2003 Woodside Vineyards Port

Woodside Vineyards is considered one of California’s first boutique wineries. Bob Mullen started making wine from one acre of grape vines in 1960, and three years later he started selling his wines commercially. Today, Woodside Vineyards manages 35 acres throughout Woodside and the surrounding areas. The flagship wine, La Questa Cabernet Sauvignon, comes from the legendary La Questa vines planted in 1884 from vines hand-carried from Bordeaux. Woodside Vineyards is still owned and operated by the Mullen family. Brian Caselden is winemaker. The estate produces Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Dolcetto and Chardonnay, along with sparkling wine and port.

Santa Cruz Mountains AVA includes high elevation territory in the counties of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Mateo. The AVA follows the coast line from San Francisco to Monterey with elevations from 400 feet to 3,000 feet above sea level. There are 1,500 vineyard acres and the AVA was established in 1981. Despite the challenging terrain in these rugged mountains and hills, highly esteemed wineries have been located here since the early 20th century, when Paul Masson, a Frenchman by birth, started making sparkling wine in the area. By the 1970s vineyards were growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Numerous microclimates within the AVA offer viticulturists diverse growing conditions, and many varietals are grown successfully.