Critic picks

Wine Advocate's top-rated wineries in Santa Cruz Mountains

Wine Advocate scores on the 100-point scale. Its 17 ranked Santa Cruz Mountains producers run from 78 to 93 points, each with at least two rated wines.

Ranked by Wine Advocate's mean score across every wine of theirs Wine Advocate has rated. Highest average first; ties go to the producer with more wines rated.

17
Producers Wine Advocate rates
93
Top score
159
Wines scored, top 25

The list

  1. 193LesterSanta Cruz Mountains, United States2 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  2. 293Sandar & HemSanta Cruz Mountains, United States4 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  3. 392Mindego RidgeSanta Cruz Mountains, United States7 wines ratedCRITICS' PICK→
  4. 492Big BasinSanta Cruz Mountains, United States55 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  5. 592LexingtonSanta Cruz Mountains, United States9 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  6. 691Farm CottageSanta Cruz Mountains, United States4 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  7. 791McHenry VineyardSanta Cruz Mountains, United States2 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  8. 891Pescadero Creek VineyardSanta Cruz Mountains, United States2 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  9. 990Santa Cruz Mountain VineyardSanta Cruz Mountains, United States29 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  10. 1090Kathryn Kennedy WinerySanta Cruz Mountains, United States15 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  11. 1189Eden EstateSanta Cruz Mountains, United States4 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  12. 1289Muns VineyardSanta Cruz Mountains, United States7 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  13. 1389La Honda WinerySanta Cruz Mountains, United States11 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  14. 1487Heart O The MountainSanta Cruz Mountains, United States2 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  15. 1584Left BendSanta Cruz Mountains, United States2 wines ratedDISTINCTION→
  16. 1684Silvertip VineyardsSanta Cruz Mountains, United States2 wines ratedCRITIC-RATED→
  17. 1778Kings MountainSanta Cruz Mountains, United States2 wines ratedDISTINCTION→

How we choose

Wine Advocate rates individual wines, not estates. Each producer's place here is its average Wine Advocate score across every wine of theirs the critic has scored. A producer needs at least two such wines to appear: the guard stops a single lucky score on one bottle from outranking an estate with dozens of rated wines. More on how the list works

Frequently asked

How many Santa Cruz Mountains wineries has Wine Advocate rated?
17 wineries in Santa Cruz Mountains, United States have at least two wines scored by Wine Advocate. Only those appear here.
Which Santa Cruz Mountains winery does Wine Advocate rate highest?
Lester, at a 93-point average from Wine Advocate, followed by Sandar & Hem and Mindego Ridge.
How is this list ranked?
By Wine Advocate's average score across each winery's wines. A winery needs at least two Wine Advocate-rated wines to be listed, so a single high score cannot top the ranking.
Does this use user reviews?
No. Only Wine Advocate's professional ratings. There are no crowd star averages in it.

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