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Pelican Ranch Winery

3.8 (33 reviews)
ModerateWineries
Closed Closed
Updated 2 months ago

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a variety of wines
Anna A.

Hello, my fellow winos. Do you like wine produced in small batches (only 1000 cases a year)? Do you like wine made by someone who doesn't make wine for a living, just for a passion (who I had the privilege of meeting and getting all my tastes poured by)? The owner is in fact, a chemistry professor at UC Santa Cruz and also teaches an intro to wine and wine chemistry class. Sign me up! The tasting room, in all its chaotic glory, is in the same warehouse where they make the wine and the owner even pulled out his wine IQ game during the tasting to check our level of competence. It was an educational experience as well as a supreme tasting. The wines: 2007 Chardonnay, Dry Creek Valley, Kreck Vineyard: Not a big fan of whites, but this chard was really impressive. It didnt have any buttery taste, but a nice toasty feel to it. 2007 Gewurztraminer - Monterey, Rio Del Vista Vineyard: a really lovely smell, like roses and something tropical, but not slightly dry and acidic to taste. 2007 Pinot Noir , Santa Rita Hills, Babcock Vineyard: This is one of their best wines, and of course most expensive at $45 a bottle. Nice berry luscious flavor, beautiful color and quite silky going down. 2006 Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, Sleepy Hollow Vineyard: When I see something this light in color I usually run the other way, but I stuck with it and had a taste - it was a lovely fig induced splash of color with exponential food friendliness potential. Raspberry wine: throw some semi sweet chocolate chips and stick a knife in me and I'm RIP with a smile. I don't know how they captured that fresh raspberry taste, but they done good. WOW. And with chocolate together? WOWNESS maxed out.

The doorway into the tasting room

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

Awful Rose at at premium price point. I love Rose of Pinot Noir. Tried several times- ugh!

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19 years ago

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13 years ago

Small place but good wines. Our wine pourer was awesome. Not sure what his name was. The guy with the cool hair.

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15 years ago

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15 years ago

Excellent and reasonably priced wine, knowledgable & friendly servers. Truly one of the best wineries in the area!

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Review Highlights - Pelican Ranch Winery

Raspberry wine: throw some semi sweet chocolate chips and stick a knife in me and I'm RIP with a smile.

Mentioned in 6 reviews

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Beauregard Vineyards

Beauregard Vineyards

4.4(182 reviews)
7.7 mi
$$

We specifically drove to Bonny Doon to have a tasting at Beauregard. And we are really glad we did…read more Beauregard has a special memory for us as it was the last place we went before lockdown. That day was also beautiful and we decided to take a long drive on that afternoon to have a wine tasting at Beauregard. Yesterday, we entered the tasting room and it was packed! The winemaker, Ryan, was there and was talking to the guests and pouring wines. It's always nice to see and owner/ winemaker in the tasting room interacting with the guests. It also felt very special because California tortoise shell butterflies were all over the area. No one quite knows why they are here, but they are gracing by the area with their presence. And it's beautiful. The wines at Beauregard are better than I remembered them. They were excellent and I highly recommend a stop at this tasting room. I do not think you will be disappointed.

Very nice cozy wine tasting room in Bonny Doon. I had the $25 flight. The wines tend to be acidic /…read morecitrusy / astringent. Here are my rankings: 4.3/5: 2024 syrah grenache in neutral oak. good balance. 4.0: Chardonay oeuf: Very yeasty, citrusy, dry. 3.0: 2021 Zinfandel: From beauregard ranch. Aged in neutral oak. Overall it has a weak body. 2.5: 2023 pinot noir: smoky dry. Flavor is flat. From Coast Grade vineyard. Like a tart cranberry. 2.0: White sparkling pinot. No time on the skin. Super dry. Lightly carbonated. Very tart and lemony.

