maritime influenced Corralitos, or a Zinfandel dessert wine from the warmer Lodi region.

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• The Rexford tasting room is an all in one, with production on site. They have their own parking, and that's golden in Santa Cruz. They are within blocks of Westcliff Drive, and you can walk across the street for local dining.
• If you ever wondered what a Pinot Noir taste like, or a Tempranillo, or Pinot Grigio, then Rexford Winery is the place for you to visit.
  
• 2014 Pinot Grigio, Arroyo Seco, Meador Estate Vineyard. These grapes were grown in loamy soils. The grapes take a little longer to mature in the sandy soil; but that makes for a lite fruit forward wine but not overly sweet, with tropical notes. For a time, this wine rested in older neutral oak barrels which imparted a subtle complexity in the flavor (without a strong oak flavor.)
• 2013 Pinot Noir, Chalone, Antle Vineyard: The grapes for this wine were grown only about a mile up HWY 1, North from Rexford's wine tasting/production room making this a special wine with grapes grown so close to the ocean. The wine has depth of flavor, with a slight woodsy and mineral palette, cherry, plum, and a bit more spice than some other Pinots and is medium-bodied. This Pinot has character, doesn't get lost in the land of Pinot, and it's classy.