Silver Mountain Vineyards

Silver Mountain Vineyard’s winemaker/owner Jerold O’Brien turns out some righteous estate Chardonnay and a rafter of fine Pinots, with some consulting help from ‘Pinot Star’ Tony Craig, presently at Savannah-Chanelle, and who also has his own Sonnet Wine Cellars label. For those who don’t know, Tony was the spruce behind the Bruce: that is, he was the magic ingredient that made David Bruce wines so special for all the times they were special. He has been at Savannah-Chanelle for a few years now, and has not only brought those wines up to exemplary status, but has also achieved greatness for Silver Mountain and Sonnet.

Take, for example, this Pinot bottling sourced from the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. …Yo!! The nose of this wine goes right to your baking spice sweet spot, with aromas of ginger and nutmeg, ripe plum and cedar. And then, it will waft into a forest floor with dark cola notes. And that’s just the nose! On the palate, wonderful flavors of dark plum, mission figs and elderberry, with a perfect balance of acid, tannin and cardamom plus baking spice, and a good deal of sweet oak. This is a nicely interwoven wine that will work perfectly with spicy New Mexican pork, green chili and jalapeno chicken, and orange-chipotle duck dishes.

Reviewed June 14, 2006 by Laura Ness.

Other Awards & Accolades

Silver Medal - 2006 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Silver Medal - 2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Commercial Wine Competition
Bronze Medal - 2005 Long Beach Grand Cru Wine Competition
Bronze Medal - 2007 Dallas Morning News Wine Competition