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Beauregard Vineyards - Inside

Inside

Beauregard Vineyards - Reception

Reception

Beauregard Vineyards

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Byington Vineyard & Winery - Wine cave

Byington Vineyard & Winery

4.0(253 reviews)
7.0 mi
$$

Cute and cosy vinery tucked away in the Santa Cruz mountains. Went here on a rainy day and enjoyed…read morethe conversation with the wine-tender lady the most. Very good customer service, the staff was very warm and friendly. Wine tasting starts at $25 per flight + tips, and ends with the most magical Moscato. A good spot for a 1-2 stopover when visiting Santa Cruz. There are cave tours on Saturdays, and an option to become a member/ get a wine subscription. The vineyard sits on 8 acres of land, but the whole property is ~100 acres, with a lookout to the ocean, and multiple hikes starting from the property. A private dining experience inside the wine cave is also offered altho I am not sure of the price or value for money.

Really disappointing wine tasting experience…read more.. Ambiance: looks super cute pulling up... however only members are allowed in the patio terrace. So then non-members like myself are stuck sitting on dirty metal chairs located in the parking lot. Wine: quality was very disappointing. Some of the comments from our group was "this wine tastes like it's been left out for days", "this tastes like Vinegar and a wine I would pour down the sink"... look at my pic of the wine with the sediment!!! Gross..... Service: again, disappointing. We served our own water, sat ourselves, no service at all. If this is your thing, then by all means... you enter the tasting room and are barely greeted. Once checked in, you get your glass and have to keep returned to get your pours. No one comes to bring you the next pour, so you can't settle down and enjoy a space out on the property, because you have to keep walking back to the tasting room. Additionally, the wine pourer guy did not explain anything. He says what the wine is, pours and sends us out on our way. Lastly, there were kids everywhere. On this unfortunate day, a group of adults decided to bring 6 children here. Between the scream and shrieking, cartwheels in the grass, red solo cups.... It was a hot mess. This is NOT the wine tasting experience you expect nor imagine. All in all, absolutely not worth $25 for a 4-pour tasting. NOT MINDFUL, NOT DEMURE.

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Byington Vineyard & Winery
Byington Vineyard & Winery - Charcuterie plate on a Saturday afternoon.

Charcuterie plate on a Saturday afternoon.

Byington Vineyard & Winery

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Bottle Jack Wines - Outside view

Bottle Jack Wines

4.3(20 reviews)
4.5 mi
$$

Lovely little spot that's finally open on more regular hours. Stop by on a Friday or Saturday…read moreafternoon for pleasant wine and ocean views. I think reservations are required these days, but they're very easy to do online. The seating is in a nice outdoor area in the redwoods overlooking the ocean. A great setting and all of the wines we tried were good as well. Grapes aren't grown on site but are mostly sourced locally which is cool. We enjoyed everything so we were happy to purchase a few bottles. To sweeten the pot they apply your tasting fee to bottle purchase. It's really a no brainier to leave with a wine or two. They're priced pretty reasonably and it's nice supporting a local wine maker.

The scenery is stellar and the lady helping us was nice. Just got a weird feeling when the the…read moresupposed "guy that makes the wines" visits with every party there except for ours. Made us feel a little unwelcome. Then towards then end I'm not sure if we've been spoiled by every other vineyard but she didn't ask if we wanted to re visit any of the wines we tried. Was only asked if we would like to purchase any bottles. We asked if we could try a wine that wasn't on the flight and unfortunately they didn't have an open one. No worries but still wasn't offered anything else. Was a very relaxing experience would maybe come back it's just minor details. Overall had a fine time. To sum it up quickly the wine overall was I'd say a 7.5 out of 10. Some good, others were a bit mute but not bad.

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Bottle Jack Wines - Menu

Menu

Bottle Jack Wines - Menu

Menu

Bottle Jack Wines - Rose and ocean views!

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Rose and ocean views!

Pelican Ranch Winery - wineries - Updated May 2026

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