Welcome

High Elevation Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir & Syrah

From Our Vineyard In The Sky

–

Muns Vineyard brushes the sky on the Loma Prieta ridge top above Monterey Bay at 2600 feet. This is the highest Pinot Noir vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a prime growing region for this luscious winegrape.

We enjoy the coastal climate of the mountains, with fog lapping at our feet in the summer. The cool coastal breeze that blows off the fog and sunlight are perfect for growing premium Pinot Noir. Moderate days and cool nights, along with diligent personal attention in our 13-acre owner-operated vineyard, produces fruit with rich and complex flavors. We have blended Dijon clones 114, 115, 667 and 777 to provide a complex and well-balanced wine.

Minimal intervention in the winery allows our unique terroir to shine. Barrel aging in 30% new oak for about 16 months adds soft tannins that accentuate, but not dominate, the beautiful fruit in this special wine. The wine drinks well now and is a delicious complement with food, and will bottle-age for years to come. Enjoy ‘heaven-in-a-bottle’ from our ridge top vineyard above the bay!

* * *

To Order Our Estate Wines See the Order Page here.

See more below about:

Vineyard Tasting Dates and More Wine Events

Vineside Pickup & Free Local Delivery

Springtime and the Start of the 2025 Vintage
.

Spectacular Spring Sunset
The Monterey Peninsula across the Bay.
After the storm, view of Mount Umunhum
In the first pruning pass, the crew hedges the vines to the first trellis wire. This makes it easier to extricate the canes without damaging the cordon.
The vines after pre-pruning
On the second pass the crew prunes to two buds along the cordon.
After final pruning, view of Santa Cruz below
Budbreak
Ed mowing
Sky show over the mountains, Monterey Bay in the distance
Spring frolic!

Spring is finally here! Following a few inches of snow mid-March. It melted quickly, but it was fun while it lasted. We usually have some snow every winter, even if it is just a flurry. We have had about 35″ of rain this winter, which is really not all that much. To put this in perspective, in 2024 we had 50″, and in 2023 we had 75″. So 35″ is pretty low, although we’ve had 30″ years before.

The rain we had late last year kicked off the green in the cover crop so the vineyard floor is lush, and delicious to the mostly invisible gopher community. The crew traps hundreds of gophers every year, and Skye works hard to do her part, too. The gophers also make for a prime hunting ground for our local coyote. Ed mowed between rainstorms recently to keep the cover crop under some control. Gale force winds the first week of January made for a wild night! The aftermath became clear at daylight with large branches down that blocked our road and damaged the vineyard fence. Then more wind and branches down mid-February. That’s living in the Santa Cruz Mountains!

The vines that have been dormant for the winter are starting to wake and budbreak is just beginning. Come up for one of our April tastings and you will see the vines bursting out with new growth. The crew has done the final pruning, two-budding along the cordon. Several weeks ago they did a first pass pruning, cutting the long canes down to the first wire and extricating them from the trellis. It is amazing how long some of the canes grew in just a few months last year, some as long as 12′! With the days growing longer and the weather warming the vines are starting their phenomenal growth again to give us so much deliciousness for the 2025 vintage!

A new year in the vineyard!

* * *

–

Upcoming Events:

Springtime Vineyard Tastings, 2025

Enjoy a beautiful Spring day in the vineyard! Budbreak is just starting and you can be here when it springs forth in new growth. The 2025 vintage begins! Experience Springtime and new growth in the vineyard, and our expansive views over the mountains to Monterey Bay. Take the opportunity to bring some of our estate Pinot Noirs and Syrah home to enjoy!

~ Sunday, April 13

~ Saturday, April 19

~ Sunday, April 20

~ More dates to come in April and beyond

Please make a reservation with your choice of seating times: 11:30, 12:00, 12:30 or 1:00 for a 2-hour tasting

Email Mary at Mary@munsvineyard.com or call 408-234-2079. For details see the Vineyard Tastings page here

Please note: We take reservations only for the dates that we schedule. Tastings are outdoors and are dependent on conducive weather. Tastings may need to be rescheduled in the event of rain, heavy fog, cold temperatures, heat wave or other circumstances that inhibit wine tasting outdoors. We want you to enjoy your visit!

