David Bruce Winery

Drove from the Bay Area to find a closed sign below their hrs. Open Fri. 12:00 — 5:00. Very unhappy

David Bruce is the King of Pinot Noir. Such variety, vintages, regions. It’s worth the windy drive through the mountains. The wine sampler package is much more than it used to be, but it’s a great way to sample their wines. Complimentary tasting doesn’t hurt either.

I bought quite a few bottles of David Bruce Pinot Noir 2012 for our Wine Walk last Friday. I had a line out the door for over 2 hrs! People found out I was serving David Bruce Pinot and it made my event a huge success. David Bruce Pinot Noir has been my favorite for the last few years and I would highly recommend it to anyone. IN fact, I must have seen over 100 people take a picture of the label because they said they couldn’t wait to purchase a bottle for themselves.

I like how there is free wine tasting here and that made me really excited. I like the ambience here it feels like a genuine Napa winery but it’s closer to home. I tasted all the wines that they have available to taste and it was the best. I must say I like how it’s aged and how there ate heart shape wafers for us as well. This winery is also really big because you can walk around and feel glad that you did. My mum was really glad that she get to have some exercise after sampling all the wine. I like how the person who was pouring us the wine was really careful with her pour because of the location of the winery. There was no other business nearby which adds to the ambience. However besides all the good points there are some drawbacks: wine is overpriced along with the membership. The time I went the employee showed no enthusiasm and was pretty bored.

I had high expectations for David Bruce and I was disappointed as soon as I walked in. The place looks like a clinic. zero ambience, gray, cold, and just blah.
The women enjoyed the Pinot Noir and the men enjoyed the Syrah. (We took home 6 bottles)
I might just give it another try and update my review…

Wandered upon this winery since it was close by. Free tasting for a few wines. Nothing really stood out for me. I was amused by the heart shaped water crackers. Nice staff too.

Came here for wine tasting and it was nice, but I wasn’t impressed. I think the «wine country» feel and granted only a select few winery’s probably actually have that feel, but David Bruce was super simple. There was a tasting counter, one wall of wines and some pictures on a white wall. There wasn’t much of an exterior either. Just a small patio that overlooks the parking lot. As for the wines, they were okay (and I’m only judging it as a non wine drinker, so don’t totally take my word for it). The staff was nice, but it was just pour, explain, drink experience.
Overall, it was okay.

I visited this winery numerous times and we always had a great time. Free tasting for a great wine is definitely a reason to come back. Call ahead to make sure they are open.

Drove all the way there to find out they were closed. Three people in our group has checked he website and no mention of being closed today, Sunday 12/​28/​2014. Thanks a lot for nothing.

Came here for nice day of tasting. The «intern» did not have a clue. After the first taste she disappeared to the back room. The manager ignored us while exchanging mindless small talk with some completely pretentious threesome about who knew who! As we walked out, we were finally conspicuous by our departure and the apologies started. We left anyway. I made it clear from the start with my business card, we were «industry» and interested in carrying their wine on our list. Not only will we not return, we will not be carrying their wine on our list.
Traveled down the road to Byington Winery and here come the pretentious threesome with their tired bs act and once again sucked the oxygen out of the room.

Looks like a beautiful venue, until you get inside. No windows, zero ambience, drop celling and fluorescent lighting,…yuck! They have a huge deck area but it’s not open for tastings. The people pouring were nice enough but totally confused and tripping all over each other. We tried one bottle of Syrah and wanted to buy some but they could not find it. Weird.
Would not go back… there’s more ambience at bevmo.

Free wine tasting is becoming a rarity, but David Bruce still offers it! Decent wine… but the day were there. Only 1 person was working the tasting room. he was stretched way too thin with all the people that were coming in. i was surprised he managed to remember which wine to pour next. Needs more staff to make it a better experience.

After getting a late start on our way to David Bruce, we also got a little lost up in the mountains finding our way to the winery. Long story short, we arrived fifteen minutes before they closed for the day. No matter. The staff was friendly, helpful and courteous, and we managed to taste six wines — all quite good — before we let their folks go home. We ended up purchasing a half case, to give as gifts and enjoy for our personal use. (The wines made the journey back to Atlanta, safely ensconced in our checked luggage.)
The tasting room is spotlessly clean, and the surrounding outdoor area offers stunning views. I highly recommend checking out this winery if you’re in the area. Added bonus, it’s only a short drive to Los Gatos, where you can enjoy your wine at many of the local restaurants for a small corkage fee.

