About Fernwood Cellars
Fernwood sits at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains on Redwood Retreat Road outside Gilroy, on land that has been in the same family for more than six generations. The history is unusually well documented for a small winery.
Charles and Annis Sanders homesteaded 98 acres here in 1863, during the Gold Rush, under the Homestead Act. Charles later built a twenty-room Victorian hotel on the property, which became a premier Bay Area destination. Their youngest daughter Gypsy ran the mountain resort after them, its lodge and cabins drawing visitors up for the quiet. Her successor Charles Pond, with his wife Elsie, held the place together through tuberculosis and the Great Depression.
The vines came much later. Matt made his first harvest in 1995 and the winery was established in 1999, working entirely from estate fruit in small volumes.
Tasting happens in the Creekside Grove, among the redwoods beside the creek, and picnicking there is the intended way to spend it rather than a concession. There is also an estate suite on the property that can sometimes be booked overnight.
The catch is access. The tasting room opens only on the first and third weekends of the month, from noon to 4.45pm, with the last pour at 4.30.
An 1863 homestead that was a twenty-room Victorian hotel before it was a winery.
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Six generations on one homesteadSettled in 1863 under the Homestead Act and held by the same family ever since, through a hotel, a resort and now a winery.
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Tasting in the redwoodsThe Creekside Grove puts you beside the creek under the trees, and picnicking there is encouraged.
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Entirely estate fruitAll the wine comes from the property's own vineyards, in small volumes.
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You can sometimes stayAn estate suite on the property is occasionally available for an overnight.
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There is a winery dogA chocolate lab named Jager, which tells you the tone of the place.
"A creekside grove in the redwoods, on land that has been in one family since the Gold Rush."
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Featured Wines
Current Releases
Wines change with each vintage
For an accurate list of current-release wines and library bottlings from Fernwood Cellars, please check the winery'Santa Cruz Mountains producers typically rotate vintages and offerings seasonally.
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Tasting
Fernwood Cellars has not published a current tasting menu or pricing that we have been able to verify. Check the winery website for what is being poured and what it costs before you visit.
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