Enjoy the wine region of California, away from Napa and its crowds.

The growing mosaic of small and picturesque wineries, located an hour's drive south of Silicon Valley, produces and offers premium quality wines for tasting, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and other proprietary varieties.

Winery and vineyard Windy Oaks Estate Vineyard & Winery

Located at the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it offers visitors Pinot Noir and quiet picnics.

To reach the Windy Oaks Estate Vineyard & Winery, located at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains, you have to traverse a forest shrouded in coastal fog. This winter, Northern California has been hit by storms, and along the way, I came across a section of asphalt that had fallen into a wet creek. The stone bridge, built in 1939, was covered in moss, and its inscriptions had become barely legible. It seemed as though nature was reclaiming the road. Oaks and wooden fences, even an old parked motorcycle, were covered in lichens.

However, behind the speckled sequoias and moss-covered oaks on the sunny slope in Corralitos, rows of vineyards have emerged, where Windy Oaks is located on the site of a former apple orchard, offering a panoramic view of Monterey Bay. Windy Oaks is one of many wineries situated an hour's drive south of Silicon Valley, producing and offering premium wines for tasting, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and other varieties. While the winemakers in Sonoma and Napa Valley, further north, are considered the sophisticated brothers, the wineries in the triangle formed by the towns of Corralitos, Morgan Hill, and Hollister are their calm rural relatives. They are connected, but each has its own unique characteristics.

There is something bucolic and charming about these little-known places. Local beekeepers sell honey from the back of their pickup trucks. Bags of Meyer lemons, priced at $5 each, are set out for self-service by the road. Goats graze almost everywhere. And if you take a wrong turn, you might find yourself at the Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville, where you can pick berries by hand and enjoy a slice of apricot pie.

However, the main advantage for newcomers in this area is that there are no crowds of tourists filling the Silver Trail in Napa Valley during the summer. This means you can enjoy a quiet picnic among the vineyards. Who knows, maybe on the day you’re served wine, the winemaker herself will be serving you.

At the Windy Oaks winery

I was greeted by Kuki, a plump cat who followed me to a table at the edge of a row of vineyards. Two couples had arrived before me and set up a festive dinner of cheese and sausage from Corralitos Market & Sausage Co. One of the picnickers offered me a peppery Polish sausage that paired perfectly with the 2020 Pinot Noir from the Henry vineyard. In 2001, the head winemaker of Windy Oaks, Jim Schulze, and his wife Judy released their first 36 cases of Pinot Noir. I tasted the Henry Pinot Noir from the original three-acre vineyard, planted in 1996 and named after Judy's father. The Schulzes now care for 27 acres and produce 5,000 cases of wine a year, sourcing grapes from local farmers in Monterey County.

My waitress Elaine was very friendly and explained that the grapes are processed with minimal intervention, just like they do in Burgundy. On top of that, she offered me a taste of a wine that isn't on the menu: a 2018 Pinot Noir from Goody. Grown on half an acre and aged in a single barrel, only 24 cases of this wine were produced. (It costs $110 a bottle.) I bought a sparkling Pinot Noir and, after saying goodbye to Kuki, strolled to the top of the hill, where I watched the sailboats glide out to sea.

About 20 miles east of Corralitos

On the southern edge of Santa Clara, a group of wineries is located between Gilroy and Morgan Hill - ranging from small enterprises to award-winning professionals. In the mid-19th century, the valley was a well-known grape producer. However, a few decades later, many vineyards here were destroyed by phylloxera, an aphid-like pest that feeds on the roots and leaves of grapevines. Farmers switched to planting plum and apricot trees in the 1900s, as well as garlic and tomatoes, before urban development and later Silicon Valley displaced much of the farmland.

In 2021, a new wine production cooperative was opened in Gilroy, serving an increasing number of local winemakers. It was founded by Tim Slater, the owner of the Sara winery, located at the foot of Madonna Mountain, a popular hiking spot with 200-foot sequoias and numerous forest trails. Sara was built in the valley, where the spring green fields turn crispy and golden by July. Breezes blowing in from the Pacific cool the warm air of the inland areas, allowing the grapes to thrive.

When I arrived at Sara's on Sunday, there were a lot of people, and most of the 15 tables were occupied by groups or families. A father and son were playing bocce, while two little girls quietly sat with their parents at the table, eating carrots and coloring in their books. I ordered a reserve set for $30, which included four red wines: two Pinot Noirs, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and Nuit d'Enfer from Sara, a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

The service was somewhat slow, so I asked the waiter to bring all four wines at once. Some of the staff seemed unprepared to answer even basic questions, relying on basic notes about the wines. Nevertheless, the selection was quite affordable, and the views of the valley were charming.

In contrast, Geoff and Chantel Mace, the owners of Calerrain Wines, personally greet guests in their tasting room on Saturdays on the outskirts of Gilroy. Mr. Mace offered a tasting of the 2021 Pinot Noir made from grapes grown in the Paicines area, about 35 miles away. Like many local winemakers, Mr. Mace purchases grapes from farmers in different regions and produces the wine himself.

Perhaps it was the flowers that Mr. Mace mentioned they had recently planted, or maybe it was because the tasting room is located behind the house where they live, but the atmosphere reminded me of the family vineyards in southern Italy that I have visited.

Ten miles from here, in the tasting room of Lightpost Winery in Morgan Hill, you can find an office park. But despite the lack of a pastoral atmosphere, there is intellectual depth here. That’s where I met Sofia Fedotova, an electronics recycling entrepreneur who made her money in the tech industry before becoming a winemaker. In 2018, she opened Lightpost and collaborated with Christian Rogenan, who grew up in Burgundy and is the head winemaker at Lightpost.

Lightpost planted a vineyard in Morgan Hill seven years ago, but so far, most of the grapes come from farmers in the Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Russian River, and Paso Robles regions. Sofia Fedotova poured me a glass of her favorite Cabernet Sauvignon. We talked about what pairs best with it (she said steak, I suggested lamb roast), and for another 20 minutes, we discussed the weather conditions in the area, soil chemistry, and agricultural challenges in today's climate conditions.

Of course, you would expect a winemaker to know more about the area than an average guest. But the staff was also very knowledgeable. Vivian, the tasting room manager, also gave us an unexpected lesson by comparing wines from different vintages. A larger corporate tasting room would have been forced to rush. This young winery is already attracting attention; its 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles has won state competitions. My friend and I stayed here for almost two hours and left with three bottles of their La Grande Sofi 2018 sparkling rosé (priced at $44 each).

Wine lovers from the Bay Area

Those who risk traveling so far south often head to Calera Wine Co. in Hollister, a pioneer of American Pinot Noir. In 1974, Josh Jensen purchased a limestone-rich parcel of land in San Benito County, near the...