.More Events Where You Can Find Us in 2025:

~ Los Gatos Wine Walk, Saturday, April 26: Muns Vineyard will be there! Find us at the Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Co. For more info and tickets see the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce website here.
.
~ Saratoga Wine Walk, Saturday, May 10: Details to come.

~ Taste of Terroir Dinner, “Heart of the Mountain”, at David Bruce Winery, Saturday, May 17: Experience the award-winning wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains, including Muns Vineyard, during a wine tasting reception followed by a seated dinner. Featuring contemporary Italian cuisine by Chef Nick Sherman of Trestles & Cavalletta (Capitola and Aptos) while enjoying stunning views of the estate vineyards from the outdoor patio. This exclusive event is not to be missed! More info and tickets on the Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains website here.

~ Passport Days 2025: June 21, Oct. 25

Purchase your Passport if you don’t already have one from Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountainshere and add Muns Vineyard to your itinerary. We will be open for Passport Days (weather permitting).

See our Events page for more events and information.

* * *

Enjoy Muns Vineyard Wines at Home

Vineside Pickup: Pick up Your Advance Order at the Vineyard Saturdays, by Appointment or Free Local Delivery. We also ship.

If you are not able to come to one of our scheduled vineyard tastings you can pick up an order vineside, and we also offer free local delivery.

For Vineside Pickup at the vineyard: Saturdays between 11-3pm: Pick up is for advance orders only so we can fill your order before your arrival.

Free local delivery: We will deliver to your home at no charge with a min. $125 order throughout Santa Cruz to Watsonville, the Santa Cruz Mountains, and San Jose to Palo Alto. If you live just beyond this area please inquire about delivery.

We also ship.

To Order: See our Order page here. Or call Mary at 408-234-2079.

15% off on 6-11 bottles

25% off on a case

30% off on 3 cases

And you can mix your selection and order whatever you would like.

Wine Club discounts: 20% on 3 bottles, 25% on 6 bottles, 30% on a case

Pricing before discounts: Pinot Noirs $44/bottle; Syrah $34/bottle, 2010 Sparkling Rose’ of Pinot Noir $54/bottle.

For a list of our wines, see the Wines page here. To order, see our Order page here. For even better discounts, see our Wine Club page here. Or call Mary at 408-234-2079.

* * *

Harvest, 2024.

We started harvest with an early pick at low brix for a Muns Vineyard sparkling wine the week of Aug. 26.. We started picking for our winery clients on September 6 and finished on the 17th. This was earlier than we even started last year, on Oct. 2. Last year, 2023 was a cool growing season and harvest was about a month later than usual. This year’s schedule was more usual.

Although temps were largely moderate, in the low-mid 80s with chilly nights, the fruit ripened quickly. Clusters were plentiful and healthy – gorgeous!, and yield was excellent. Look forward to the 2024 Muns Vineyard Pinot!

Also look forward to the 2024 Sparkling Rosé of Pinot Noir in 2026 with the first disgorgement. We are down to the last few cases of our 2010 Sparkling Rosé of Pinot Noir, which is now on limited allocation to get us through the next year, hopefully. But never fear, the delicious 2024 sparkling will be not far behind!

Earlier in the year:

Veraison started early August (when the sugar levels have increased to the point that the grapes start turning color). Bloom started first of June in the Pinot Noir and by mid-June was about all ‘set’ (meaning the flowers had fertilized and were forming little berries). Clusters were fully formed by mid-July. Ed and the crew netted the week of Aug. 12 to save the clusters from bird predation (we leave an exit door at the ends of the rows so they can fly out if they get inside the netting).

See Previous Harvests Here.

See more on our Vineyard page here.

See our YouTube Channel here for what’s happening in the vineyard – it’s like you are there! Get up close and personal with the crawler and flail mower here .

~ ~ ~

See Muns Vineyard videos on YouTube here: Harvest, Netting, Pruning, Aerial drone view, Mowing, more .

~ ~ ~

———————-

Contact us: info@munsvineyard.com / phone: 408-234-2079

Order on our Order Page here.

Sign up for our monthly newsletter: email info@munsvineyard.com

–