My friends introduced me to David Bruce Pinot Noir when they came to visit me in New York City and we had ordered a bottle at Blue Ribbon Brasserie in the West Village. Ever since, I’ve been hooked. I went to David’s winery with my friends and colleagues from work on Sunday. It was the best times of our lives. I got a chance to meet David Bruce and took photos with him. Very knowledgeable about Pinot Noir as he does make the best in my eyes. I bought a case that was shipped to me allt he way to NYC!
I’m getting married int he bay area and will be buying David Bruce Pinot Noir for my Wedding Dinner Reception!

Free wine tasting, all year round.
Some of the best Pinot Noir’s in the Bay Area.
Great service in the tasting room, interesting how most of the negative reviews are from people who showed up in a drunken group of 20+ demanding wine! This is a low key, quiet place. Not Vegas,
Just joined the wine club, and excited for the discounts and exclusive events!

For the love of Pinot!
This is a great winery located in the mountains near Los Gatos. It offers free tastings of some of the best Pinot Noir you’ll ever have.
Only about ten minutes from Los Gatos, this is a great place to have a picnic. Grab a bottle or two, and sit under the shade of an oak tree and enjoy the scenery of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

This place offers free tasting, which is definitely a plus. Many local wineries offer tastings for $ 5-​$ 7, and I feel better suited going there.
I’ve been here a few times, and never felt it was outstanding. The last time I went David Bruce himself came in. I was wearing the shirt of a band I enjoy (Trap Them), who I admit is not music for the masses, and he asked about it. When I explained who they were, he said «I hope you don’t play their music while drining my wine». That’s fine if he thinks that… I’m not sure why he felt it necessary to let me know though. Anyways, there are several other excellent wineries in the area that I would recomment before David Bruce.

Want to get a quick handle on the David Bruce Winery? Think of it as a classic rock radio station playing the greatest hits from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and today. Yes indeed, it’s been around that long, having been founded way back in 1964. Such impressive staying power at or near the top of the California wine world deserves a halfway decent Silicon Valley Unilocal shout-​out, don’t y’all think?
Welcome, then, to KDBW, sound of the southern Santa Cruz Mountains since the days of LBJ. What’s on the commercial-​free (i.e. complimentary) tasting list depends on the seasons, but you’re sure to find something to your liking. Here’s a sampling, based on a recent visit. Enjoy!
1. The 1960s «A Cal-​Ital Classic»
2008 Paso Robles Sangiovese — «California Dreamin,» The Mamas & the Papas
Something about this unpretentious and excellent wine embodies all that is admirable about classic Californian viticulture and its Italian-​American heritage. One sip, and you’ll get lost in its alluring aromas, brisk fruit, and structured but softening tannins. It’s been a DB staple for decades, and it reminds you that food-​friendly reds are not always French in origin. Think of it as Californian Chianti, but at $ 28/​bottle, not the kind you serve in straw baskets or slurp down with all-​you-​can-​eat spaghetti. It’s more of a Sunday dinner sort of sipper, with half the bottle set aside for tomorrow’s pasta:
2. The 1970s «The Hit Parade of Pinot»
2008 Santa Cruz Mts Pinot Noir — «Sultans of Swing,» Dire Straits
2009 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir — «Lady D’Arbanville,» Cat Stevens
2009 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir — «Maggie May,» Rod Stewart
Pinots are cool, Pinots are hot, with loads of exotic spice and ordinary heartbreak all bottled up inside. Nothing is more reminiscent of the highs and lows of the sensuous but scandal-​prone ‘70s than a love affair with Le Vin Noir. DB has invested much of its current 60,000 case production into Pinots sourced from Mendocino in the North to Santa Barbara in the South, with a little Russian River (from DB’s Sebastopol estate), the Santa Cruz Mountains, and Monterey’s lovely (for a grape) Santa Lucia Highlands thrown in for good measure. Personally, I love the cool and unpretentious vibe of the swinging SCM vintages, a little less sexy than the others, perhaps, but with longevity and good mountaintop character. The Santa Maria has perfume that intoxicates, but like an impromtu love affair, the sparks fade fast. As for the luscious spicy plum fruit and softly silken texture of the Anderson Valley Pinot, you really do wish that you never saw its face, because at $ 42/​bottle, it’s an expensive summer pleasure.
3. 1980s «Que Sirah, Sirah …»
2006 Estate Petite Sirah ’ «The Way it Is,» Bruce Hornsby and the Range
DB has regrafted its estate Syrah and Petite Sirah vines over to Pinot, to satiate the seemingly infinite thirst for the Sideways drink of choice. So sad, really. But some things will never change, and at DB it means keeping up with the times and that’s just the way it is (But don’t you believe them …) The last estate vintage of PS is inky, wet, and olallieberry jam extracted at great effort from the rocky soils of Skyline Ridge. It’s an honest, tough little wine. And what’s not to love about that? Even if the Paso Robles Shell Creek Vineyard PS will still be available, we shall miss the peppery little pocket rocket and look back fondly when it’s finally gone.
4. 1990s «Rosé-​Colored Glasses»
2009 Sonoma Coast Rosé of Pinot Noir (Saignée), «Desert Rose,» Sting
Silicon Valley in the 1990s was a land of optimism now forever hidden behind a dark cloud of post ⁹⁄₁₁ sadness and sobriety. Who has time now to sit back on the deck and savor a chilled pink Pinot, oozing Seascape strawberries and letting pale rose petals waft in the wind? Well, at DBW, you can relive the Clintonian moments of the lost millenium, one satisfying swallow at a time (and no stained blue dresses in sight).
5. Today (2000s) «When Chard Ruled the World»
2005 SCM Estate Chardonnay, «Viva la Vida,» Coldplay
David Bruce hit the world stage running with a 10^th place finish in the 1976 Judgement of Paris, and like so many other California winemakers at the time, he helped put West Coast Chardonnay on the map. Unlike the overly oaked fruit bombs of Lake County (brainchild of that «other» Jackson family, not the singers), DB SCM Chard has minerality, modest fruit, and subtle oak, a classic case of letting the terroir dictate the taste and not the other way around. While the Russian River AVA may win more medals when it comes to critics and connoisseurs, I’ll take a 10^th place Santa Cruz Mtn Chardonnay anyday. Even if the world of CA whites has exploded to encompass lesser-​known varietals (Gruener Veltliner and Verdejo, anyone?), it’s fun to recall that simpler time when Chards were still California’s king.

