By Los Altos Arts and Wine Festival
Town Crier Staff Report
Page Mill Winery will be one of the five wineries displaying its top quality wines at this year’s Los Altos Arts & Wine Festival, alongside stalls offering a selection of beers and spirits.
Run by Dane Stark, the son of founders Dick and Ome Stark, Page Mill Winery is located on Page Mill Road within the city limits of Los Altos Hills. Stark’s passion for good wine and his training in both France and California have resulted in great wines. This year the Page Mill Winery will be pouring a selection from their Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Merlot.
“I run the most local winery out of all that will be present at the festival,” Stark said, “I really enjoy going down there for the festival and supporting the community by bringing my wines.”
Bob Hatch, Los Altos Hills resident and past president of the Los Altos Village Association, will help to coordinate the wine section of the festival, a duty he has thoroughly enjoyed for the last fifteen years. This year he will be presenting four other wineries alongside Page Mill, all based locally in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
“This year we have gone for the quality of the wines rather than a quantity of them,” Hatch said, “we have selected fewer wineries, but the quality of each is outstanding. Many have won national and international awards.”
Hatch delights in tasting and collecting wines. This event gives him the chance to share his knowledge and enthusiasm for Santa Cruz Mountain vintners and their wines with the community.
This year’s other featured wineries include Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards, River Run Vintners, Storrs Winery, and Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyards. Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards, accounting for 21 acres of vineyard in Saratoga, will be pouring a selection of their Estate Chardonnay and Estate Cabernet from the family- owned and operated winery.
River Run Vintners, located near Watsonville, will bring a selection of 2000 Chardonnay, 2000 Carignane Rosé, 1997 Syrah, and 1996 Zinfandel Reserve.
Steve and Pam Storrs from Storrs Winery in Santa Cruz produce many award-winning wines, of which their Chardonnay’s have become most famous. Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyards of Portola Valley will bring a selection of their 1999 Monterey Chardonnay, 2000 Gewurztraminer and 1997 Santa Cruz Mountain Pinot Noir.
All wines will be poured by members of the Los Altos District - Silicon Valley Association of Realtors.
Returning to the festival will be sponsor Coors West, serving a variety of beers. Bob Franchesini, Jr., president of Coors West and a Los Altos resident, is delighted to see Coors products featured in his hometown.
“It is our company philosophy to support and participate in local events like the Arts & Wine Festival,” he said.
Dan Gordon, one of the founders of the Gordon-Biersch brewery, will present a cooking demonstration and give tips on food pairing.
For more information, call the festival hotline, 917-9799.
