Michael Michaud

Get the Tempranillo. Bam! It’s fantastic.
Staying in Saratoga an visited several wineries in the area. Why bother when this fab tasting room was right here?! This wine was super tasty. Complex. Sophisticated. Nice nose. Long finish.
You can pick 6 wines from the tasting menu. Friendly staff. Warm vibe. Small. Intimate. Estate wines.

So … the appealing aspect of M4 is that it offers tastes of some of California’s most underrated or undiscovered AVAs, crafted by two master winemakers who have created careers working for well-​heeled others, but now take center stage here, in downtown Saratoga. Michaud is an experienced Burgundian wizard who is one of few people alive who appreciate what it takes to make great wines of clarity and nuance from Chalone Mountain and its vicinity. His oaked whites (Chardonnay and Marsanne) are outstanding, and his un-​oaked Pinot Noir is refreshingly and rewarding, a fruit and spice feast for the senses. The rustic-​chic Martella is more or less all over the Central Californian map, picking fruit from the Santa Cruz mountains for some wines, from Lodi or San Benito or elsewhere for others. His trademark style is known to those who appreciated his work at Thomas Fogarty — rich, dense, opulent, with expressive aromatics and lingering finishes. I recommend the Tempranillo and the Syrah in particular.
But beyond the wines, there is also the simple fact that not one but two pioneering winemakers have created a shared space for showcasing their wares. The walk-​in tasting room is at once simple and sophisticated: ample standing room at the bar, sitting and slouching spaces on sofas and chairs, simple cheese/​meat plates for mixing with the wines, and a great little outdoor seating area where you take in the Saratoga vibe. For $ 12 for a tasting, it’s kind of like going to a great wine bar and hanging out with friends or first dates: not too dark, not too expensive, lots of wines to choose from, and all of them are high quality. To buy or not to buy is here less important that to drink, or not to drink. That, in the end, is the only question.
Well, I suppose that the «other» unanswered question would be which famous duo in history best approximates Michaud & Martella. Hmmm … The Captain & Tennille spring to mind (Martella would be capt’n), as do Hall & Oats. Both worthy choices, but for my money, I’d go with Lewis & Clark, those adventurous souls and star-​crossed Westerners who worked for «the Man» (Thomas J. in this case) doing yeoman’s labor and eating lean while opening up new territories for settlement and colonization. Except in this scenario, L&C return back West following their job for the USGov and, when they reach the Willamette River, they will point their canoes due South and paddle upstream, through the valley (maybe stopping to test out the Pinot Noir possibilities), over the Klamaths and Siskiyus, into the Sacramento Delta and down into the south Bay, intent on reaching the promised land, where the sun would never fail to shine, the limestone content and deformed granite in the soils would be just right, the winter rains would always come, and the grapes would invariably ripen in time for picking barefoot at night, before the fulsome and filling light of a happiness-​inducing harvest moon.

This tasting room is combined with Michael Michaud as M4 (get it?). As I’ve mentioned they’re the only ones out of the 5 places that we visited that sell appetizers to go with the wine, such as cheese platters and prosciutto. They have a nice seating area with open fire outside :)

**Cross Posted with Michael Martella **
Since my first visit to M4, I’ve actually gone back a few more times, and even became a Martella wine club member! They must have done something right, right? Just picked up my first shipment last week and am already imagining the various occasions where I’ll open the bottles. Actually, the first one was popped open on NYE!
The staff at M4 is always great. Fun people to talk to whether about wine or anything else. Since I was going to be hanging out for a bit on my latest visit, and was hoping for better weather to sit on their outdoor patio, they even turned on their fire pits for us, which was great! It’s not exactly comfortable sitting outside, in the shade, in low 50 degree weather, but throw in a glass of wine and a fire pit and we’re golden!
Each time I go back to M4, I’m always bringing a friend who’s never been before. This time and always, we always have a great time. It’s a great experience trying new wines from both Michaud and Martella, learning about the winemakers, the wines and just having discussions about wine and food. There’s something new to be learned each time!
If you get a chance to go, within a reasonable amount of time from this post, see if you can try the 2011 Mendicino Cab. It’s not part of their tasting menu, but they sometimes have a bottle open. It’s part of my current wine shipment, and quite pleasant. There’s only a couple of cases left, so if you don’t try it now, you may miss your chance!