My BFFs, husband, and I ended up here after a disastrous tasting down the road at Byington. After that experience, I would have looked favorably on a visit to Boone’s Farm, but thankfully David Bruce was the opposite of both of those.
The winery looks both classic and modern at the same time, if that’s even possible. The building is an imposing structure, but the tasting room is done up nicely. Bonus points to them for the brass pourer-​thingies on the bottles by the way. It’s the little things! :)
The guy who poured for us was interesting and funny to talk to; he was very knowledgeable about the wines and had plenty to say about them. He even went «off the list» a little bit once we got to the pinots, so we could do a little vertical-​vintage comparison. That was quite awesome to do, and very interesting to notice the differences between the years.
The first wine was a Chardonnay and this one is unlike any I’ve recently tasted. It’s incredibly fruity for one thing — not just on the nose, but on the palate too. It almost tastes like pineapples! Although a touch sweet, it’s really quite nice. After the Chard was a whole variety of Pinots. Every single one was great, but the ’09 from Santa Maria Valley was my favorite (the «mushroomy» one). The syrah at the end was nice as well.
The best part of the whole thing is that the tasting is complimentary. Not many places will do that anymore!!! It’s well worth it to stop in and check these guys out for yourself.
We left with a 6-​bottle vertical selection of their library pinots (2002 – 2004) for a ridiculous deal. If you’re into pinots, I highly recommend coming here!

So sad to read all the bad reviews. DAVID BRUCE Wine and David himself are AWESOME!!!
DB has been a staple at my dinner table for almost 2 solid years now. I am a Pinot Noir Fanatic and really have trouble finding a Pinot as good as the DB ’06 Santa Cruz Mtns produced right here in our backyard.
I was fortunate enough to meet David himself on a random afternoon and shared a glass of his special Estate Pinot. This was a treat because the staff member told me he RARELY has a taste with his guests. It was such a treat! He even signed two bottles for me!
I also attended the Wine Club Event this past Sunday and came away with 2 cases + some. This is how much I LOVE BRUCEY!!!
**Side note #1: To all the wine bussin’ party tasters, this is NOT somewhere you should bring your frat party to. Head to a Brewery if you want to bring more than 10 people with you.
**Side note #2: David let me know he was also Dermatologist, yes, a doctor! I think that is why his décor is so clean and medical office like. There is an explanation for everything!