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"The book is noted on the cover as a 'food and wine lover's guide' and it delivers. The tone is personal but informative, and the authors recommend specific wines to try and menu items to order."
  - Daily Herald, Chicago

Below is a sample winery entry in our Monterey & Carmel book, which also includes all of Santa Cruz County.  Hill Guides are the only major guidebooks that include recipes from chefs and winemakers.  Check out our List of Wineries, Sample Recipe and List of Recipes for this book as well.

Hallcrest Vineyards and The Organic Wine Works are two of the most fun and interesting winery experiences in the Santa Cruz area. Hallcrest distinguishes honestly between “organic” and “organic” wines and demystifies the semantics.

Many “organic wines” are actually made from grapes grown organically, but with added sulfites and other preservatives that can cause allergic reactions in some people. Hallcrest wines are made this way. Hallcrest’s Organic Wine Works is one of the few truly organic producers in the United States. The Organic Wine Works makes wine from organically grown grapes that are also organically processed, meaning they are organic and without sulfites, “grown and processed in accordance with the California Organic Foods Act of 1990 and certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).”

Hallcrest Vineyards was founded in 1941 by Chafee Hall, who made wines from estate-planted White Riesling and Cebernet Suvignon grapes. Hall built the winery’s current buildings in 1945, and his wines were served in San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel and Top of the Mark (Hopkins), as well as at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Hall’s last wine was produced in 1964, when he retired due to a death in the family (not his).

In September, 1987, John and Lorraine Schumacher and John’s sister Shirin purchased Hallcrest and restored the name and buildings.
Interested in biology at age 13, John Schumacher made his first wine from plums he picked from a family tree while his parents were away. John went directly from high school to the U.C. Davis enology program, and can be seen today wearing a scarf and harvesting grapes or driving a forklift around the property. Hallcrest has become the most acclaimed and awarded winery in the Santa Cruz area. On the light side, enjoy their wine cartoon book available in the tasting room.

Fine points: Featured wines: Hallcrest Chardonnay, Clos de Jeannine (Rhone style red), Pinot Noir, Veilig, Syrah, Cabernet/Merlot blends, Cabernet Sauvignon; Organic Wine Works Chardonnay, Radical Red, A Notre Terre blend, Carignane, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Vinotopia Ice Wine. Owner and winemaker: John Schumacher. Cases: 20,000.

Hallcrest Vineyards and The Organic Wine Works, 379 Felton Empire Road, Felton 95018; (831) 335-4441 or (800) 699-9463, www.webwinery.com/Hallcrest. Open 12 noon-5:00 p.m. daily. No tasting fee. Visa, American Express, Discover. Partly wheelchair accessible.