(Cross-​posted to Martella Winery)
A lovely way to finish out my trip to Saratoga. I needed to purchase wine for some friends, and something told me to head to M4. I’m so very, very glad I did. Alex was incredibly helpful and knew everything about the wines he presented to me. I was so impressed with his presentation and his personal touch, even though I was not his only customer of the night. The pours were generous and the wine was fantastic. I planned on buying 2 bottles for friends, but I ended up purchasing 4, including one for myself. It was so hard to choose the wines to buy, because they’re all so incredible. This was a great experience and I hope to come back to Saratoga so I can visit this place again.

⁴⁄₅ stars
This was my favorite «tasting room» in the area that day! We visited 3 tasting rooms, and this was by far my favorite. The sommelier was SUPER friendly, and the selection was extensive. You can mix and match and don’t’ need to stick to a certain list.
The pours were generous and there were crackers for us to clean our palate for the next tasting. The experience and ambiance are worthy and memorable to make a trip back!

Sunday is a great day for wine tasting anywhere on Big Basin Way… but we ended our Saratoga trip @ M4. Wonderful friendly helpers. They prepared all our cheese/​meat. Informative with all the tastings. Locals go-​to paradise. Again, met some really nice people chatted up about life in Saratoga. We sat inside next to the large window, looking out to the street and patio. It is that relaxing! I still prefer red over white… pinot and syrah by far =)
i can’t wait to return for a wknd trip soooooooon!

Went on a South Bay wine tasting adventure a few weekends ago and Michael Michaud was recommended by Thomas Fogarty’s staff. There’s some crossover between winemakers at these two places, and we like what we tried up in Woodside, why not go to Saratoga?
They really push Chardonnay here — which I am not a fan. And I’m especially resistant once someone says, «Oh, but this one is different!» then goes on to say that it’s aged in oak barrels and has a rich, buttery finish. Yep, that’s Chardonnay. Good for you if you like it, there’s more for you in this world since I’m gonna pass.
Beyond the chard’ing episode, really enjoyed their reds, Syrah and Marsanne were particularly good. Beyond two other tasters, we had the place to ourselves and took some time to chat with the gentleman behind the counter. It was a relaxing, Sunday afternoon and no one was pushing us out the door.
This was the only Saratoga tasting we did that day, but would like to go back and do a little wine walk. Then have a snack and a nap before heading home ;)

Open until 8pm and free corkage at the restaurant across the way.
Came here for a second time a few weeks ago and was very disappointed. The wines were all over the place in taste which I remember from my last visit. However, the person pouring poured less than 1 ounce tastings (at $ 18 for a tasting) and did not let us revisit any of the ones we liked, which stopped us from purchasing any wine. Our friends escaped our pourer and went to the other guy, who was dolloping out 2 ounce pours or so, and they had a better time. He was friendly and chatted about the wine. Our experience was more like «Here, drink this tiny sip, move on, and get out.» Needless to say, I was not impressed by the service.
The fridge was opened once or twice for people to buy water, and there was an overwhelming scent of blue cheese filling the tasting room for most of the time we were there. Now, I love cheese, but on a hot day, it it not a smell you want lingering in the air. I think they should reconsider how they store the cheese to avoid the smell.
I came here once before and remember enjoying the experience. In fact, on my last visit I left with 4 or 5 bottles and took one over to Sent Sovi to enjoy with dinner. This visit definitely changed my opinion of this place. I don’t think I’ll be back. Prices are too steep for tasting for such a sub-​par experience.

Nice wines and a great place to chill after a long day. Nothing is better then a glass of wine and warm california sunshine.

