Fernwood Cellars is located in Gilroy, the very southern part of the Santa Cruz Mountains wine-growing region, in an area more known for garlic than for wine. Still, this area has long been a renowned area for growing grapes. One of the first Chardonnay that I ever experienced from a Santa Cruz Mountains winery was a Storrs Chardonnay from the Vanumanutagi Vineyard, which is adjacent to Fernwood Cellars. The wine was spectacular, rich, creamy and filled with lush tropical fruit, and we looked forward to it every year.

Vanumanutagi Vineyard, whose name means “valley of the singing birds” in Samoan, was once owned by Fannie Stevenson, Robert Louis Stevenson’s widow, who acquired it in 1900. Stevenson had just passed away, after spending the last years of his life with his family in Samoa. Fannie lived at the Ranch off and on, until her passing in 1914. The property remained in the hands of the Stevenson family until current owner Leo Ware purchased the Ranch in 1969. During the spring of 1981, 9.2 acres of grapevines were planted on Vanumanutagi Ranch by Ware and his son. Each of the vineyard blocks is named for a different Robert Louis Stevenson novel, including Treasure Island, Jekyl and Hyde, and Kidnapped.

The vineyard is currently maintained by Fernwood Cellars owner and winemaker Matt Oetinger and it still produces some of the most sought after Chardonnay fruit in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Where there’s a good Chardonnay, one can sometimes find a pretty decent Cab as well, and that’s the case with this region. At the very southern boundary of the Santa Cruz Mountains Appellation lies the Bates Ranch Vineyard, a renowned producer of Cabernets for over 30 years. Matt Oetinger now manages this vineyard as well, and is working to continue its long legacy of producing remarkable Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc fruit.

Matt Oetinger is not only the founder of Fernwood Cellars; he is also a second-generation wine maker. Matt was first introduced to the wine business through his father, Lew Oetinger, the owner of Hummingbird Hill Vineyards in El Dorado. While Matt was attending the University of California at Davis, Lew was planting grapes and making wine in Shingle Springs, California, located in the El Dorado AVA. Through regular visits to Shingle Springs, Matt became intimately involved in both grape growing and winemaking.

It wasn’t long before Matt became completely enamored with the wine business and quickly changed his focus at U.C. Davis. In 1995, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and immediately went to work for Dr. Jim Wolpert, the chair of the University’s Viticulture and Enology Department. After gaining extensive exposure to various grape varieties and trellis systems at vineyards all over the state, Matt went to work as the assistant vineyard manager for Clos La Chance Wines in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to vineyard manager. After spending several years at Clos La Chance culminating in the re-design of their 90-acre vineyard, he started Fernwood Cellars.