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If you are looking for a vineyard road less traveled, the rugged Santa Cruz Mountains wine country may be just the thing to satisfy the wine lover and the explorer in you. It boasts some of the oldest wineries in California, and arguably, some of the best, too.

Wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains date back to the late 1800’s. Today, there are about 1,500 acres of grapes planted in the area, which is considered small, but the appellation itself is large, spanning three counties. Microclimates abound: sunny vineyards in Gilroy, to cool and foggy coastal plots near Half Moon Bay and rugged mountain terrain in Boulder Creek. That means you’ll also find many different varietals grown here from Chardonnays to Zinfandels.

We’ve traveled into the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation many times for In Wine Country shoots and always feel like we’re discovering a well-kept secret. From larger wineries to small, family run operations, the Santa Cruz Mountains is home to more than 50 wineries. Where Napa Valley tasting rooms can sometimes feel like prime tourist destinations, in the Santa Cruz Mountains it’s a far more intimate experience with almost no crowds. Winemakers and vintners often pour free tastings themselves.

Maybe it’s the mountain air, but you feel a down-to-earth vibe. Muddy boots? Not a problem. Traveling by pick-up truck instead of limousine? You’ll be in good company. Which is not to say wineries here aren’t producing some very sophisticated, world-class wines. The Santa Cruz Mountains Appellation is known for its intensely concentrated grapes and its independent winemakers and vintners. We recently visited Burrell School Vineyards and Winery on Summit Road. It’s off Highway 17, about an hour south of San Francisco, and twenty minutes outside of San Jose. This quirky little winery is located in an old school house, which was first built in 1890 and educated students until it closed in 1954.

Dave and Anne Moulton started Burrell School Winery in 1973 and though they’re serious about making great wines, they have fun with their schoolhouse theme. All of their wines are named after school-related activities, such as "Teacher's Pet," "Honor Roll" and "Dean's List." Get caught slurping wine in the tasting room and you may get detention: writing the Burrell School mantra on the chalkboard, “I promise to sip my wine, I promise to sip my wine”. It’s not easy to keep that promise when you taste their delicious Old School Cabernet Sauvignon.

Another mountain winery that doesn’t take itself too seriously is Bonny Doon Vineyard. Winemaker Randall Grahm, the original “Rhone Ranger”, is as witty as he is talented and his fun approach to wine has earned him legions of fans. When we visited the tasting room, Randall was playing with plastic sushi pieces and espousing the inspired pairing of sushi and Bonny Doon’s Pacific Rim Dry Riesling. The tasting room in the tiny hamlet of Bonny Doon, above the town of Santa Cruz, is well worth the windy, redwood dotted drive.

How about a winery where you can hike first and taste later? Picchetti Winery in the Cupertino foothills has miles of well-maintained trails in an open space preserve right outside the tasting room doors. After you hike the Zinfandel Trail, you can taste Picchetti wines and perhaps buy a bottle or two to enjoy on the picnic grounds outside the winery. California Wine Hikes leads groups on tours of Pichetti, and I’ll be joining them with the In Wine Country crew later this spring.

Picchetti is actually one of the oldest wineries in California, with historical roots dating back to the late 1800’s. The beautiful, red brick tasting room was built in 1896. Though members of the Picchetti family still live near the winery on Montebello Road, the family stopped commercial wine production there in 1963. The winery was reopened in 1998 by Leslie Pantling and now produces about 9000 cases of wine a year.

Also on Montebello Road in the Cupertino foothills is perhaps the best-known and top pedigreed winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation, Ridge Vineyards.

Ridge Monte Bello, a Bordeaux blend of cabernet, merlot and petit verdot, is consistently one of the highest rated wines in the world. A 1971 Ridge Monte Bello recently won a rematch of the historic “Judgement of Paris” tasting which pitted California wines against the best wines of France. You’d think such accolades would go to their heads, but the folks at Ridge are as down to earth as they come, and they still offer free tastings on the weekends.

If you dig you can find dozens of small mom and pop wineries hidden among the chapparal and redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation. A favorite story on In Wine Country involved a mailman, Greg Nolton, who made wine on the weekends. His winery, Zayante Vineyards, is one of those great Santa Cruz Mountains discoveries. It’s a small, family-run operation, but they make four different varietals: merlot, zinfandel, syrah and chardonnay. When we met up with Greg he was still delivering mail during the week, but had plans to move into winemaking full-time.

If you’re visiting the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation and want to make a weekend of it, rather than looking for a hotel, you can check into La Villa Generosa at Generosa Winery. The villa and winery, located off Summit Road in Los Gatos, are owned by the Gemingani family. They make what they call “California Super-Tuscan” style wines and serve them to visitors in a beautiful mountain setting. They’ve created a villa on the property where they can house up to eight guests for a great Italian experience right here in the Bay Area.

So throw on a pair of jeans, grab a map and head for the hills of the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation. It’s a delicious walk on the wild side that’ll leave you feeling like you’re in on the secret, too.