Painting and wine tasting has become a popular trend. Getting groups of people who have never held a paintbrush to come away with a framable piece of artwork while enjoying the best of Santa Clara Valley wines was the goal at a recent Paint and Sip party at Seeker Vineyard in San Martin.
The rose, a special symbol at Seeker Vineyard, is exactly what we painted. Winery owner Karen Seeker pointed to a small tattoo rose on her ankle as she briefed us on the history of her family-owned boutique winery. Karen’s husband, Randy, a nuclear and chemical engineer turned winemaker, makes small batches of traditional varietals. “We make wines that we would want to drink—using methods that allow us to hand-touch every bottle,” says Karen.
Only a few years into their winemaking adventure, their wines garnered three medals from the prestigious Orange County wine competition, including a silver and two bronze. There are 14 wines on the Seeker list including four different cabernets from different fields or barrels—each one with its own flavor profile. I favored their 2013 Redwood Estate Cabernet, aged in French oak, offering a bit of spice and loads of black cherry with a satin finish.
For me, their Grandiflora, a blend of two cabernets, a merlot and a syrah is their knockout wine. As a winner of the silver medal, many others agree.
Next door to a horse ranch and minutes off the main road, Seeker Vineyard is a unique venue for special events, one with lots of space and country feel among the redwoods.
