Opening a new business is difficult enough, but trying to get it started during the pandemic is an extra challenge. With their long-delayed—and long-anticipated—opening pushed back another six weeks to mid-April, Hollister’s Crave Wine Company is now offering a taste of what they will soon be serving at their Wine Bar & Shop at 616 San Benito Street.
Crave owners Mike Kohne and Maura Cooper have put together three different wine packages, including one honoring the 150th anniversary of Hollister’s founding, with selections leaning heavily on the wineries and vineyards of San Benito County. They aim to promote as much as possible the wine regions of the Cienega Valley and Tres Pinos.
“We have worked with so many of the winemakers in this county and we want to represent them,” Cooper said. “It is a very personal thing with us. Cory [Waller] and Al [DeRose] and Mike [Waller] are friends of ours and we think what they are doing is great. We have seen all they do behind the scenes and for all the work they do, we really want to cheerlead for them.”
Cooper is name checking the three premier winemakers in the Cienega Valley: Cory Waller of Eden Rift Vineyards, DeRose of DeRose Winery, and Mike Waller of Calera Wine Company. The fruits of their labor are on proud display behind the bar at Crave, along with dozens of bottles from other wineries which use grapes from San Benito County.
“The county has so many vineyards that were around before the new commercial wave of winemaking,” Kohne said. “There is so much history here and you have so many winemakers coming to San Benito County to work with grapes from these old vines. They might be making the wine over in Santa Cruz County or Napa or Paso Robles, but they are sourcing a lot of their grapes right here.”
Both Crave owners have extensive backgrounds in the wine business. Kohne has managed Mercy Vineyards in Arroyo Seco and worked as Marketing Director for Eden Rift Vineyards. Cooper is currently employed by Calera as a wine educator in their tasting room. Their work experiences have given them a top-to-bottom knowledge of the local grapes and vines.
“There is high-quality fruit here and it keeps showing itself time and time again,” Cooper said. “And we are going to be highlighting this area as a really significant player in the wine world. We are not on a level playing field with Napa and Sonoma as far as marketing dollars, but we are just as important.”
Crave has been a work in progress since its owners began renovating their new location. Closing in on the final inspections, they are laying out the interior and have installed their bar. In the meantime, they already have an active wine club and just released a new group of distinctive wine selections.
“True to the spirit of Crave, we plan to do lots of packages highlighting local producers,” Kohne said. “Though we are not open yet, we thought it would be a good opportunity to do something to celebrate the city’s history by putting together some wines from historical producers.”
The three selections, the Springtime package, the Hollister 150th Anniversary package, and the March Madness Pinot Love package, are available through the Crave website.
Crave’s wine club comes with three options: the Crave Club ($44.95), released six times a year and featuring two wines appropriate to the season, the “20” Club ($114.99), released four times a year and featuring three wines sourced from within 20 miles of Hollister, and the Atlas Club ($199.99), released three times a year and featuring wines from around the world.
Settling in next to neighbors, Pour Decisions Taproom and Mad Pursuit Brewing Company, Crave Wine Bar & Shop looks to be an excellent step forward in the ongoing transformation of San Benito Street as a destination for fine food and beverages.
“There are not really a lot of choices for wine on this street,” Cooper said. “With the great breweries being represented and the revitalization of downtown, we hope, with Crave, to offer something ourselves—our hand-curated selections of the wines we love.”
Los Chuchaquis 2020 Bandido
I had an opportunity to stop by the in-progress shop and taste one of the wines featured in the Springtime Package, the Los Chuchaquis 2020 Bandido ($27.99). Produced by Stirm Wine Company, it’s a blend of 82% negrette grapes from Siletto Family Vineyards with 6% each of cabernet pfeffer, albarino, and zinfandel.
The name of the wine is a nod to the 19th-century outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez, whose famous raid on Snyder’s Store happened just a few miles from the vineyard. While the county has become well known for the pinot noirs produced by Calera Wine Company and Eden Rift Vineyards, the 2020 Bandido is an astute choice to highlight the fine wines and the history of San Benito County.
The negrette grape has a strong connection with the area. It was one of the first varietals grown by pioneer winemaker Théophile Vaché in his Cienega Valley vineyards—negrette vines he planted in 1855 still thrive on the DeRose Winery property—and this area accounts for almost all of the negrette grapes grown outside of France.
This is an incredibly easy wine to drink, with a mouthfeel that is a symphony of bountiful fruit, very light acidity, and a slight hint of strawberry at the end. The smooth finish invites you to take another sip without a pause—unless you want to take another moment or two just to breathe in the vibrant berry and cherry aroma. It’s a stellar goes-with-anything wine that also drinks perfectly on its own.
Gift packs from Crave Wine Company
Springtime Package —$149.99 (normally $167.94)
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Para Maria 2021 Rose, Santa Barbara County (Dry GSM)
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Morgan 2019 Sauvignon Blanc, Arroyo Seco
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Eden Rift 2019 Pinot Gris, Terraces, Cienega Valley
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Ramey 2018 Chardonnay, Russian River
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Adroit 2020 Gamay, Siletto Vineyard, San Benito County
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Los Chuchaquis 2020 Bandito, San Benito County
Hollister 150th Anniversary Package—$150.00 (normally $199.94)
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Precedent 2019 Chenin Blanc, Massa Vineyard, Carmel Valley (planted in 1969)
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Stirm 2019 Riesling, Wirz Vineyard, Cienega Valley (planted in 1902)
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Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay, Chalone (planted in 1919)
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Eden Rift 2018 Pinot Noir, Terraces, Cienega Valley (planted in the 1850s)
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DeRose 2018 Syrah, Estate, Old Vines, Cienega Valley (planted in the 1850s)
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Le P’tit Paysan 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Old Vines, San Benito County (from Siletto’s Wheeler Vineyard planted in 1974)
March Madness Pinot Love Package — $168.99 (normally $224.96)
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Calera 2017 Pinot Noir, Ryan Vineyard, Mt Harlan
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Eden Rift 2018 Pinot Noir, Terraces, Cienega Valley
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Ken Wright 2020 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
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Occidental 2019 Pinot Noir, Freestone-Occidental
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