Nicholson Vineyards

Open Year Round

Our Story:

We specialize in hand-crafted wines that are classic and elegant in style. Located along the Corralitos Wine Trail amongst the southern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Pleasant Valley is a quiet place where the sun, soil and early morning ocean mist create exceptional grapes and olives.

The winery grounds are planted with four acres of estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, as well as four acres of Tuscan olive trees. In addition to our wonderful estate olive oil, we produce 1000 cases of wine annually which includes Estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as Pinot Noir from select Santa Cruz Mountain vineyards. Other noted varietals which we proudly produce include Viognier, Syrah, Grenache, Old Vine Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. Each year, we concentrate our fruit selection from small vineyards in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, with the exception of our Old Vine Zinfandel, which comes from Amador County (the heart of Zin country).

At 700 foot elevation, our grapes mature gradually, taking advantage of our micro-climate's warm days and moderately cool nights. The long growing season which we are lucky to have, allows for the slow development of rich, intense flavors in our grapes. We strive to produce small lot wines that truly represent our unique terrior, and highlight the beautiful characteristics of each varietal.

Our estate vineyards include four acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which are separated into three blocks. The vines were planted in 1996 and expanded in 2004, when we planted additional Pinot Noir. Each block includes a diverse combination of root stocks and clones, and is situated with a southwest exposure, allowing for the benefit of maximum sunlight hours and our cool evening breezes.