New tasting room brings ‘feeling of Saison’ to Los Gatos

There are once again three wine tasting rooms in Los Gatos. Located in the former home of Left Bend Cellars (and prior to that, Fernwood Cellars), Saison Cellar just opened its doors, joining Gali Vineyards and Testarossa as the town’s single-brand wine tasting rooms. Located near Los Gatos Café and the Italian Brothers restaurant, the newly renovated spot sports design elements that tie it to the brand’s origins: Saison SF restaurant in San Francisco.

“One of the things we wanted to accomplish with the tasting room design is to bring the feeling of Saison to Los Gatos,” says Mark Bright, co-owner and vintner for Saison Cellar. “The blue-gray color scheme with dark wood echoes that Saison restaurant feel.”

The Chicago-born sommelier credits the town of Los Gatos for being very easy to work with in getting the tasting room open.

Bright is also wine director and partner at Saison, famous for its hearth-centric cuisine. The Saison family is composed of Saison Winery, Saison Cellar, Saison Restaurant SF, Angler Restaurants SF & LA and Saison Smokehouse.

Bright is famous for his bustling energy and his love of Burgundy and other Old World wines, and yet he loves making wine from the Santa Cruz Mountains, where he sources grapes like the 2016 pinot noir from the former Hunter Hill Vineyard and the 2017 chardonnay from Regan Vineyard. He also sources Riesling from Wirz Vineyard in San Benito, and Syrah and Grenache from the Coastview Vineyard in Monterey.

Bright explains that Saison wines were created to pair with the tasting menus at its restaurant, which run about $400 per person. Dining at Saison may be out of reach for many, but the wines can be enjoyed at a lower price point.

Several flights are available for $15-$25, and include three wines each. The white flight features the 2018 Enz Vineyard Riesling, the 2017 Regan Vineyard chardonnay and another chardonnay. The pinot noir flight includes varietals from Hunter Hill and Coastview and a Regan Vineyard designate.

The Rhone red flight features a Castview Grenache, a Coastview Syrah and a Zayante Syrah. The cabernet flight includes Regan Vineyard merlot, Day Ranch cabernet and the Hearth Blend of 50-50 cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

Bright says that while his heart does not lie in cabernet—he much prefers pinot noir—his customers kept asking for cab, so he obliged.

Bright’s first venture into winemaking was Partage Cellars. Bright sourced fruit from Coast Grade as well as Bald Mountain Vineyards for that label. He and his wife purchased a French-style estate in Ben Lomond, where they had a tasting room by appointment until the pandemic. He’s also planted Aligote in a small vineyard on the property.

At Saison, they hope to source cheese and charcuterie plates from The Tasting House, and perhaps bread from Manresa, both of which are right around the corner.

The Saison Cellar tasting room is at 346 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos, and is open Wednesday-Sunday, noon-7 p.m.