Pleasant Valley Vineyards

We stopped by here on impulse last weekend because we had to be in Watsonville and loved it! We tasted no less than 9 wines, and every taste was good and some were great. The couple who run the winery were friendly and helpful, and it is very cute that all their wines are named after grandchildren and other family members. They lose one star because they are quite pricey and don’t refund the tasting fee with purchase. But even with that, we did buy 3 bottles and are looking forward to sharing the Syrah at Easter.

Unbelievably rude — they will not to refund your tasting fee when you purchase some wine, and when confronted on this the owner seemed to think it is some sort of a joke. Avoid this place, as the other three wineries on the Corralitos Wine Trail are more attractive, and don’t think its amusing as this owner does to rip you off.
Pleasant enough wines, but very over-​priced. Again there are better deal to be had on this Wine Trail. I recommend the drive up to Windy Oaks in particular.

This place was great! Granted, this was our last stop for the day and I was not driving but what a beautiful estate to do a tasting. It is like someones backyard in a little glen. The vines line the hillside around the house. There is even a small group of 20 redwoods with a hammock inside. The wine was good, I actually enjoyed the chardonnay. That rarely happens. The only sad thing is the wine is expensive but this vineyard is a great place to at least visit.

This place is beautiful! You pull up and it looks like someone’s home. I was a little hesitant to get out of the car because I didn’t want to knock on the door of someone’s private home. But, as we were parking one of the wine makers walked up and directed confirmed we were in the right place! When we walked around back it was BEAUTIFUL. There was a small grove of redwoods with a hammock strung up in the middle. There was a porch where you could sit while you did a tasting. The winer makers were really nice and the wine was tasty. It was a little expensive and we’d already purchased wine earlier in the day. But, we still bought a bottle or two. Definitely worth a trip.

Pleasant Valley is a teeny tiny little winery. They only make about 700 cases a year in a typical year, many of which are in other locations (such as Paso Robles) rather than on their property in Aptos.
We had a private tasting here. The family was very warm and inviting, and their house and backyard were gorgeous. There wasn’t a lot to the property, though — basically, you look up, and it’s there. Unlike our other visits we didn’t get any kind of tour, just a tasting. We were a tad disappointed by that.
Like all the wineries we visited, the wine was tasty. I especially liked the pinots he served. However, the wine was significantly pricier than the other places we visited for a similar quality of wine, so we felt it was a bit overpriced. Pleasant Valley Vineyards was a nice space with friendly owners, but it was probably the winery I was least enthralled by of the day.