We stop by the the Michaud new tasting room from our day trip to Monterey and what a nice surprise! It was a beautiful day of which we sat outside on the patio with the winemaker, Michael Michaud and sampled some of his wines with him. How fun is that! Everyone is so pleasant and relaxed there which is a nice change from other tasting rooms which can be uppity. Needless to say we came home with a case of great wine!

Since my initial review I’ve been back here a few times. I think this is one of the more casual tasting rooms in the village. It’s really nice that both winemakers Michael Michaud and Michael Martella can oftentimes be found in the tasting room so that you are able to ask questions about the wines or just let them explain the history or the rationale behind the production of the grapes or the wines. They’re also very laid back, so they’re easy to approach and strike up a conversation if you just wanted to strike up a conversation about wine or other things in general.
I do like all 8 wines that are currently offered in the tasting room, but my favorites are the Martella Black Ridge Viognier, the Michaud Marsanne, the Martella Petite Sirah. I think it’s really nice how they’ve struck a balance between more mainstream offerings like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but are willing to go into more secondary grapes like Marsanne and Petite Sirah.
On the business side of things, they’re also not pretentious and pushy about buying a bottle or joining either wine club. On the negative side of the equation, the wines are definitely priced more as occasion wines, as opposed to daily drinkers. That said, given the area, this tasting room is a nice departure from what you might find at other wine shops or tasting rooms. With the city passing an ordinance that allows for music in downtown, I can easily say that this would be one of my stops if I wanted to go out, but stay in Saratoga.

*********************** 758 *************************
Michael Martella and Michael Michaud, winemakers and proprietors of their well-​known wine brands, Martella Wines and Michaud Vineyard, joined opening Big Basin strip newest tasting room in downtown Saratoga. Called «M4″, right across from the French resto Sent Sovi.
Michael Martella and Michael Michaud M4 features an outdoor patio and a shared tasting. I got to attend the ribbon-​cutting grand-​opening this week at the new M4 Tasting Room.
Small tasting room with 2 winemakers, they offer plenty of wines for you to taste:
— By the glass from $ 7.50-$ 12.50,
— Choose any 5 wines to taste for $ 12,
— Try them all for $ 18,
Since they are still new, not food is served yet, but they will have cheese, crackers on site. According to gracious Alicia that works there, they will have light bites soon. You can also join the wine clubs for 20% OFF on your wines and tasting always FREE! Guess I have to hurry up!
Michael Martella a long time friend and Winemaker for his own brand– Martella Wines as well as Winemaker for Thomas Fogarty Winery. On their website: „I’ve been a winemaker for 30 years and a farmer all my life, and I’ve come to appreciate the fact that good winemaking is both an art and a science. Obviously, a winemaker needs considerable knowledge of the complex sciences of plant biology and organic chemistry to make good wine. The art of making wine involves the winemaker’s skill in achieving the distinct blend of aromas, flavors and textures he wants in the wine.“ More about the winemaker here:

Michael Michaud, on their website:“All these things combine to make this rare place of fewer than one inhabitant per 10 square miles, two hours south from our Woodside home, a special place to grow grapes and make wine. The wines are full of character and elegant with layers of flavors and characteristics truly reminiscent of Burgundy. Indeed this small appellation has a grape growing history that goes back over a hundred years. Because of the golden color of the hills in summer and fall and the wonderful and unique wines that come from this appellation, it could be called California’s „Cote D’Or“.» More about the winemaker:
I got to meet the winemakers, chatted with them, got to rub elbows with all the old folks locally, met ton of wine and food lovers; at the end we got to enjoy the great Hors d’oeuvres & delicious dinner by Sent Sovi, chef Josiah Slone.
It’s a new spot and if you have tried their wines before, this is a great spot to check it out. I started to fall in love Saratoga more because it’s not as packed as in Los Gatos, much chiller crowd; plus you can have dinner at some of these great local restos here: Sent Sovi, Plumed Hourse, Casa de Cobre, Ristorante Da Mario, so many choices on this strip. See you there…